Grassroots Movement for Peace and Reconciliation

The film, The Field by Mordechai Vardi, is mostly about Ali Abu Awaad, a Palestinian, living in Beit Ummar near Gush Etzion junction, on the road that links Jerusalem to Hebron.  Abu Awaad believes in non-violence and learning to know the other and he is one of the founders of “Shorashim (Roots)”, a joint project of Palestinians and settlers in the Gush Etzion region. 

When he was a child, Abu Awaad’s mother was jailed for five years as a Palestinian activist.  He also sat in prison during the first intifada and lost a brother in the violence. 

This film is mostly about him and about the discussions that take place at the family’s field.  Located in the West Bank, within the heart of the conflict, there are also many Jewish activists who we meet in the film – Rabbi Avia HaCohen, Rebettzin Hadassah Froman (widow of the famous Rabbi Menachem Froman), Shaul Judelman, Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger and some others, mostly from the Jewish settlements in the Gush Etzion bloc.

Abu Awaad has permitted Israelis to erect a memorial on his land to the three boys who were kidnapped and murdered near there a few years ago and we watch as some of the parents of the boys come to meet Abu Awaad at this new memorial site. This is one of the most moving sections of the film.

He is particularly eloquent and he tells the Jews who come to hear him: “you want to stand in the shoes of the other, not to lose your identity but in order to engage him”.  His brother Khaled is also active and he talks about the despair among the Palestinian youth.  One of his sons is in jail and the other was hurt in a clash with Israeli soldiers and is now handicapped. 

The Abu Awaad brothers do not believe in going back in history and arguing over whose narrative is the right narrative.  Instead, they say we have to see each other as human beings and move on from there.

But do they have any followers? We don't know this from the film, but it seems that they are practically alone –and not terribly accepted—in Palestinian society.

And do the Jewish settlers—who are pioneers in this new movement of dialogue and reconciliation—have any traction in their communities?

Moreover, it is not entirely clear what the real purpose of this organization is. Is it to meet and learn to recognize the pain and suffering of the other?  This is a good first step, but is it enough?

Or, can we look forward to larger scale activities in the future?  Can these small numbers of Jewish settlers and Palestinian non-violent reconcilers actually have any impact in their communities, which are largely resistant to their activities? This would certainly be an important and welcome development, if they can pull it off.

The Field (documentary, 82 minutes) premiered at DOCAVIV a few days ago.  It is available from JMTFilms. 

Jewish Settlers in Hebron

Soldier on the Roof, directed by Esther Hertog, is a fascinating documentary look at the 800 Jews who live in the midst of the Palestinian city of Hebron (Arab population estimated at 250,000), and at the Israeli soldiers who are posted there to protect the settlers and to police the Israeli-controlled area (about 20% of the city).  The filmmaker goes to live in a caravan within this settlement and documents the lives of the settlers and the soldiers.  Without being judgmental, she lets the settlers, their families and the soldiers tell their stories.  The Palestinians of Hebron have no voice in this film.

We hear Jewish children express hatred of Arabs.  We see soldiers frisking Arabs on the streets.  We learn about the ideology of the settlers.  We feel the tension, see the provocations but there are no neighborly relations between Jew and Arab here.  We see Arab homes that have been evacuated in order to separate between the local population and the settlers.  The settlers talk about how living in Hebron creates an unbroken link to our ancient forefathers and the film takes us inside the Cave of the Patriarchs (Machpelah) where Abraham, Isaac and Jacob are buried, and we try to feel that link.  But we do not see any effort of the settlers to reach out to the local Palestinian Arab population.

The film is a collection of vignettes and encounters, permitting the settlers to talk about their ideology and relate their opinions openly and honestly.  Some of it is quite shocking and even disconcerting -- One man explains that he only wants to banish those Arabs who want to banish or kill him.  He doesn't want to kill them, only deport them.  But, he says, he's willing to live side by side with those who don't want to kill him, who are willing to live and let live.  He doesn't realize perhaps that his very presence in the midst of Hebron raises the level of tension to such a degree that so many Arabs feel hatred towards  him.  As if that is not enough, he goes on to explain that there are Jews who are much more extreme, who are not willing to have any Arabs living in a Jewish land! 

Of course, this immediately brings to mind the story of Baruch Goldstein, who slaughtered 29 Palestinians at prayer within the Cave of the Patriarchs in 1994.  This massacre, which took place on Purim day, by a religious Jew, helps to form my opinion about the small enclave of settlers who live in the midst of Hebron.  They are a provocation to the local Palestinian population, creating tension and humiliations and they have no desire to live in peace with their neighbors. 

The film's publicity material describes the filmmaker, Esther Hertog, as a visual anthropologist.  In my opinion, she deserves a lot of credit for documenting a phenomenon in Israeli life which endangers any possibility of moving forward with a peaceful resolution of the conflict. 

Soldier on the Roof is a documentary film (2012) and is available in two versions -- 50 minutes or 80 minutes -- from Ruth Diskin.