Paradise Now had Tel Aviv viewers on the edge of their seats _ and some even found themselves empathizing with the two West Bank mechanics trying to attack their city.
Interesting. In fact while I was chatting with my Israeli friend, Lisa, last night, she was telling me how impressed she is and many viewers who saw the move, few nights ago. She wrote about that in her blog, I shamelessly quote part of that here:
After the screening at Tel Aviv's Cinematheque, the audience and the actors mingled outside on the steps. I was chatting with one of the actors who starred in the film when a couple of thirty something Tel Aviv’s joined us and I listened to the following exchange:
Israeli Jewish guy to actor: Wow, you were totally amazing. Are you from Nablus?
Arab Israeli actor: No, I'm Israeli.
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Israeli guy: No, but where are you from originally?
Arab Israeli actor: Here. I live in Tel Aviv.
Israeli guy: Wow. Well, listen, I can totally understand you. If I were a Palestinian from the territories I'd have become a suicide bomber for sure.
Arab Israeli actor, very cynically: Uh HUH...
I explode into cynical laughter and, indicating the Israeli Jewish guy, mutter to my friend, "Who is that idiot?
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I liked the movie too; I liked the characters. But I don’t understand the anecdote. If you don’t know someone, how do you know whether or not he would be a suicide bomber in a particular situation? I find it odd that this man’s remark was dismissed by someone who did not know him.
Anne, if you have seen the film then you must have understood that it is a humanistic statement *against* suicide bombings. The director’s ability to engage the audience and make them identify with the protagonists allows the viewer to understand and empathize with them, but that does not mean that he is encouraging us to condone suicide bombings. He is simply asking us to try to understand what motivates these young men.
The man I quoted in my post is, in fact, a vague acquaintance of mine. We “move in the same social circles”, which is easy because Tel Aviv is a small city. He is active in a marginal but extreme leftist political movement.
When I said “Who is that idiot?” I meant what kind of an idiot would:
a) so terribly misunderstand the film’s message;
b) be unable to comprehend that the actor was playing a role in a dramatic film, not making a political statement in a documentary;
c) define himself as a leftist – i.e., an Israeli Jew who is active on behalf of Palestinian rights – but be ignorant of the fact that there are Israeli Arabs who live in Tel Aviv and look, sound and dress just like him;
d)appear to condone the idea of a suicide bombing in his own country.
Over the past 5 years there were 9 suicide bombings in various locations within a few minutes’ walk of my apartment in Tel Aviv. I heard most of them as they occured. One of those bombings killed a friend of mine – a beautiful and talented young woman who was only 28 years old. Another friend of mine, a journalist who covered more than 40 suicide bombings on the scene, had to go into therapy in order to deal with his traumatic flashbacks and nightmares. You cannot imagine the horror of seeing a bombed cafe filled with bloody bits of bodies and hearing the endlessly ringing mobile phones of dead people unless you have experienced it. I’ve seen those things, so I know.
I advocate the creation of a Palestinian state and I oppose Israel’s presence in the West Bank. But anyone who lives in Tel Aviv and says that he advocates suicide bombings is an idiot. That means that he approves of seeing his friends and loved ones potentially killed while riding a bus, sitting in a cafe or shopping in the market.
None of my Palestinian friends in the West Bank, Gaza or Israel, is in favour of suicide bombings. None. I don’t hate the suicide bombers, but I do think that the people who convince young men and women to go blow themselves up and leave grieving parents are simply evil.
Well said, Lisa. But I need to ask, why is it so hard for Israelis to understand the reasons that pushed a suicide bomber to blow him self, while they never asked the same question to themselves. Why did the Israeli army kill innocents?
I have a problem with your left wing. While they show support to Palestinian case, they fail to tell the full picture.
Tell me, how many of you (Journalists in Israel) report on a suicide bomber killing innocents, and how many of you did report on war crimes by Israeli army (killing innocents too)? How many times do you (Journalist) tell what is the back ground of this explosion or that, and how many times did you forget to say “retaliation to suicide bomber or rocket strikes”, when reporting an Israeli army operation? In all cases, I guess it is not more than 1:10. Maybe only one out of ten times, you tell the complete story. Intentionally, or unintentionally.
That’s why I don’t blame your people, just like Americans who think that Islam means terrorism and Arab are all terrorists. See, the problem is in your media. Your media select to tell what works for them only, what justify their actions only, and because the opposite media is weak and poor, they can’t match you. They can’t reach your people. They don’t know the full story.
Let us take an example. Now we all know that Al Qaeda terrorist actions in Iraq. But, in between daily actions and counter reactions, give me one example, just one that says “legitimate resistance” against US occupation forces happened this day or that day. NONE. You will find nothing. Do you want to tell me that there is not legitimate resistance in Iraq? None? All are terrorists? Even those who just fight the occupation army? You can’t. But where are they in your media? They are lost. They are diluted so no one can recognize them, so they get no support.
This is the game. Media. You control the media, you win!
Haitham, you know that I have written many posts that criticize how the media – Israeli, Western *and* Palestinian – report on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It is no secret that there is a lot of agenda-driven, biased reporting about this region.
Sometimes the news is reported selectively in order to draw readers (sensationalistism); sometimes journalists do not give the whole picture because they are simply ignorant or lazy (which is the case with most of the Western reporters, I’m sorry to say); and sometimes the journalist or media outlet report selectively in order to bolster their own political agenda. There is almost no such thing as unbiased reporting about the Middle East. It is simply very rare.
