'Among musicians the peace process works'
They make an unlikely couple. One is a New York-born Orthodox Jew who lives in a Jerusalem suburb. The other is a blind Palestinian with severe learning disabilities. But one thing unites them: music.
Gilo resident Deborah Schramm has been teaching piano to talented Jerusalem Youth Orchestra member Rasha Hamad, now 36 and from the northern West Bank, since she was 11. This week, as efforts to bring politicians from the two sides back to the negotiating table failed once again, Deborah told the Jewish News how this Israeli-Palestinian partnership continues to flourish against the odds.
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Despite the partnership raising a few eyebrows in Gilo, considered by the international community to be a settlement, Deborah was more than happy to take on a Palestinian student. Describing herself as apolitical, she says she hates to put people in boxes. "That's the way I was brought up. I was taught to build trust with other people, irrespective of their religion or nationality. Our partnership shows that Israelis and Palestinians can work well together."
A film about the duo - who first began working together through the Jerusalem Conservatory Hassadna - was screened last week at the artsdepot in Finchley during a UK performing tour by the city's youth orchestra. The event raised funds for a programme at the Conservatory, inspired by the partnership, to teach instruments to special needs children. The initiative is funded by the Jerusalem Foundation, which organised last week's four-concert tour. However, concert-goers did not have the opportunity to enjoy Rasha's talent live as the pianist's disability meant she was unable to travel.
Her Dutch adoptive parents, a Christian couple who established Beit Yemima, a school and orphanage for handicapped children near Bethlehem, first discovered Rasha's musical talent when she started to sing along in harmony to hymns. They bought her an old piano, but decided she could benefit from lessons at the Conservatory, where Deborah taught.
When she started working with Rasha, she found "something that told me that the music speaks to her at a very deep level. The depth of this makes the musician. Music to me isn't just correctly moving your fingers, music is something very deep within the human spirit."
She added that her experience with Rasha had taught her the message of hope. "It's fundamental in human beings. Hope is very inspiring. And it shows that on the arts level at least, the peace process still works. It works on what is common to all of us."
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