I just got out of an inspiring Jewish Voice for Peace membership meeting in Philadelphia, and I’ll have more to say later, but some of the themes voiced by JVP leaders are impatience at the fact that the Palestinian story can still only be heard in the U.S. if mediated by Jews– but along with that a readiness to use Jewish privilege on behalf of justice in the Middle East. Oh and one other giant theme: Things are changing in the U.S. and changing at a rapid pace. Everywhere I went at the conference, I heard optimism about the way the weather is changing, joyous feelings about Americans opening their eyes.

All these themes are evident in a wonderful piece by Harvey Weinstein, the producer, and Julian Schnabel, the director, at Daily Beast today about the movie Miral, which I believe opens tomorrow at the United Nations. It’s great that powerhouse Weinstein is embracing the film and the fight around Schnabel’s film– he says they won on the appeal of the film’s initial R-rating. It is also great that these two men are stressing the Jewish identity/privilege issues around the making of the film, and in naming these issues, using their Jewishness to try and end the racism in American culture. But listen to them: