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Peaceful Journey to Palestine

Dear reader,

I am writing this blog because of my journey to Israel/Palestine from 13th of july till the 6th of August.

After a short stay in Israel, i will visit the West Bank. There I will work with a local violin maker for a week, Shehada Shalalda. We are planning on making a violin from scratch, a white violin. This is a violin without varnish, and we will donate the violin to the local music school, Al Kamandjati.

This will be an opportunity for both myself as a beginning violin maker, as well as Shehada. Because there will be an interesting cultural exchange.

During my journey i plan to write a blog, to share insights on the situation in Israel and occupied Palestine. In this way i want to give new light and understanding for those who are interested what is going on in the middle east.

After that I will sing with the Al kamandjati choir and orchestra, we will rehearse Beethoven's' 9th symphony and the Palestinian national anthem. This is quite a sensitive situation, as many of you know, because nationalism from both the Israelian and Palestinian side are causing so many human casualties.

I will try to be as objective as i can during my stay, and I hope to share some light and enjoy making new friends from both sides of the conflict!

Yours,

Simon van den Berg
Musician & violin maker

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