Art

"Lofty notions of the peaceful power of hip-hop were met with the cold reality of life in a war zone." 

You could replace the words [hip-hop] in this quote from the article about Channels of Rage with anything, really. Give it a try: art, dance, music in general, storytelling, food, multicultural understanding. There have been countless attempts at bridging the gap between disparate groups, namely the Israelis and the Palestinians, and nothing so far has stuck (seeds of peace, peace oil, standup for peace, etc…). People have been left reeling over the decades, frustrated at their inability to line up the interests, beliefs, hopes, and values of Israelis and Palestinians.

One of my favorite artists is Idan Raichel, an Israeli Jew who started "The Idan Raichel" project in order to use music as a bridge across the borders that exist between cultures, religions, and races. The Idan Raichel Project's website reports that "since the release of their first international album on Cumbancha in the fall 2006 The Idan Raichel Project has become a global ambassador representing a hopeful world in which artistic collaboration breaks down barriers between people of different backgrounds and beliefs….To date over 95 different singers aged 16 to 91 years old from dozens of different countries and cultural backgrounds have participated in the Project’s recordings or performances."

However, this project has been criticized from distracting from/ignoring the problem of the Occupation.

I have participated in such projects mentioned above that hope to nurture friendship between Israelis and Palestinians (I worked with youth during two summers as a part of the Nesiya program and another independent high school program in Ramallah). We focused on discussion, games, storytelling, making art together, sharing each other's food and other cultural traditions. When these programs came to a close we felt very close with everyone who was involved, but I am not sure of the effect they had on each individual's opinions on the other group as a whole.

How does one work through and abandon years and years (generations, even) of learned prejudices against another group? It seems that experience--positive interaction over a long period of time--would be the only true way, because then people would really understand (not just superficially acknowledge) that people are people and that every person deserves equal respect and every privilege that comes along with that respect. 

This post displays, I'm sure, how completely lost and confused I am about this conflict. How can we solve this? 
Can we solve this? 
Is this a natural symptom of human difference?
What more can be done?