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on May 7
harvey stein
Posted project update #11May 2012 update from Jerusalem
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on March 15
harvey stein
commented on a project updatePlease RSVP to Brad @ rothschildb@gmail.com. Looking forward to seeing you there!
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on March 15
harvey stein
Posted project update #10Come to our Special Event in New York City in 2 Weeks!
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on December 25
harvey stein
Posted project update #9HAPPY HOLIDAYS FROM THE HOLY LAND
Post CommentHappy Holidays to everyone!
It doesn't hurt one more time to thank everyone for your interest and support in "A Third Way" - thanks in part to our Kickstarter funds, we are continuing with new shoots and new editing. The organic garden project of Ziad and Nahum is progressing - it now has a name, in Hebrew, "Sdot HaShamaim" (Fields of Heaven). The land (on the edge of the Palestinian village of Husan) has been identified, and we did an initial shoot there - breathtaking series of springs in a little valley, moss dripping into pools of water, and some green, green fields already cultivated by Palestinian residents of Husan. If all goes well, the first seeds will be planted - in the special plot there where Palestinians and Israeli settlers will grow vegetables together - later this week.
We will continue to stay in touch via Kickstarter over the next few months, and assuming all goes on schedule, we will be collecting your contact info to send out rewards starting in the Spring (when the vegetables will be really ready to be put into salads!)
All best from Jerusalem,Harvey Stein
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on December 2Funded!
A Third Way - Israeli Settlers and Palestinians as Neighbors by harvey stein
A documentary on courageous West Bank Palestinians and Israeli settlers who are getting to know the strangers who are their neighbors.
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109% funded $7,640 pledged
- 108 backers
- Funded Dec 02, 2011
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on November 28
harvey stein
Posted project update #8Big WOW - we've reached our goal!
Ladies and gents - as you can see, we've reached our fundraising goal--3 days ahead of schedule. There's something very sweet about knowing that 100+ folks believe in our story, and are waiting to see it finished - thanks to all! So please keep spreading the word (and the link: http://kck.st/rcFnn9 ) if you can. There's still 3 days to contribute - "icing on the cake" as it were. Everything above our goal we're committing to our "outreach fund"--to make sure our movie is seen by local community-based audiences in Israel/Palestine and elsewhere. We'll definitely stay in touch, to get the appropriate contact info for you to receive your gift, and to continue to keep you updated on progress towards finishing "A Third Way," and on screenings in your area. All the best on a cool night in Jerusalem, Harvey
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on November 24, 2011
harvey stein
Posted project update #7Just another surreal day in the Holy Land
Post CommentHi to All,
We are in the home stretch with our Kickstarter fundraising! We need everyone's help now to reach our goal, with 8 days left. Now's the time, if you've contributed, to consider raising your pledge a bit. To do that:
Visit the project page and click “Manage Your Pledge.” Enter a new amount in the pledge amount box. Note that you are not adding to your existing pledge; the amount you enter will be the total amount collected if the project is successfully funded.
Another big help is to contact a few of your friends who you think might be interested in "A Third Way", and might consider becoming a supporter. Send them our Kickstarter link (http://kck.st/rcFnn9), and tell them to watch the two clips there. Tell them that they can make a crucial difference to our Project in the next 8 days (and get a free gift besides).
We had a beautiful, slightly surreal shoot a couple days ago. Nahum and his Eretz Shalom organization invited several members of the American Consulate to come with a small group of settlers and Palestinians, and witness their friendships and cooperation. We had a certified convoy, including several black vans (with certified Men in Black inside). We visited Shimon, another settler, who lives in the settlement of Tekoa. Shimon's brother was killed while driving on a highway 2 months ago - by a stone thrown through his front wind shield by Palestinian teens.
Shimon hosted the whole group, telling us that he simply wants the world to know that his family tragedy is a reason to reach out to his Palestinian neighbors more, not less. He said he wants to live in peace, and is happy being a citizen of a future Palestinian state. In any case, he said, "We belong to the land, the land doesn't belong to us."
Please help us continue following incredibly humble, courageous humans like Shimon (who will probably become involved with the Organic Garden of Eden Project of Ziad and Nahum we profiled in the last Update).
8 days left! Please help us reach our Kickstarter goal!
Big big thanks on a sunny morning in Jerusalem,
Harvey Stein
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on November 17, 2011
harvey stein
Posted project update #6An Organic Garden of Eden??
Post CommentWhy does one person go through suffering and turn bitter, and another decide there must be a new way? Yesterday we had a truly inspired meeting with Nahum, Ziad, and several other settlers. Ziad and Nahum have been friends for several years (Ziad’s Palestinian town is about 5 kms north of Nahum’s settlement).
They have both had a vision for what they called yesterday “The House of Ibrahim/Avraham”. It’s sort of a Settler/Palestinian community and education center, surrounded by an organic farm and possibly other small businesses. It’s a shining example of what is possible if people dream of alternatives.
Ziad first told us his story of suffering due to the Occupation – over 1000 acres of family land taken in 1982, when Israel decided to start the settlement of Beitar Illit next to Ziad’s town; a brother “lost to the Israelis” (he didn’t elaborate); how he was in Israeli prison for 5 years during the First Intifada. But he said he realized in prison that violence and revenge just create more violence, more revenge.
The only alternative is to dream of a new way: a place where Israeli settlers and Palestinians can work, play, and learn together. Ziad mentioned music as part of this dream – he told us one of his friends had learned "Hatikva" on his oud (we're definitely going to get THAT one on tape in the future!) Ziad said that whatever the eventual political arrangements, it won’t last if neighbors aren’t friends.
Ziad and Nahum have just gotten their first round of funding for Step One – beginning a small organic garden, jointly staffed by Israelis and Palestinians. They both laughed and agreed - a happy woman at home is the core of peace. And what this means is adequate money coming in the home for the family – without that, it’s JUST dreams.We want “A Third Way” to document this amazing story, and to help get recognition, and maybe even more funding, for their House of Ibrahim/Avraham.
Next week, Ziad agreed to take us all to the land another Palestinian friend has agreed to donate for the garden, and to show us the beautiful spring that is only a couple minutes away from this land.
WE ARE ON OUR WAY TO ACHIEVING OUR KICKSTARTER FUNDRAISING GOAL. Thanks to everyone so far – but don't forget that Kickstarter is “all or nothing” – and we only have 15 days left. To help us continue shooting and editing, please consider contributing if you haven’t. And if you have, why not add a bit to your original pledge? And please help contribute to the “buzz” – send 10-15 of your friends an email with our Kickstarter link, and convince them to get on the boat – to arrive at our dream come true – a movie that can be shown around the world, about Ziad, Nahum and their courageous friends here on the ground in the Holy Land.
Toda-shukran-thanks!
-Harvey Stein
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on November 11, 2011
harvey stein
Posted project update #5Nahum's vision of an organic garden
Post CommentWe’re continuing to edit material of one of our main characters, Nahum Pachenik – who was born in the settlement of Kiryat Arba (and so has lived all his life in the West Bank).
In our first long interview, Nahum told me about his great-grandfather (and namesake), the Chasidic rabbi of 8 towns in the Volyn region of the Ukraine (near the city of Chernobyl). In 1942, 2 days before the advancing Nazis’ arrival, associates of Rabbi Nahum tried convincing him to escape to the forest. But he wouldn’t leave his people, and several days later, several thousand Jews were forced to dig pits in the forest, and then were all shot standing above the pits.
Nahum told me that a few years ago, he started to realize that “to feel a victim is a choice. I don’t feel a victim of the Holocaust, and I have responsibiity to be a good neighbor. “ Nahum co-founded the non-profit settler/Palestinian group Eretz Shalom (“Land of Peace”). Recently they’re getting several projects off the ground, including a joint organic garden, in a Palestinian village, staffed by both settlers and Palestinians. They will raise the vegetables together, hold workshops on organic gardening techniques, and then sell the veggies for income. We are excited to film the progress of this project in “A Third Way”! They might even start a Kickstarter page for the garden soon – so keep on the lookout.
WE ARE STRUGGLING TO REACH OUR KICKSTARTER GOAL - (which you probably know, is “all or nothing”). Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far. We still have a long way to reach our goal - if you haven’t contributed yet, now’s the time (we have to reach our goal by about 3 weeks from now). If you’ve contributed, please consider raising your contribution amount. And finally – please consider notifying 10-15 of your buddies about our project, and direct them to the Kickstarter page. “It takes a village to make an independent movie”!
Big big thanks on a Friday afternoon in Jerusalem,
Harvey
Recent stills of Nahum below, from “A Third Way”:
- Nahum, his daughter, and a Palestinian friend.
- Nahum telling me the story of his great-grandfather.
- On the left, Rabbi Nahum (in Volyn, Ukraine), 1938.
- Nahum, outside his settlement outpost home. Behind him, close by, a Palestinian grape field.
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on November 2, 2011
harvey stein
Posted project update #4A new article in the Atlantic!
Post CommentDear Kickstarters,
The last week or so we've been humbled by the generosity of many new supporters! We will try to thank everyone individually, but for now big thanks to everyone for believing in "A Third Way". The synergy is happening, and just today, we got a really nice article (and trailer) in The Atlantic:
At the same time, don't forget that Kickstarter is a "do or die" funding platform. We're now halfway into our 60 day period in which we must reach our $7000 goal. As I feel the pressure breathing down my neck, I keep telling myself it's the GOOD kind, that keeps me working hard on this "crowdfunding" endeavor. I want to ask all of you: please consider contacting 10-15 of your friends who you think would appreciate learning about "A Third Way", and possibly becoming supporters also.
We've been editing some of the tapes we've shot of Nahum Pachenik, who was born in the settlement of Kiryat Arba (and so has lived all his life in the West Bank). Nahum's great-grandfather was killed in the Holocaust, but he told me that "To feel like a victim is a choice. I choose instead to be good neighbors with everyone around me". More on Nahum in the next update. I'm putting in a still at the bottom: Nahum, his daughter, and a Palestinian friend.
We're all in this together, and I look forward to meeting many of you at our future screenings. Thanks in advance for going the extra mile, and helping tell the story of courageous individuals living in a place that may someday fully live up to its name: the Holy Land.
Salaam-shalom from Jerusalem,
Harvey Stein
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harvey stein
Jerusalem, NY
HARVEY STEIN (director/co-producer) Stein emigrated to Israel from New York in 2006 (“for romance”). Previously, his short films (both doc and fiction) appeared in film festivals internationally. Most of his films focus on social/political issues, an... view more
Please RSVP to Brad @ rothschildb@gmail.com. Looking forward to seeing you there!