At a glittering gala the other night for Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), with 500 guests mingling under the stars at Haim Saban’s house listening to famous rockers, I reflected on the name of the organization.
Of course, any group with the word “peace” in its name can do no wrong. Indeed, on its home page, CCFP bills itself as a non-profit comprised of prominent members of the entertainment industry “dedicated to promoting the arts as a bridge to peace.”
Peace has always been the ultimate goal of conflict resolution. When we dream, we dream of peace. If you love life, you love peace. If you have peace, you can love life.
The enemy of peace is hate. In recent years, the special hate reserved for Israel has been a terrible enemy of peace. It has led to ugly boycotts of artists who try to perform in Israel. These boycotts kill peace.
And yet, for all my love of peace, what struck me at the gala the other night was not peace but something deeper. As I mingled through the crowd with a friend, we were immersed in human connection— in people engaging with one another.
At every CCFP event I’ve attended, this sense of human connection has stood out. The events are never static. You’re on the move meeting people and creating connections.
Given that CCFP has a serious mission to “educate about rising antisemitism” and “galvanize support against the cultural boycott of Israel,” where does this notion of human connections come in and how does it relate to peace?
As I see it, creating human connections is the ideal road to peace.
What CCFP creates, above all, are human connections.
When it supports artists who perform in Israel, it is creating connections.
When it gathers people from the entertainment industry to hear about its cause, it is creating connections.
When it steers clear of politics and focuses on the human power of art to bring people together, it is creating connections.
Creating connections is the action that helps “educate” and “galvanize support.” If peace is the dream, creating connections is the act that gives hope to that dream.
Sometimes, the most creative act of a creative community is to gather people under the stars and enable the magic of human connection.
That connection is what I felt the other night.
