Richard Gere came to visit the Middle East a few years ago and attracted more attention than most politicians. Both Israelis and Palestinians flocked to every location he stopped at, eating up everything he said.
To his credit, Mr. Gere was careful to say that he was coming to listen rather than to make statements. He listened to everyone, including Hamas and Islamic Jihad supporters as well as Jewish settlers. He has come a few times to Palestine and Israel, and continues to try and see what he can do.
I was asked to take Richard Gere to Ramallah on his first visit to Palestine. On the day he arrived in Jerusalem, the Israelis placed the city of Ramallah under a 24-hour curfew, and the body guards with him told him to stay away. He asked my opinion and I said it would be ok to go so long as the Israeli body guards stayed away. Richard agreed and went with me; he was warmly welcomed in Ramallah, especially because he had the courage to stay on course despite the danger of the city being under curfew. This opened up opportunities for him to talk to Palestinians and provided many with a strong emotional uplift.
There is no doubt that celebrities can have much more power and influence than politicians, if they want to use this power to make good and to influence people towards support for peace and justice.
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