By guest author Cindy Newman
People often ask “where is the Palestinian Gandhi”? Perhaps he is in Bil’in.
The film “5 Broken Cameras” is a story not often told, if at all, through corporate media.
Camera number one was acquired to chronicle the life of Gibril, the infant son of director Emad Burnat. Camera number one, and the other four cameras, follows the nonviolent struggle of the people of Bil’in against the apartheid wall, land confiscation, curfews and arbitrarily made “military zones” (which can sometimes be a Bil’iners home) of the Israeli Army.
Thankfully, cameras one through five survive long enough to show us the resilience, creativity, humor, and courage that generally make an audience root for the good guy.
The film shows images of Palestinians dancing and singing in the streets during curfew, only five feet away from the crush of an Israeli settler’s new trailer home; subsequent beatings; and a constant cloud of tear gas peppered with rubber bullets and live ammunition. Yet the people of Bil’in remain steadfast in their commitment to nonviolence.
“5 Broken Cameras” left me wondering who I am, what am I made of, and who do I want to be.
It clearly has this effect on others as well. Please watch the brief video showing the reactions of Israeli youth to “5 Broken Cameras.”
As explained on that webpage: “Engaging Israeli youth with this intimate, personal story of Palestinian nonviolent resistance offers a critical intervention before many of them find themselves stationed in a village like Bil’in, facing unarmed demonstrators. This generation offers a new opportunity for political change, in the face of diplomatic stalemate, growing extremism, and escalated settlement expansion.”
Cindy Newman, activist with the Israel Divestment campaign and BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) Los Angeles
terrific review!
It is an outrage that this film has been touted as an “Israel film,” even on Democracy Now. Imad, Iyad and all the other brave resisters in Bi’ilin are inspiring models of non-violent resistance. Cindy is right, Bi’lin is where there are scores of Ghandis, also Beit Sahour, Nilin and throughout the Occupied territories.
thank you for your comment, Sherna.
In answer to “Where is the Palestinian Ghandi?” I see him behind the five broken cameras, valiantly and peaceably documenting current history.
The reference to Ghandi is certainly an appropriate one, as the man behind Five Broken Cameras displays the peaceful resistance of the Palestinians, which many Israeli students seem to be unaware of. It seems the government has painted a different picture for the youth of their society in order to obtain a certain way of thinking that is more advantageous to the military drafting and training. It is sad to see that conflict resolution is being hindered by the Israeli government’s push for conformity and obedience.
This video reiterated my personal perspective on the senselessness of this kind of conflict and brought new light to the challenges of resolving major conflict such as that of the Israelis and Palestinians.
How do you suppose this and similar videos or written stories could be lifted from the censorship/ban so that the masses could be more aware of the full scope of the situation? Do you think the Israeli government would ever consider such a move? It is obviously very effective as it plays on the emotional aspect of simple everyday life.
thanks for your comments, Mallory. I am afraid that both propaganda to promote political goals and suppression of the truth have a long history of use by leaders of many countries and groups.
I think individuals need to do what they ever they can to fight racism and injustice. I have just been watching Steven Spielberg’s documentary, The Last Days, in which he shares the stories of five Hungarian Jews who survived the genocide. One of those survivors reminds viewers of the courageous actions of Raoul Wallenberg,the Swedish diplomat who saved the lives of nearly 100,000 Jews in Nazi-occupied Hungary.
Thank you for checking out this piece, Mallory, and for your thoughtful comments. The distortion of the history of Israel/Palestine is quite prevalent in American media as well. A good documentary on how and why this came to be is the film “Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land.” So it is not only Israelis, but Americans who need to get the truth out. We fund Israel’s occupation with $3 billion dollars of military aid every year, in violation of our own laws and international law. $3 billion a year in military aid to Israel while Americans lack health insurance, housing, jobs, adequate infrastructure, etc. The crimes of the Israeli military shown in the film are American crimes as well. If you are inclined to take action, please share this video. If you are a BU student and want to get more involved, you can check out Boston University’s chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (http://www.facebook.com/BUStudentsForJusticeInPalestine?ref=ts&fref=ts). Thank you!! Sincerely, Dahlia Wasfi
Thank you, Dahlia, for sending Mallory and all of the rest of us this valuable information.
Dahlia,
Thank you so much for sharing that video with me. I have often thought that the story I was being told about the war was far from the truth and now I know those feelings were true.
The American involvement (as far as funding and military aid) in the Israeli occupation is grotesque and almost seems too horrid to be real. What was the thought process that brought about this movement into Palestinian territory? Why would a group of people feel the need to brutally destroy a neighbor for land and resources? Have humans regressed into this type of behavior or is there more to the story that I am not aware of?
This occupation does not even represent the demands of conformity. A more fitting comparison seems to me to be the massacre of Jews during the Holocaust. So why are we supporting this?
Thanks for your comment, Mallory. I am glad to witness your efforts to understand the situation in Israel. I am sure Dahlia will address your questions, but I also have a couple of points to make.
I think your reference to the massacre of the Jews during the Holocaust is an important one. I think that when the world finally recognized the absolute horrors of the Holocaust, many good people were horrified and supported the idea of a Jewish state to which the survivors of the camps could flee and be safe.I think one of the worst features of this situation is that so many people–Americans and others–forget that the Holocaust was not perpetrated by Muslims. It was perpetrated almost exclusively by people who called themselves Christian if they affiliated with any religion. Admittedly, there was some violence on the part of people who lived in the territory that was taken from them and became Israel, but that does not mean there is no possibility of a peaceful resolution of that conflict. Another factor in the creation of the “Jewish state” is that a large number of Americans (and people elsewhere) were anti-semitic and did not want all those Jews coming to their backyard. Finally, I mentioned before the film I watched about The Last Days, concerning some Hungarian Jews struggling to survive at the end of the Nazi era. The film begins with footage of German troops marching in to country after country until finally the Allies decided they had to be stopped and declared war on them. As I watched all those scenes of death and destruction at the hands of the Nazi troops, all I could think of was the fact that it would be possible for someone to put together similar footage for all of the US invasions of lands since WWII.
Dear Kathie–Could you please clarify what you mean by these statements: “I think one of the worst features of this situation is that so many people–Americans and others–forget that the Holocaust was not perpetrated by Muslims. It was perpetrated almost exclusively by people who called themselves Christian if they affiliated with any religion.” I’m not following the relationship between who was responsible for genocide during WWII and how it relates to the ethnic cleansing of Palestine from 1948 through the present. Thank you!
Dear Dahlia. I was trying to make the point that the Nazi atrocities against Jews during WWII can in no way be used as an excuse for supporting Israeli violence against Muslims today.
I believe there are Americans who get those issues confused. I hope this restatement makes what I was trying to say clearer.
Kathie, you wrote, “Admittedly, there was some violence on the part of people who lived in the territory that was taken from them and became Israel, but that does not mean there is no possibility of a peaceful resolution of that conflict.” You didn’t mention the overwhelming violence of Zionist militias like the Stern Gang, the Irgun, and the Haganah, who committed massacres in Palestinian villages and bombed British posts, including the King David Hotel. Today’s Israeli Army (IDF) evolved out of the Haganah. It is the violence and intransigence of the Israeli government and military (and US complicity) that are the obstacles to peaceful resolution today.
Hi Dahlia. I have no argument with what you are saying. In the statement that you quote, I was still trying to deal with the assumption held by many people that the Jewish genocide during WWII justifies Israel’s violence agains their Palestinian neighbors today. The Muslims were not the perpetrators of the genocide. When I hear the words “Never again,” they often seem to imply that Israelis are in danger of another Holocaust and that this time they need to use aggression to prevent it. I believe it is important to acknowledge that Israel has experienced some threat and some violence–mostly in the past–from some of its neighbors. Like those neighbors, as I have written before, there are many people who view the UN decision on a Jewish homeland as unfairly and incompletely implemented. I may be wrong but I believe that to completely deny that Israel has ever been threatened would make an effort to promote peace and reconciliation seem naive and not worthy of attention. I also believe that acknowledging that historically there have been some real threats against Israel in no way implies that the Israeli government and other groups in Israel have been innocent of violence. As I have discussed in earlier posts, many Israelis, like many Americans, are appalled at the violence that their governments perpetrate, and are strong proponents of peaceful resolution to the conflicts. Breaking the silence is an Israeli website that is just one example of the concern of many Israelies with their government’s aggression: http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/ . The site has a number of short informative videos including:
http://www.breakingthesilence.org.il/testimonies/videos/84876
Hi Kathie–Thank you so much for your quick responses. I guess that I would take it one step further and say that one holocaust should not be used to justify another holocaust under any circumstances. I believe that we are in agreement about this…I just wanted to further clarify.
To dig a little bit deeper, I want to expand on your phrase of “Israeli violence against Muslims.” Israeli violence, from 1948 onwards, has targeted Arabs of both Christian and Islamic faith, so it is not only Muslims (which is the narrative we usually hear in the mainstream media). Here is an informative article on Palestinian Christians: http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/why-christians-are-leaving-occupied-palestine.html Furthermore, as has been discussed previously on this blog, Israeli government violence is not limited to Arabs. A few examples are the attack on the USS Liberty, the murder of Rachel Corrie, and attacks on Israeli peace activists–which you alluded to above. This is why I found the compassion among the Israeli students who watched “Five Broken Cameras” so encouraging for an end to Israeli state-sponsored violence.
My sincere thanks for the dialogue, Dahlia
Thank you for your thoughtful reply, Dahlia, and your further clarification. I feel the same way about that video of the Israeli students who saw “Five Broken Cameras.”
Actually, the more I search, the more positive stories I find and the more we can all do to share those stories, the better the chances for a more peaceful future.
Thank YOU, Kathie. I think this blog betters our chances for a more peaceful future.
To find resolution for today’s violent conflicts, I believe that we need clear understandings of their origins and the ongoing injustices. The language we use influences our perceptions of the conflict. I want to comment on the phrase you used, “Israel’s violence against their Palestinian neighbors today.” The description of “neighbors” does not convey the brutal victimization of Palestinians by colonial Jewish settlers, nor does it give insight into the ethnic cleansing Palestinian families suffered and suffer, which has left millions stagnating in squalid refugee camps today. Also, the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza have been illegally occupied by the Israeli military since 1967. The Israel-Palestine relationship is not neighborly at all; it is the occupier (Israel) who stole the land versus the occupied (Palestinians…and Syrians as well in the Golan Heights) whose land was stolen.
In addition, to say that “Israel has experienced some threat and some violence…from some of its neighbors” is equivalent to saying that European colonial settlers experienced some threat and some violence from the indigenous populations of the Americas. These are comparable situations of violent European colonialism which elicited/elicits justified indigenous self-defense. Today, a nation’s right to self-defense is protected by Article 51 of the UN Charter. The State of Israel is the aggressor; it was created through the ethnic cleansing and stealth of the land of Palestine; it has invaded and occupied Lebanon; invaded and occupied Syria; invaded and occupied Egypt; bombed Iraq; and just last week bombed Syria (without Syrian retaliation). The history of the region delineates who is a threat to whom. There will be no peace and reconciliation until the injustices against the Palestinians are rectified and their human rights respected. In order for those injustices to be rectified, they have to first be acknowledged. Israel is not the victim. Both Palestinians and Israelis who are killed in this conflict are victims of Israel’s illegal occupation and unjust policies.
Hi Mallory–I am really impressed by your insight and the thought and consideration you are giving this important issue. One reference you may find particularly enlightening is the book “The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Israeli scholar, Ilan Pappe. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine is absolutely comparable to the ethnic cleansing of European Jews in the 1940s, as well as other tragic examples of ethnic cleansing in human history. The history of collective punishment, death squads, torture, indefinite detention, house raids, confiscation of property, privileges/rights-based-on-ethnicity, military invasion and occupation…these characterize the Nazi occupation of Europe and the Zionist occupation of Palestine. Many people get very uncomfortable with this comparison, but a picture is worth a thousand words: http://whatreallyhappened.com/IMAGES/GazaHolo/index.html WARNING: these are images of crimes against humanity and some are graphic.
The occupation of Palestine (and the occupation of Iraq, as another example) is modern-day colonialism, or neocolonialism. Tragically, we have seen many similar examples of conquering by imperial powers in Latin America, Africa and Asia. In the “Middle East” (more accurately termed Western Asia), the US government is seeking control of the area’s resources. We (the US) back the Israeli government because they serve as our colonial military outpost in a region brimming with oil and natural gas. American support of Israel is also driven by a small but powerful movement of Christian Zionism within the US. More on Zionism in a moment.
Dahlia,
The link you posted of the photo comparisons between the Holocaust and the war between Israel and the Palestinians struck my heart worse than all the articles and videos I have browsed thus far. I can hardly imagine how it has been possible for these events to continue as they have for as long as they have.
Is the rest of the world so tied up in other affairs that they are unable to help bring this blood shed to an end? Or are we just unwilling because our interests are elsewhere or we do not wish to get involved where it does not affect us? The connections that have been made by so many between the American government and the selfish desire to have a hand in the natural resources of that land disgust me but sadly do not surprise me.
I am ashamed to say that I am a member of a society that continues to pour money into this awful disaster and continues to fight when we should be a part of the solution instead.
Dear Mallory–I find hope in your compassionate heart! Though our government is perpetuating the problem of occupation, you can be a part of the solution. There are many people working towards a just peace for this region and for other sites of violent conflict throughout the world. You can absolutely make a difference. I think this blog is a great place to start. You will find many perspectives and projects supporting peace on these pages. And if I can help you find resources on the topic of Israel-Palestine or Iraq (which are my areas of interest), please feel free to ask anytime, on this thread or by email (info@liberatethis.com). As Gandhi said, you can “be the change you wish to see in the world.” Sincerely, Dahlia
This is a very, very brief overview of Zionism, which I’m excerpting from my upcoming book (coming out….I don’t know when! I hope you’ll stay tuned). Thank you for the dialogue! and I’m happy to continue the conversation. Sincerely, Dahlia
“Zionism is a political movement with nationalist aims. The World Zionist Organization was formally established in 1897. Zionism’s leading goal—creation of an exclusively Jewish homeland—was born out of anti-Semitism in Europe and the deadly Russian pogroms of the nineteenth century. Early Zionists envisioned that Jews would be safe from persecution in their own territory. Thus, the foundation of the movement was laid during the late 1800’s—long before the European Holocaust of the 1940’s.
