Jen Marlowe on her play, There is a Field, the life and death of Palestinian Aseel Asleh in context

Talk Nation Radio for August 26, 2010
A Call to Theatrical Action from Jen Marlowe



Jen Marlowe on her play, There is a Field, the life and death of Palestinian Aseel Asleh in context

Produced by Dori Smith, Storrs, CT
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www.donkeysaddle.org For information on how to do a dramatic reading or performance of the play, There is a Field.

Jen Marlowe is an award winning filmmaker, human rights activist, author and playwright. We talk about her new play, 'There is a Field' as she organizes simultaneous readings throughout the month of October. It is to mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Israeli Palestinian, Aseel Asleh, a peace activist.

Aseel Asleh was 17-years-old. He was shot to death by Israeli security forces in 2000. Jen Marlowe tells his story, talks about his writing, the words and stories of his family and friends, and explains the historical meaning of his life.

The Israeli security forces ran at Aseel Asleh, charged him, as he stood watching a peaceful demonstration. He ran and they chased him into an olive grove. As his friends and horrified parents watched the Israeli security agents hit him with a rifle butt knocking him to the ground. He fell out of sight and then they all heard the shot… “You can come and get him now” an Israeli said to Asleh’s parents. The evidence points to an execution style shooting of a young man who dreamed of peace, not war, and friendships, not hatreds.

Jen Marlowe explains how she has developed her play to tell the story of one individual who lost his life as a way to help people understand the broader crisis facing Palestinians inside Israel. Jen Marlowe has was a friend to Aseel Asleh and remains close to his family.

Underwriting for this program was brought to you by JeremyRHammond.com, political analysis from outside the standard framework. He is founder and editor of ForeignPolicyJournal.com and a recipient of the Project Censored 2010 Award. “New at JeremyRHammond.com, the piece, ‘Turning Back From the Point of No Return: Implications of the Threat to Bomb Iran.’ He wrote it to counter the public narrative arguing that an air strike on Iran might be necessary in order to prevent a nuclear holocaust.” An Atlantic Magazine article by Goldberg indicates that an Iran attack might be necessary to 'prevent'a nuclear holocaust.