After Tony and Kofi fail, Brad and Jennifer try Mid-East diplomacy (This is not from The Onion)

UK Telegraph ^ | 10/26/03 | Inigo Gilmore

[veronica]

Bill Clinton failed, Tony Blair drew a blank and Kofi Annan made little progress. But now a team of Hollywood film stars is about to visit the Middle East on a private peace mission, in the belief that their charms will work magic on the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Brad Pitt, his wife, Jennifer Aniston, and Danny DeVito are among the stars who aim to succeed where world statesmen have stumbled.

Jennifer Aniston and Brad Pitt "The past few years of conflict mean that yet another generation of Israelis and Palestinians will grow up in hatred," reads a statement from Pitt and Aniston. "We cannot allow that to happen."

Quite how they intend to stop it is not entirely clear. The logic behind their mission, planned to take place before the end of the year, is not especially sophisticated.

Pitt and Aniston believe that most people in the region want a negotiated settlement with an end to violence, and imagine that by appealing directly to "ordinary folk", they can bring the warring parties together.

In a region suffering from peace initiative fatigue, however, Israelis and Palestinians have greeted news of the Hollywood initiative with bemusement and incredulity.

For some, the prospect of DeVito sitting down to talk peace with Hamas militants over a cup of sweet tea, or Pitt breaking bread at a sabbath dinner with hardline Jewish settlers, is preposterous.

Oz Almog, an Israeli sociologist, said: "Following Arnold Schwarzenegger's election as governor in California, it seems we are now joining the Hollywood revolution.

"From time to time, some celebrities think that they might help, and the media amplifies their mission. But this is an incredibly complex situation and I am afraid they are naive.

"Many Palestinians do not even have television sets. What is more, for the past three years here no one has listened to anyone, so what makes these people think they will listen to Danny DeVito?"

The stars are among a group of actors, directors and writers who have signed up to the £4 million peace initiative called One Voice, launched by Daniel Lubetzky, an American-Jewish businessman.

They were persuaded to back the cause after Rhea Perlmann, who starred in Cheers and is married to DeVito, hosted a reception for Mr Lubetzky at their home in Los Angeles that was attended by more than 100 guests.

Other Hollywood figures backing the project include Pitt's co-star in Fight Club, Edward Norton, and Jason Alexander, a star of Seinfeld and Pretty Woman.

Mr Lubetzky plans to distribute computer terminals to community centres, schools and offices in both Israeli and Palestinian areas for use in an informal "referendum".

The actors will urge people to make their views known on the important sticking points that have thwarted peace negotiations, including the future of Jerusalem, national borders, the status of Palestinian refugees and access to disputed water supplies.

The organisers admit that none of the actors has any experience of the Middle East or of conflict resolution, but argue that this may be a good thing as they will be considered non-partisan.

Mohammed Darawse, the Palestinian regional co-ordinator of the project, is convinced that they can make a difference. "They asked intelligent questions when we met them and they clearly know the big picture," he said.

[mewzilla]

Delusions of grandeur much?

[chicagolady]

I can see it now!
Jennifer is gonna ask them if they can stop fighting and just be "Friends"

[mrfixit514]

I shouldn't get my hopes up... but maybe they won't come back. What a bunch of idiots that are out of touch with reality.

[chicagolady]

NO! Just useful Idiots!

[Miss Marple]

This is too funny. Delusions of grandeur, indeed.

More likely they will end up as targets or hostages. And it will all be Bush's fault.

[sirchtruth]

Mohammed Darawse, the Palestinian regional co-ordinator of the project, is convinced that they can make a difference. "They asked intelligent questions when we met them and they clearly know the big picture," he said.

We all know the big pic. God gave promised the land to the Israelites. Get your wild gluteus maximuses out!

[TomGuy]

The trouble with the hollow-wood crowd is that they have too many dollars and not enough sense.

They work in a make-believe world of scripts and they come to think that is the real world.

[mewzilla]

LOL, these folks make Narcissus look like a piker.

[Dutch Boy]

The people's wants mean nothing to Arafat. There is no amount of populist pressure, money, or appeasement that will solve this problem. The problem is Arafat. He has turned down every offer. He continues to keep his people in near unbearable poverty. He is a terrorist plain and simple. There will be no peace as long as he is in the picture.

[Northern Yankee]

What is it about the Hollywood crowd that thinks people in the Mideast care what they have to say?

The point is that the Palestinians want to kill the Jews, and then take back Israel.

These self absorbed people of Hollywood think they can solve a struggle that has gone on for thousands of years is truly laughable.

I understand you still work for peace, but I just don't think anyone along the Gaza strip gives a damn what Brad Pitt thinks... or whether he thinks at all.

[Ronin]

Let's send Babs. She can threaten to sing if they don't stop fighting.

[Savage Beast]

I know it's not saying much, but frankly I have a lot more confidence in Brad, Jennifer, and Danny DeVito than I do in such "world statesmen" as Kofi Annan and Bill Clinton...

[AF68]

"Delusions of grandeur much?"

Hollywood wierdos have way too much time on their hands and a wide selection of illicit sustances from which to choose. Pitt is merely having profound revelations when he's stoned. Unfortunately, he has the money to act out his drug-induced delusions.

[veronica]

I can just see Jen in her $500 cargo pants, Prada bag, and Armani tee-shirt, mixing it up with Arafat. And Brad, with his $1000 sunglasses, (he collects expensive sunglasses) pleading with the Israelis to just give peace a chance.

Notice in the article, it is the Palestinian talking points that are deemed necessary to address.

These people's egos are so inflated. But Israelis are famous for their bluntness, and I certainly hope they let these limousine liberal Hollywood naifs have it. :)

[ErnBatavia]

"The past few years of conflict mean that yet another generation of Israelis and Palestinians will grow up in hatred," reads a statement from Pitt and Aniston. "We cannot allow that to happen."

What egotistical people!

[LurkedLongEnough]

Mr Lubetzky plans to distribute computer terminals to community centres, schools and offices in both Israeli and Palestinian areas for use in an informal "referendum".

Why didn't we think of this before, it should really work! Is Lubetzky the Dell guy or something?

[Amelia]

"From time to time, some celebrities think that they might help, and the media amplifies their mission. But this is an incredibly complex situation and I am afraid they are naive...." [snip] The organisers admit that none of the actors has any experience of the Middle East or of conflict resolution, but argue that this may be a good thing as they will be considered non-partisan.

Too funny.

[Piranha]

I agree.

These people may know nothing about the Middle East, and probably people in the Middle East care nothing about them.

In this country, though, they are opinion leaders (sorry, folks, that's just objective reality). If they go, and then discover that the palestinian arabs aren't trying to make peace, they can have an effect on popular opinion in the US.

These are people without a track record of being anti-Bush or anti-Israel or pro-palestinian arab, as far as I know. None of these people has been an Ed Asner-type political Hollywoodenhead.

The risk, of course, is that they are swayed by Arafat's words and don't have the sophistication to look behind them to the actions that he has taken up to this point.

[Petronski]

I can picture the palies debating whether these fools are well known enough to exploit for propaganda, or whether they should just be liquidated while still in their landrovers.