That said, it is *not* true that the Israeli media ignores IDF operations that kill innocent people. Those cases are covered extensively in Israeli newspapers and on television. As in any democracy, there is a variety of opinions and much disagreement: some condemn, others justify or defend. The Israeli media is very lively and critical, and reflects the full range of opinions. But the most widely read newspapers are often the most sensationalistic ones – which is the case in almost every country.
The trials of IDF soldiers who have committed crimes are also covered by the media. There are many Israeli journalists who speak fluent Arabic and cover the conflict from inside Gaza and the West Bank. There were, for example, Israeli journalists inside the Muqata, interviewing Yasser Arafat in Arabic for live television broadcasts during the siege of 2002. They interview leaders of Hamas, Islamic Jihad and so on, and they film the IDF in action. There are many television news reports that are highly critical of the government and the army, and many columnists (not just Gideon Levy and Amira Hass) who write regularly against the occupation.
As for the Israeli left wing – well, it’s not a monolith either. Some leftists have a deep understanding of both sides of the conflict, but others simply parrot slogans without understanding what they’re really talking about. The guy I quoted in my post clearly does not really understand much, but I know many leftists who are very knowledgeable and active in a positive sense. I’ve interviewed them, or I know them socially.
I have some Palestinian friends who really understand Israel very well, but I’ve met many who are incredibly ignorant about very basic aspects of Israeli society. And I’m not afraid to correct them or argue with them. Sometimes they listen, and sometimes they do not.
The issue of understanding is very complex. I have a Palestinian friend who was slapped across the face by an IDF soldier when he was 14 years old. My friend was very tall for his age, so the IDF soldier didn’t believe he was too young to have an ID card. I don’t expect him to “understand” the soldier who slapped him. And it is also difficult to “understand” how a suicide bomber could get onto a bus crowded with children and pregnant women, ride with them for several hundred metres – and then blow hiimself up. It takes an enormous effort to detach from feelings of anger and hatred under these circumstances.
What I am trying to say – not very elegantly, I’m afraid – is that there is plenty of blame to be spread around. The Palestinians are weaker than the Israelis because they are occupied, it’s true. But if we were to sit down and make a list of the – how shall I put it – “bad acts” that each side has committed since this conflict began, I’d be willing to bet that it’d come out pretty equal. Nobody has clean hands around here.
But what would be the point of making such a list? It would only perpetuate the destructive culture of victimization. The Holocaust and the Naqba occured more than half a century ago. I don’t believe in arguing about who suffered more, or who was more brutal. The past is the past, and we need to deal with the present. We *all* need to stop the violence, negotiate an agreement and live in peace.
BTW, Lisa is a friend, and we argue offline a lot , so no need for anyone to fish around.
And for Lisa, of course I know what you write is not biased. When I used the word ‘you’ in my previous comment, of course I meant media in general, and Israeli in particular, not you in person ;-)
Yeah, Haitham and I love to argue – with respect and civility, of course! ;)
We’re going to redefine the climate of debate in the Middle East. (you think?)
It’s nice that the two of you like each other so much.
The Israeli media is actually much, much, much better at covering what happens in Palestine and IDF atrocities than the U.S. media. That’s why I find it hard to feel really sorry for Israelis. Despite having the information right in front of them, they persist in electing leaders like Sharon who continue the occupation and expand the settlements.
No one’s asking you to feel sorry for the Israelis, Anne. Should I feel sorry for the Americans because they elected George W. Bush a second time, despite all the evidence pointing to his incompetence as a leader? I know that there are millions of Americans who oppose GWB, and a very large percentage of Israelis also oppose Ariel Sharon. That’s the way it works in a democracy – you don’t always get the leader you want.
The point is to gain insight into a complex situation and understand that no society is a monolith.
I really want to see this movie! I hope our local cinema will screen it.
(And Lisa and Haitham, thank you for your civil and thoughtful conversation. I don’t need to tell you how often people flame each other online over this issue; it does my heart good to see real dialogue. I admire you both a great deal.)
Lisa,
You may not be asking me to feel sorry for the Israelis, but believe me, in New York City I am often asked to feel sorry for the Israelis, or sometimes, to feel sorry for Jews. I find the latter a bit humorous at times given the current position of Jews in U.S. society.
Anne, the last sentence of your comment is – to put it mildly – very troubling. Sounds like something taken from the “Protocols,” if you know what I mean.
Haitham, I apologise for hogging your comment space with my responses to Anne. I would reply to her directly if her blog included an email address, but it does not.
Lisa, you seem to read a lot of stuff that isn’t there into things. I noticed this in your impression of the movie. I don’t think the movie was “against” suicide bombings; I think it was a movie about conflicted people struggling with decisions.
I resent your trying to intimidate me by flinging unfounded associations at me.
Anne, this is really not the forum for a personal exchange between the two of us. I would be happy to respond to your comment via private email, if you wish to send me your address. My own email address is on my blog – just click on “more about me” on the sidebar to find it.
Anne from New York City wrote:
That’s why I find it hard to feel really sorry for Israelis. Despite having the information right in front of them, they persist in electing leaders like Sharon who continue the occupation and expand the settlements.
Uh… was I the only one who noticed that, you know, Gaza thing this summer? That thing that Sharon orchestrated, you know what I’m talking about?
Anne also wrote:
I am often asked to feel sorry for the Israelis, or sometimes, to feel sorry for Jews. I find the latter a bit humorous at times given the current position of Jews in U.S. society.
Please Anne. Don’t feel the need to feel sorry for me and my peeps. Even if a certain small percentage of us didn’t manage to make it to the top of our chosen professions and businesses, I strongly suspet you’d still have a hard time feeling sorry for us. So seriously, don’t bother.
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