Not so funny encounter

A and I met for a quick dinner "date" in our busy scedule, and ended up with our falafel sandwiches on a lawn outside Herod's Gate. At some point we kissed, and then a Muslim man came up to us, warning us not to do that here, cus "you can be stoned for that!" We replyed that now we've been here for more than a month and noone has said anything yet.

When we left the spot some five minutes later, an apple followed us in high speed, though luckily it didn't hit us. I suspect the Arab boys, who'd gathered close to where we sat, for throwing it - but it might just be my prejudices... Anyway, I severly dislike this kind of "perker"-behavior, no matter with cultural background or which skin-colour the "perker" in question has.

I don't think we would experience being thrown things at in the Jewish quarters of Jerusalem (A has one or two other times had Arab boys throwing things at him on his way to the university when we stayed in the Old City). Sigh. I'm all for dialogue and co-existing, but both sides have to agree on that.

Concert with Goldschmidt, Singh, and Irshed!

Two of my musical "heros", Henrik Goldschmidt on the oboe and Bilal Irshed on the 3oud, were in Jerusalem tonight to play a concert in the Bible Lands Museum, together with their long time partner Singh on accordion (but I don't know so much about him).

It was a fantastic concert! Goldschmidt was, as always, very expressive and beaming with life and musical joy, teasing the audience with breaks and changes in the music so everybody stayed alert on what would happen next, his sound on the oboe as soft and charming as ever.

The seccond piece they played were a combination of an Arabic love song, a Danish psalm, and a Jewish traditional song. It started out very softly, the 3oud enchanting me with its deep, full sound, and the xaphoon (as I think the recorder with clarinet mounthpiece is called) took over with soft, sweet tones, the accordion being a harmonic drone in the back. I was moved.

And the rest of the concert continued with happy, fast Yiddish tunes, Goldschmidt singing about the teacher teaching his students the Hebrew alphabet (and we, the audience, we the students, who had to repeat after the teacher), Danish folksongs played in Arabic style, a bit of taqsiim [solo improvisation] on 3oud (not enough for me!), and other lively pieces.

It all ended too soon, but we had had a great time - and I almost feel sorry for all of you who missed it! For those in Denmark check out Singh&Goldschmidt's turnéliste, if you want to hear them (without Bilal on 3oud), or Bilal Irshed's page on when he plays. I recommend Fatma Zidan Group as much as Middle East Peace Orchestra - Fatma is my former teacher in Arabic singing.

The Danish House in Palestine

I recieved a tip today from a dear friend about the Danish House in Palestine - dhip.dk. I didn't know about it before, but apparently it's also quite new. It's an organization, now with office in Ramallah, aiming to make dialogue between Danes and Palestinians on all levels and in all fields. So far they've had projects for mechanics and chefs - and plan something for inspiring orphans. And they look for volunteers of all kinds for different projeects, and they aim to be as broad as possible - so maybe they also something cultural/ artistic for me.
I definitely have to pay them a visit!