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March 8, 2002
Film is certain to stir debate
Panorama of community groups unite to discuss Middle East.
PAT JOHNSON REPORTER
Conflicting ideas about the Middle East will meet in Vancouver
next week. In an effort to broaden the discussion on Mideast affairs,
a number of local organizations are sponsoring the screening of
a controversial film that seems certain to incite a debate.
The movie, Promises, is about a group of Palestinian and
Israeli children who come together to meet one another and discuss
the realities of their lives in the strife-torn region. The film
follows them as they assimilate the information they have gained
and gives an insight into the difficulties of altering opinions,
even among the very young.
Film-maker B.Z. Goldberg interviewed the children individually before
bringing them together. These are not coddled suburban children
raised on Nintendo. Some have seen loved ones killed by terrorist
attacks or by soldiers' guns. The Jewish children come from a range
of perspectives, including a religious youngster who cites the Bible
as proof that the land belongs to the Jews and a secular boy who
sums up the ambivalence many Israelis feel about the occupied territories
with the words, "There was a war and we conquered it.... I
don't know what to do now."
Among the Arab children there are apologists for Hamas and Hezbollah.
"They kill women and children, but they do it for their country,"
says one youngster in the film. "The more Jews we kill, the
fewer there will be, until they're almost gone."
When the two groups get together, there is a typically youthful
sizing up that happens. Seeing in each other, perhaps, more similarities
than they had expected, the children are, nonetheless, instilled
with suspicions and distrust.
"I feel torn inside," says one Arab kid. "Part of
me wants to connect with you and part doesn't."
A similar dissociative state may be present when the film runs at
the Norman Rothstein Theatre. The showing is sponsored by a variety
of groups and is likely to attract people of different and strongly
held views.
Sponsors of the event are the Jewish Community Centre, the Jewish
Federation of Greater Vancouver, the Local Israel Action Committee,
Congregation Har-El, Temple Sholom, Or Shalom, Shaarey Tefilah,
Na'amat Vancouver, Camp Miriam and the Jewish Family Service Agency.
The continuing violence between Palestinians and Israelis has fomented
much heated discussion in the Vancouver Jewish community, which
has been reflected for months in the pages of the Bulletin. Meetings
of the Local Israel Action Committee, for instance, have struggled
to strengthen support for Israeli policy and encourage a united
front against terrorism.
Alternative views, such as those expressed by the group Jews for
a Just Peace, have been critical of Israeli policy toward Palestinians,
citing day-to-day humiliations for fanning flames of anger among
Arabs.
Though meetings on both sides have not been without their passionate
discussions, the Promises screening represents a courageous effort
among all sides to come together. A discussion will follow the screening.
Rafi Silver, a Jewish Community Centre employee who is helping to
organize the event, said he hopes for a frank exchange of ideas.
"The main purpose is to promote community dialogue about an
issue that is important," he said. "This movie certainly
will provoke emotions and it doesn't leave you passive."
Silver said he hopes that bringing together people of differing
opinions will encourage respect for one another.
"I see this as an important step in widening the community
dialogue," he added.
Rabbi David Mivasair, who recently returned from a sabbatical in
Israel, sees the screening as a sign of progress.
"The fact that it is being shown here in Vancouver at the JCC
and co-sponsored by such a wide variety of Jewish organizations
is, I think, significant and interesting," said Mivasair. "The
screening of this film and the discussion that will follow are the
direct result of an effort by a number of rabbis and people in other
leadership positions in Vancouver Jewish community organizations
to broaden the discussion about Israel in our community.
"The initiators of the screening all have lived in Israel for
substantial periods of time, some for many years," Mivasair
continued. "Some are citizens of Israel and veterans of the
[Israel Defence Force]. We all are extensively knowledgeable about
Israel, continue to be deeply involved with Israel and are unquestionably
loyal to Israel. We all believe that the discussion about Israel
and its current struggles has been too narrowly defined and needs
to be broadened and made more realistic. We hope that by showing
this film with the support of so many organizations in the Jewish
community, we will be able contribute to opening the discussion
beyond the usual parameters of the past."
The discussion has already begun. Though the Local Israel Action
Committee is a co-sponsor of the event, its members are not without
strong criticism of the film. In an e-mail sent to members and supporters
this week, the committee outlined areas where it finds disagreement
with the film.
Among other criticisms, the e-mail said that the film implies that
the reason for the current level of violence is due to Israel's
reaction to the intifada, that the figure of 750,000 Palestinian
refugees in 1948 is inflated by as much as 300,000 and that the
film does not point out that it is Arabs who have kept Palestinians
in refugee camps for 54 years, not Israel. Another criticism levelled
at the film is that Israel is said to have conquered the West Bank
in 1967, though the film does not mention that it was during a defensive
war.
Promises screens at the Norman Rothstein Theatre in the Jewish
Community Centre of Greater Vancouver, Thursday, March 14, at 7:30
p.m. Tickets are $6 and available from the Jewish Community Centre
of Greater Vancouver front desk, Solly's Bagelry, Or Shalom or by
calling 604-257-5111.
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