“The Zionist leadership actually considered statehood in multiple locations around the globe, including Argentina, Asiatic Turkey, North America, and Uganda.* Ultimately, Palestine was selected as the site for a Jewish state because of the ancient biblical stories of Jews in that region some two thousand years before. David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister, delineated the plans for the state, which incorporated not only historic Palestine but sections of land from all of Palestine’s neighboring countries.
“Ben-Gurion is considered one of the fathers of the Zionist movement, along with Jewish intellectuals Theodor Herzl and Chaim Weizmann. Their agenda for a state with Jewish purity required the removal of non-Jews from the land. They advocated the displacement of the indigenous population and their replacement with Jewish immigrants to achieve sovereignty.**
* “Warriors for Jerusalem” by Donald Neff, p.21
**”The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine” by Ilan Pappe p.47.
Emad Burnat, director of “Five Broken Cameras” was detained at LAX airport last night (Tuesday, February 19, 2013) upon his arrival in the US for the Academy Awards.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/emad-burnat-detained-5-broken-cameras_n_2724518.html
Oh, dear, this is very distressing news. For readers who want more information, they can check out the story on HuffPost: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/20/emad-burnat-detained-5-broken-cameras_n_2724518.html
The videotaped interview wtih him is very poignant and disturbing.
thanks for letting us know, Dahlia.
I have a better appreciation for the plight of the Palestinian people today because of this documentary. I’m also so glad this film is getting the international attention it deserves. Hopefully it will help to raise awareness of the Palestinian plight – especially in the US where people are kept in the dark by the Mainstream media and their pro-Israeli-government. There’s nothing worse than a once oppressed people who turn around and oppress others. Did they learn nothing from the Holocaust?!
You raise such an interesting question, Samira, about what people learn when they have been threatened, attacked, misused, oppressed, etc. We see a similar pattern in regard to family violence, where patterns of violence and abuse often seem to continue from generation to generation.
I just finished watching this 94 minute documentary.
I am overwhelmed with emotions……almost at a loss for words. The Palestinians are clearly “fighting” for their land in a nonviolent manner, yet the Israeli army is resisting the Palestinian efforts of protesting. The Israeli’s are attacking these nonviolent protesters with live ammunition, tear gas, and smoke bombs. Where is the care and concern for human life? In this area of the world it does not exist….at least for the Israeli soldiers.
What these Palestinian citizens and their children endure day in and day out, year after year is appalling!!!! My heart hurts for these people. Emad Burnat did a fabulous job documenting what really goes on daily in just one village in this area. The atrocities these individuals, and children, witness everyday is unimaginable for those of us living in the U.S. Sadly, many of us turn our back or choose to ignore things that do not go on in our own backyards. Emad’s children, and other children in this village, are growing up in a world of causality, brutality, and despair. None of this makes much sense to these children. What they do know is what they have witnesses. They see their family members taken to jail, beaten, maimed and sent to the hospital, or killed….for what; because the Israeli army wants their land? It was heart wrenching to hear Gibreel ask his father (Emad) why he did not use his knife to kill the soldiers. Emad asked him why he would want to kill the soldiers; his response was “They killed my Phil.” This little child will forever have these memories etched in his mind.
How is it possible to ever change the social perception these children have of the Israeli’s when the Israeli soldiers continue to do these things to their family members?
At the end of the film Emad Burnat made this comment……
“Healing is a challenge in life…..It’s a victims sole obligation…..By healing you resist oppression….But when I hurt over and over again….I forget the wounds that rule my life……Forgotten wounds can’t be healed….So I film” (Emad Burnat).
Such a powerful statement! How do these people heal their wounds and move forward to a positive resolution? Unfortunately, it appears that resolution is in the hands of the Israeli’s
Thank you, Sheryl, for your powerful and emotional comment. I am so glad you watched the entire documentary, and shared your feelings with our readers.
Thank you for your very powerful comment, Sherryl. There is a saying that “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men [and women] do nothing.” In my opinion, resolution should not be left in the hands of those Israelis who are committing atrocities. We can raise our voices to end US funding of these crimes against humanity in occupied Palestine. There are options out there: US Campaign to End the Occupation, the Free Gaza Movement, the International Solidarity Movement, the Rachel Corrie Foundation, Students for Justice in Palestine are a few examples. I think that Emad Burnat would find great reward in knowing the impact of his efforts to document occupation. Sincerely, Dahlia