Press Release: The River Has Two Banks

The politics of segregation has greatly hindered a collective understanding of shared realities and common histories across the east and west banks of the River Jordan. As individuals who are invested in the relationship between Palestine and Jordan, the historical trajectory of the two compels us to examine where we are now and how we can build new alliances to overcome the social, economic, and political challenges of the day. 

The river has two banks is an initiative addressing the growing distance between those living on both sides of the river by creating multiple occasions for discussions. The program unfolds  from  September to November 2012 across different locations in Amman, Ramallah, Birzeit, and the Jordan Valley, and culminating in a bilingual Arabic/English online publication. 

This series of connected events is made up of a artworks, film screenings, research projects, and traveling artist talks that explore different contemporary and historical aspects of Palestinian Jordanian identities and politics. 

The invited contributors unveil unexpected stories about leading figures, unappreciated heroes, and recovered audio-visual materials creating mutli-layered interpretations that bring into question dominant ideological narratives. 

The river has two banks examines the landscape that ultimately leads us to the river itself--both a symbol and a myth, but most importantly as it stands today--a diminishing natural resource that is accessible to very few of us.