Children of the Stone, The Power of Music in a Hard Land, by Sandy Tolan, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2015
By Sheila Orysiek
SAN DIEGO — In a “Note to Readers” the author states that the events and facts presented in the book have been extensively sourced, checked and, to the extent possible, verified. However, Tolan also states that he was not present and there were no journalists or other witnesses at many events and he is relying on interviews and “reflections” of others. He also says that “readers should not expect the traditional journalistic approach – that is, the parallel narratives of Palestinians and Israelis.” Thus, the explicit intent of the author is to present the story through the eyes of one side only.
In 1988, when Ramzi Hussein Aburedwan was 8 years old, he was photographed throwing rocks at (unseen in the picture) Israeli soldiers. The author describes this as the quintessential David versus Goliath. The reasons as to why Palestinian children throw stones at Israeli soldiers are presented throughout the book in great detail, all seen through the eyes of one side. But surely an 8 year old cannot be aware of the entire history of the conflict so someone has encouraged him to do this. However, why a society would allow and even encourage its children in such dangerous behavior is largely ignored. Also ignored is that “Goliath” is in truth one of the smallest countries in the world, its existence constantly questioned and threatened and the only country with a Jewish majority.
Against this sad history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, which constantly erupts into the foreground, Tolan relates how Ramzi was given an opportunity to explore the world of classical music and to take up the study of the viola. No matter which side of the divide one tends to believe and/or support, the study of music is surely a wonderful thing. Ramzi’s journey from the towns and villages of the West Bank to Europe in pursuit of his musical studies is interesting and a wonderful positive in a sea of negatives.
He wins financial support and is accepted into schools in Europe. The dream of playing in an orchestra is fulfilled and gives birth to his next dream which is to introduce music to the children of his native land. He makes many friends and contacts, such as Maestro Daniel Barenboim, and others who are sympathetic to his dream. Barenboim already has formed an adult orchestra and hopes that this will help to bridge the gap between the two peoples – Israelis and Palestinians; such as having them sit next to one another as they perform. Ramzi is invited to join the orchestra and Barenboim offers key support to the school.
Ramzi returns to his home town on the West Bank and to a large extent fulfills his dream. Many children are taught to play by teachers who come from Europe, and they perform all over the West Bank and other places. However, Ramzi’s mercurial temperament threatens to destroy the edifice he has built as his political views become increasingly militant and intransigent. He feels that his music school introduces “normalcy” into the lives of the children and he doesn’t want them to feel that their lives can be lived “normal.” In addition, the staff is threatened and the school is also attacked (set on fire) by the more radical elements of Islam who want no trace of European/western culture such as classical music or a music school or any activity in which boys and girls inhabit the same space.
As the story unfolds the reader is told in detail how the Palestinians are mistreated, herded about, homes destroyed, sniper targeted, homes raided at night, inconvenienced and humiliated at border checkpoints, etc. The author only occasionally – and then only tangentially – mentions why Israel makes their travel through checkpoints so difficult or why Israel is destroying a home. I don’t recall Tolan detailing the many Palestinian bombings and other mayhem purposely targeting Israel’s civilian population such as buses, schools, streets and markets. Though this fulfills the author’s statement of “readers should not expect the traditional journalistic approach – that is, the parallel narratives of Palestinians and Israelis.” – this lopsided approach makes for inaccurate and/or incomplete history and warps the reader’s understanding of the story.
There is another disturbing aspect to the picture Tolan presents – that of comparing casualties. He intimates that because the thousands of missiles hurled at Israel, which hugely disrupts the lives of Israelis, are often inaccurate, thus they are acceptable as compared to the very accurate armaments dropped by Israel. And, of course, Israel is blamed for any discrepancy in that accuracy. The subscript becomes that because fewer Israelis die (they have bomb shelters, etc) this is another example of Israel’s inherent unfairness. Only occasionally mentioned is the fact that a significant number of Palestinians are executed by other Palestinians without any kind of judicial proceeding if they are suspected of collaborating with Israel.
It is understandable that the author needs to set his story within the context in which it occurred, and that includes seeing it through the eyes of the principal characters. However, the background eventually overwhelms the foreground. This is true not only in the literary sense but also actually. Ramzi sets about tearing apart his own dream of a music school as he insists that others, even such eminent names such as Barenboim, adhere to his demands of focusing exclusively on the Palestinian issue. Eventually he cuts all ties with those who through the years benefited his school.
The book did succeed in fulfilling the author’s promise of not presenting “parallel narratives.” However, it was exactly that kind of one-eyed view that threatened the dream of a music school. It’s a pity, really.
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Orysiek is a freelance writer who specializes in arts and literature. Comments may be made in the space provided below this article or sent to the author at sheila.orysiek@sdjewishworld.com