SYNOPSIS

Set in the foothills of Jerusalem in 1947, the play follows a family of Jewish refugees from Europe, after the destruction of World War II.

Amir, the unofficial leader of the small Palestinian village of Bayt Jiz, welcomes Melke, the patriarch of the arriving Jewish family, and they become fast friends.  Amir invites Melke into his home, teaches him the intricacies of growing olives and assures him that things will not be the same for him and his family here, as they were up in the northern lands.

The world is changing, however.  Amir's nephew Mahmud discovers Herb Gordon, a famous American new used car dealer, and takes his name and assures that he will bring motorcars to the ancient land.  Unbeknownst to him, Melke's son Moritz, recently arrived from Switzerland, has discovered the same thing -- and has, as well, changed his name to Herb Gordon.  When they meet, they both declare that the land is not big enough for two Herb Gordons.

Moritz falls in love with Mahmud's sister.  The two Herb Gordons argue.  The cold winds of history blow, but Amir -- a Sufi mystic -- assures that history can be changed, or at the very least ignored.  Melke and his friendship grows stronger and deeper.  

But the winds of history cannot be staid.

Inspiration

Oud Player on the Tel grows out of more than two decades of Tom Block’s work at the forefront of the Palestinian-Israeli peace movement.  He published Shalom/Salaam: A Story of a Mystical Fraternity (exploring the Islamic mystical influence on Jewish spirituality) in the USA and Turkey in 2010. He published a Jewish-Sufi quest novel which grew out of this research, The Fool Returns. He was one of two invited Jewish thinkers at the only interfaith conference ever held by al-Azhar University, Cairo). He gave talks at mosques, synagogues, universities and  conferences around North America and Europe. And his Shalom/Salaam work was covered in newspapers and magazines dozens of times. See Tom's Bibliography for more information.

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