The Story in Film

Understanding the Palestinian – Israeli conflict, surprisingly, can be easily achieved.  While there are many books, articles, and blog posts on the subject, through the medium of moving pictures we can take in a broad sweep of events in a short time.  The questions we are left with, of course, can be researched further in books and on the Internet.  Film, however, is the quickest way to begin to get a grasp of the issues and complexities behind and within the conflict.

We recommend starting with the video ‘The Land Speaks Arabic.’  The very idea of creating a modern, secular, geo-political Israeli State in Palestine is only a little more than 100 years old.  Our review as well as links to more information can be found on the post titled, ‘History.’  http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2015/02/history.html

To begin to bring your understanding up to current times, our next film recommendation is ‘Five Broken Cameras.’  This film shows the landscape of Palestine, the plight of the Indigenous people still living on their traditional lands today, and their struggle against Israel’s relentless oppression and annexation.  Our review and links to more information can be found here:  http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/11/5-broken-cameras.html

Palestinian youth also have a story to tell. ‘Slingshot Hip Hop’ shares the story of their efforts to find their voice, not just among Palestinian people, but also in and related to the wider world where many of us are engaged in resisting racism and oppression.  In the film we begin to grasp the effects of Israeli ethnic cleansing on the families that have been displaced within Israel as well as in the West Bank and Gaza, and we get a glimpse of what it is like to live under the illegal Israeli occupation.  We get a good look at the separation walls, the check points, the lack of consistent electricity, and what the effects are on the people’s lives.  The Palestinian Hip Hop movement is traced from its infancy up to today, where it has become a powerful voice.  A powerful voice that is ignored by mainstream media.  

"When delivering a message, art is more effective than violence.

I consider art to be the most important messenger.

Violence only breeds more violence and destruction."

 

The movie starts out in Arabic.  After the title shot, there are subtitles in English as well as versions which can be purchased with French of Spanish subtitles.  A portion of the music and discussion is also in English.  You can view the official trailer here: http://www.slingshothiphop.com/trailer/

"Tears can't extinguish hope."

'Slingshot Hip Hop' is an important part of the education of anyone who wants to understand the Palestinian - Israeli conflict today.  Available on request from most public libraries and wherever you normally rent movies.  Copies can also be purchased for home use, by educational institutions and libraries, as well as non-profit organizations.  For more information please see:  http://www.slingshothiphop.com/dvd/

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Image Credits:

The reel to reel film photo is from Wikimedia Commons. 

All other images are from Slingshot Hip Hop's web page.

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For all our posts about films or that include information on films, please see:

http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/DVD

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Participate!  If you have a favorite Palestinian DVD, especially if it tells a part of the story we haven’t covered yet, please use the comments section below to tell us about it.  We may be able to feature your recommendation in an up-coming blog post. 

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Christian Zionism

Exploring the historical and philosophical roots behind the British push to relocate Jewish people to Palestine

In tracing the foundational thoughts for the modern state of Israel (which is not yet 70 years old) back to their first whisperings, we find a number of threads.  One of them leads, not surprisingly, to religion.  However the religion it leads to is not Judaism, surprisingly; but rather a school of thought within the Christian religion—Christian Zionism.

Christian Zionism is a term that is used to describe a specific range of beliefs based on the New Testament book of Revelations.  While there are many interpretations and beliefs within the Christian religion regarding The Book of Revelations, Christian Zionists embrace a prophetic and literal interpretation.  They believe that Revelations presages events that are yet to unfold, and that must unfold in order to reach their New Heaven and the New Earth.  This belief forms the basis of not only their spiritual life, but it also underlies their politics (individually and collectively).  Further and of utmost importance to Peace makers, it shapes their views on war and Peace.  Their eyes are on Armageddon.  Armageddon, in their minds, is an unbelievably horrific war—a war that centers on Jerusalem.

We must understand that Christian Zionists see this war as necessary and Biblically ordained.  In their minds, the necessity of this war is part and parcel of their narratives and their religion.  They are willing, by their political decisions and maneuvering, to inflict this Armageddon on all of us.  They are striving to bring about this war, to bring about the end of the world as we know it; some of them consciously, some unconsciously.  Their beliefs however, conscious or unconscious, underpin their political decisions.  In the meantime, the people of Palestine—who had lived in Peace for centuries—have been utterly disrupted and severely punished, all for the purpose of sustaining Christian Zionists’ world views.  If they are allowed to continue to push towards Armageddon, things will only get worse for all of us.

This push, in thought at least, began in 1585.   Anglican clergyman Thomas Brightman “ . . . urged the British people to support the return of the Jews to Palestine in order to hasten a series of prophetic events . . .” (1)   And then, “In 1621, a prominent member of the British Parliament, attorney Henry Finch, advanced a similar perspective when he wrote: ‘The (Jews) shall repair to their own country, shall inherit all of the land as before, shall live in safety, and shall continue in it forever.’ Finch argued that based on his interpretation of Genesis 12:3, God would bless those nations that supported the Jews’ return.”  (1)  One wonders, however, how the Jews were to live in safety, when their ‘return’ to Palestine was sought only to bring about Armageddon.

The seed, however, had been planted.  Instead of waiting for the future, for prophesy, to take its course, the idea that human actions and politics could bring prophesy into reality had been planted.  The results were that, “The first lobbying effort on behalf of a Jewish state in Palestine was not organized or initiated by Jews. It occurred in 1891, when a popular fundamentalist Christian writer and lay-preacher, William E. Blackstone, organized a national campaign to appeal to the then-president of the United States, Benjamin Harrison, to support the creation of a Jewish state in Palestine.” (1)

It wasn’t until 1917, however, that the first official document alluding to the eventual establishment of a Jewish State in Palestine was signed.  The Balfour Declaration, (2) drafted by Britain’s Foreign Secretary was the first official step towards the establishment of the modern state of Israel, and the first political victory of the Christian Zionists in their push towards Armageddon.   Peace, of course, was never on their agenda.  Arthur James Balfour, the signer of the above declaration, made the following statement in a speech in 1919:  “For in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country…The four great powers are committed to Zionism, and Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land.” (1)


Armageddon was on their minds.  The idea that 700,000 Arabs were opposed to the idea was probably the frosting on their cake and fueled their hopes for war.  The fact that governments around the world are now funding militias and dropping bombs in nearby Syria while both the Islamic State and Hezbollah grow in power probably gives them hope that Armageddon is near.  The fact that Israel has been threatening the integrity of one of the Muslim world’s most sacred sites in Jerusalem, probably also gives them much hope for the horrific prophesied End Times war.

We must resist.  These Christian Zionist ideologies are not in the best interests of world Peace.  They are in fact, diametrically opposed to Peace.  These ideologies, these narratives, are not humanitarian.  They are not forgiving.  They do not embrace Freedom, Justice, and Equality for all people.  We must resist.

Boycott for Peace embraces economic activism.  Through economic activism we can change the world.  Corporations profit from the ideologies of colonization, oppression, and war.  The profits we extend profiteering corporations by purchasing their products allows them to align with any favorable ideologies they find in the world, and then to lobby and contribute their way into our governments’ decision making processes.  By withdrawing our support from these corporations, and by supporting ethical small business instead, we can change the world.  Please visit our Boycott List for ideas on starting or growing your own personal resistance.

We at Boycott for Peace also embrace the idea of political activism.  At the moment we try to support letter writing and petition campaigns with ‘Quick Action’ posts on Thursdays, when we have them.  You can help us by posting links to any appropriate Quick Action in comments on any of the posts here on our blog or on our facebook community page.  If you are involved with other appropriate and Peaceful actions that you would like us to consider, please also send us links to information.  We may not be able to feature every submitted item, but we may not find out about your efforts if you don’t let us know.

In the meantime, economic action is something we can all engage in.  We must confront evil.  Not as a force that opposes what we personally believe.  But rather as a force that opposes Peace.  If we do not fund the forces that are opposed to Peace, Freedom, Justice, and Equality for all people those forces will lose power.  We all have the capability of engaging in economic Justice through Ethical spending.  We can give Peace a chance.


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Take Action!  Check out our Boycott List:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/2014/12/boycott-list.html


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Sources:


(1)  Christians and Zion: British Stirrings:  http://www.christianzionism.org/Article/Wagner06.asp

(2)  The Balfour Declaration:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Balfour_Declaration


Background reading also undertaken on Wikipedia ~

Armageddon:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armageddon

Book of Revelation: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Revelation

Christian Eschatology:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christian_eschatology

End Time:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/End_time



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History

We have all heard the old adage, ‘to the victor go the spoils.’  One of the spoils of victory has always been the privilege of rewriting history—of obliterating facts—to show the victor as just, humane, and worthy.  Another old adage is that, ‘there are always two sides to every story.’  The side of the oppressed, the exploited, the colonized and conquered was, until recently, seldom publicly told.

Modern technology has begun to democratize media.  Mainstream media still embraces the idea that the victor gets to spoil the facts and rewrite history.  However, the more we continue to reject mainstream media and seek out citizen and alternative journalism, the more our view of the world expands.
 

Image from Celebrate Palestine Films.

‘The Land Speaks Arabic’ is a film that takes us beyond the views that the victor, that the oppressor, wants us to see.  To begin to understand the true story of the Holy Land, we need to take in the entire view, not just what the mainstream media asserts in their support of oppression.

This film tells the story of European-Jewish colonization and settlement of Palestine and its effects on Palestinians, beginning in 1891.  Archival material, including film footage, photographs, and documents carry much of the story.  Interviews with those who lived through the great Palestinian catastrophe known as the Nakba are included, as are quotes from leaders and politicians of the day.

 "Palestine proper has already its inhabitants. The pashalik of Jerusalem is already twice as thickly populated as the United States, having 52 souls to the square mile, and not 25% of them Jews."

Israel Zangwill, 1905

Acts of Jewish terrorism and ethnic cleansing perpetrated against the Indigenous population are recounted and illustrated. The film ends with the people who now live in exile, sharing their visions of the homes they lost and the pain in their hearts.

Narration is provided by Nur Masalha, who also did much of the research for the film.  He is a Palestinian historian and Professor of Religion and Politics.  He is as well, the Director of both the Centre for Religion and History, and the Holy Land Research Project at St Mary's University College; as well as an acclaimed author whose books include 'The Politics of Denial: Israel and the Palestinian Refugee Problem.'

'The Land Speaks Arabic,’ a film by Maryse Gargour--available on request from public libraries and from where ever you ordinarily rent DVDs.  It can also be watched on YouTube. 

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If the Israeli atrocities against Palestinian people had stopped, perhaps we could forget about this history.  Unfortunately, as noted by Nur Masalha in the film, the Zionist program against the Palestinian people continues today.  You can read about some of the current manifestations on this thread:  http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/why%20we%20boycott

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For more information on the historical roots of the conflicts in the Holy Land please see:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/historical%20roots

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Check out our other recommended DVDs here:
http://boycott4peace.blogspot.com/search/label/DVD

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Roots of Israel-Palestine Conflict

“For in Palestine we do not propose even to go through the form of consulting the wishes of the present inhabitants of the country…The four great powers are committed to Zionism, and Zionism, be it right or wrong, good or bad, is rooted in age-long traditions, in present needs, in future hopes, of far profounder import than the desires and prejudices of 700,000 Arabs who now inhabit that ancient land.”

From Balfour’s famous speech of 1919, quoted in the article titled, 'Christians and Zion: British Stirrings,' which traces the roots of British Christian Zionism back to the 6th century AD.  From there it follows up this development to modern times:  http://www.christianzionism.org/Article/Wagner06.asp 

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"The roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict date back to 1917, when the British government, in the now-infamous Balfour Declaration, called for "the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people."

"Israel occupied East Jerusalem and the West Bank during the 1967 Middle East War. It later annexed the holy city in 1980, claiming it as the capital of the self-proclaimed Zionist state – a move never recognized by the international community."

From the article titled, 'Israel detains eight Palestinians in East Jerusalem for Facebook posts,' which
also documents on-going unequal enforcement of standards and laws which discriminate
 against Palestinians in Israel and the occupied territories:

http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israel-detains-eight-palestinians-east-jerusalem-facebook-posts

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Ilan Pappe's Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine

Image from Wikimedia Commons.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, by Ilan Pappe

This very intelligent, well researched, and moving history reveals the forgotten events surrounding the Palestinian Nakba or catastrophe of 1948.  Pappe's primary source of information was the Israeli Government's own archives which were released to the public in 1980.  The timeline covered begins with the first Zionist agricultural colony in Palestine in 1878 and continues through the various armistice agreements concluding in 1949.

Of particular note, the false Israeli narrative which claims that an attack by Arab armies is what caused the Nakba and resulted in the displacement of approximately 750,000 Palestinian people--as well as the destruction of their homes, villages and urban centers-- from what had become the United Nations designated Jewish area is soundly refuted. 

The Arab armies never invaded the UN designated Jewish area. The Arabs' presence, in and on the edges of the Palestinian designated area, was primarily to protect Palestinian villages and people.  (Pages 129 -130.)  It was the Jewish militias, such as Irgun and Hagana, that began the ethnic cleansing in 1931, if not earlier.  (Page 284.)  In fact, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians by Jewish forces continued in the U.N. Jewish designated area during the war of 1948.  While the Arab forces were able to protect the designated Palestinian area, Jewish forces were completely undeterred in their efforts to remove Palestinians from what we now know as Israel.  (Pages 130 -131.)

This is a highly recommended read for everyone interested in gaining insight into the horrific events that lead up to the creation of Israel.  It also illustrates the importance The Right of Return has to Palestinians in negotiating a final and peaceful solution to the Palestinian - Israeli conflict. We begin to understand many details, for instance the University of Tel-Aviv is built on land that used to be the Palestinian village of Sheykh Muwannis. (Page 103.)   In embracing a true history, we must not erase the memory of the people that once called that piece of land their home.

The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine is available by request from book sellers and libraries everywhere.

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