A Land Twice Promised: Testimonials
“The stunning result of Baum’s work is not a competition of narratives, but a consolidation of them. Or to use a musical metaphor, her alternating of Jewish and Arab stories created a point/counterpoint that feels more like a richly dissonant piece of music than a political debate. Read full review (PDF)Daniel Schifrin, The Jewish Week, New York
“Noa uses her personal experience, her exceptional talent and her nationality to convey the intense politics of diversity, while keeping us connected to our hearts and humanity: she confirms through her work on the complexities of culture and identity, that the political is very personal.
Julie Oyegun, Director, World Bank Group Diversity Programs
“You have a beautiful way of conveying difficult realities and helping people to hear and empathize with the “other”. The way you gave voice to the different characters in your story was just brilliant.
Rabbi Brian Walt, Rabbis for Human Rights – North America
“Noa Baum mesmerized a theater full of some of the harshest critics I know, teenagers from conflict areas of the world. And, it was mid-morning, the time parents and educators know is more likely to produce somnolence than attentiveness. As she paused to change back and forth between her Jewish Israeli mother and herself, her Palestinian friend and her friend’s mother, the air was filled with anticipation. The accents alone were remarkable. She put her heart and soul into every utterance. The piece is rich with meaning, descriptions and humor. And, all of it is true. The second it was over, more than two hundred teenagers jumped to their feet to applaud Noa’s work. You don’t see that happening every day.
Bobbie Gottschalk, Executive Vice President, Seeds of Peace
“Your performance was a turning point in our community for engagement between the Jewish and Muslim communities. Since then, various groupings of us have collaborated in different settings: panel discussions, a lecture series at the university, and an annual concert called COEXIST. Thank you for being a catalyst.
Dr. Judy Klein, Brit Tzedek V’ Shalom, Indiana
“I recently saw a one-woman show about the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, which artfully illustrated that the issues dividing the two peoples today are rooted in their respective views of yesterday. Israeli storyteller and actor Noa Baum portrays characters from both sides of the national divide who describe the same events in utterly different ways. The viewer shifts back and forth from sympathy for the Israelis, and then for the Palestinians, and ultimately for both. The show is decidedly political without being biased… I saw the show in an audience that included Israelis and Palestinians. Representatives of both groups joined a discussion with Ms. Baum after the program and each side felt she had done their side justice, although each would have preferred a tad more of a tilt their way.
M.J. Rosenberg, Israeli Policy Forum
“The performance generated an intense discussion in which it was evident that many people found themselves questioning their own assumptions and stereotypes. This work is one of the few examples I can think of where I have seen people genuinely willing to consider the situation from the perspective of the other and re-examine their assumptions about the history of the Middle East conflict.
Rachel Biale, Director of Community Education, Osher Marin JCC, San Rafael, CA