In a tour-de-force performance, writer-actor Aaron Davidman conjures a host of different characters while seeking answers to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in "Wrestling Jerusalem," a film adaptation of his one-man show. The film screens Oct. 24 at 7 pm at Cinemapolis in Ithaca and will be followed by a panel discussion with political scientist Miram Elman and Women Wage Peace organizer Inbal Shlosberg.

In the film, Davidman takes a multidimensional journey into the heart of the Middle East and the intersection of politics, identity and spiritual yearning. He embodies and gives voice to 17 different characters on all sides of the existential divide–deftly moving between male and female, Jewish and Muslim, Israeli and Arab–modeling what it takes truly to bear witness through the eyes of the other. Challenging long-held beliefs with sharp and unblinking observation, Davidman finds both entrenched isolation and shared humanity in the shifting moral compasses and competing narratives of all his characters.

"We're fortunate to have two excellent panelists who will be able to answer questions and shape a meaningful discussion about the issues raised in the film," says event organizer Phil Donovan. "I'm excited to bring this important film to Ithaca: even those who saw the stage version at the Hangar Theatre will find new insights in the cinematic version."

Elman is associate professor of political science and the Robert D. McClure Professor of Teaching Excellence at Syracuse University's Maxwell School. She is also research director of the Program for the Advancement of Research on Conflict and Collaboration and co-editor of "Jerusalem: Conflict and Cooperation in a Contested City" and "Democracy and Conflict Resolution: The Dilemmas of Israel's Peacemaking."

Shlosberg is an organizer of Women Wage Peace and an Israeli social worker, who has worked extensively with the Bedouin in the Negev. Women Wage Peace is a broad-based grassroots movement founded after the Gaza-Israel War of 2014 and counts among its thousands of members women from the political right, center, and left, Jewish and Arab women, religious and secular women – united in the demand for a political agreement to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

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