Refusing to be Enemies: The Zeitouna Story

Sunday, November 14, 2010, 2:00 pm

Refusing to be Enemies: The Zeitouna Story profiles, without Hollywood patina, a self-formed group of twelve ordinary women calling themselves “Zeitouna,” the Arab word for "olive tree." With ages spanning forty years, these six Arabs and six Jews weave an unusual and intimate tapestry of sisterhood. Some of the women are American-born, others are immigrants; one is a Holocaust survivor, another is a survivor of the Nakbah’s terror. Filmmaker Laurie White is a founding member of Zeitouna. Her camera became an invisible member of this sisterhood, capturing the interior of this sacred space without ever upsetting and altering the fragile process of the group’s awakening. The film does not attempt to answer questions of right and wrong, or how to break the deadlock of the Middle East conflict. Instead it offers living proof of how the journey of personal transformation may pave the way to socio-political transformation and peace.  By Laurie White

About Laurie White Laurie White,  granddaughter of Eastern European Jewish immigrants and an early activist, discovered film as a forger of social change and community building when producing Roger and Me with fellow Flint resident, Michael Moore, in 1986. Three decades as a psychotherapist and a mosaic of experience working to oppose violence, abuse, and discrimination, White created her vision of Zeitouna’s story as a model for others.

This presentation is sponsored by CMU Public Broadcasting.

 

 

 

 

This programming is supported in part by a grant from the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs which includes funds from the National Endowment for the Arts.
These programs were made possible in part by a grant from the Michigan Humanities Council, an affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Any views, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in these programs do not necessarily reflect those of the National Endowment for the Humanities or the Michigan Humanities Council.   
Housing sponsors for Celebrating Women events are the Tamarack Lodge and Days Inn of Traverse City.  
Media Sponsors for Celebrating Women are TV7&4 and the Northern Express 

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