“Who Are These Children?!”
I was asked this question by an Israeli woman sitting on the beach at Acco. “I see they are Jewish, Arab, black, white and all colors,” she said. “I was just wondering who they are and what they are doing here.” I explained about the Galilee Circus and the St. Louis Arches. I told her how our Peace Through Pyramids partnership had been ongoing since 2007.
She was thrilled. “This is great! This is wonderful!” She just kept smiling and shaking her head and watching 27 young people aged 10-23 just having fun at the beach together. She wasn’t in awe of their acrobatic prowess (they hadn’t yet started the tumbling and acrobatics you can see in the Acco Beach album at www.Facebook.com/circusharmony). She wasn’t amazed by their juggling abilities (they weren’t even playing Frisbee, yet). She was simply wowed by the fact that they were together.
I was happy she had noticed them. I was (and am) so proud of all of them. Yet, really, it is so sad that this sight of young people from different backgrounds just being together is so odd that strangers notice and comment on it. Bombs are falling in Israel. At the same time, there is a group of children who are flying above it all. In Israel. Today, they went to the beach. A group of friends went to the beach. No one should notice.