And indeed, from the moment that Aziza, the Arab woman, expresses her feelings about two pictures of "A deserted house" and "A soldiery roll-call", which two Jewish teachers also picked out, the drama erupts in the group. The first photo reminds Aziza of the houses the Arabs had to abandon in 48, and the second photo reminds her of the Israeli soldiers. For the two Jewish teachers the photos evoke the Jewish houses which were abandoned by the Jews in Poland and the German army during the Second World War. From that moment on Rebecca and other participants are pushed out of the picture, the "Jewish-Palestinian conflict" occupy the whole stage, seen through the eyes of the Arab tragedy; The 'Naquba', and the Jewish tragedy; The 'Shoah'. After a year, in July 2000, the group is filmed again, and the same drama repeats itself. [In September, the Intiphada "El Akza" breaks out. And in October, during a rally in an Arab town, the police kills 13 Arab citizens. The Barak government falls, the peace process ends, the Likud party takes control, and the Israeli army goes back to Gaza and the Palestinian towns. Terror attacks resume in the streets] Three years later, in Hannuka 2002, the group meets again. The tone of the dialogue has changed. The words "faith" and "insanity" are in the air. Where is hope buried? "Not in force" says Marzuk. "Hope can be found where there is distress, confusion and then questions". What are the forces which unite and separate Israeli society? Is there a chance for a rich and diverse collaboration between the different ethnic communities? Or are we in the midst of the process of becoming a society? Would the Jews who live in Israel be able, at any point, to have a dialogue with the Arab natives without being occupied by the "Shoah"? Is it possible? And would the Arabs be able to accept our presence here, giving up on their dream to throw us out of here? The film does not suggest solutions. It merely introduces the state of affairs and leaves for the spectator material for thought. |
