Larry David isn't generally known as a peace maker, but an episode of his show, "Curb Your Enthusiasm," could just help solve one of the most intractable issues in global politics.
"I recently sent a copy of 'Palestinian Chicken,' that Larry David gave me, to [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu -- with the suggestion that he invite [Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud] Abbas over to watch it together," famed law professor and Israel policy expert Alan Dershowitz recently told the Columbia Current. "And maybe if they both get a good laugh, they can begin a negotiating process."
In the episode, which aired last season, David and his friends begin to eat at a Palestinian chicken restaurant called Al-Abbas, despite a seeming conflict between their Judaism and the owners' allegiance to their home country, which is made clear by posters on the restaurant's walls. They soon find themselves divided with the rest of the local Jewish community, which is up in arms over the restaurant's plans to expand to a new location, next to a Jewish deli. David is unmoved -- especially once he starts sleeping with one of the restaurant's proprietors.
The episode in many ways took aim at the "Ground Zero Mosque" controversy in New York City, as well as poked fun at strife between the two groups in general.
"I know that Netanyahu has received the DVD, and he was looking forward to watching it," Dershowitz continued. "So it may be that Larry David will not only win Emmys, but he may even qualify for the Nobel Peace Prize, if his episode could bring together Netanyahu and Abbas, and bring Abbas to the negotiating table."
As Larry says in the show, if they sent the chicken to Israel, the Israelis would "take down all the settlements immediately," and find a peaceful solution to the conflict in the region.
For more, click over to the Columbia Current.