Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Israeli Film Festival in Australia politically censors and bans film for being to sympathetic to Palestinians

Dear friends, 

The ISRAELI FILM FESTIVAL in Australia has engaged in political censorship and pulled the Canadian made film, Inch 'Allah because its not pro-Israel enough and because it sympathetically portrays Palestinians.  It has also been strongly suggested that the film was also pulled because the director of the film, Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, has signed her name to a Canadian call in support of the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) call. 

According to  the pro-Zionist news outlet J-Wire, Albert Dadon, the chair of the Zionist hasbarist group running the film festival, Australia Israel Cultural Exchange (AICE) agreed to pull the film because: "The artistic direction for this film was in contradiction with our objectives".


David Schulberg, who is credited with getting the film pulled, in a letter of complaint to Dadon and the AICE cited
Barbeau-Lavalette support for BDS as a reason for banning the film, writing: "The director herself, because of her BDS affiliation, would be boycotting genuine Israeli cinema and as such would not want to be associated with Israeli product that she would in principle be boycotting. Ironically any Israeli Film Festival would be boycotted by her!  .... Please provide an explanation for the inclusion of this film created by a self-declared BDS supporter".

Schulberg also went onto claim that the film "gravely misrepresents the situation that exists in the Israel-Palestinian conflict, highlighting the alleged suffering of the Palestinians at the hand of the Israelis by distorting and distending the facts on the ground ..."

What is notable about Dadon's comments and the complaints by Schulberg are:

(1) That Zionists are unwilling to hear alternative narratives to that of the Zionist one and willing to censor and ban any film that does not fit their preferred pro-Israel narrative and;

(2) the Zionist tendency to distort and misrepresent the Palestinian BDS campaign


Schulberg in his letter of complaint to AICE, which prompted the pulling of the film, claimed that because she is a supporter of the Palestinian initiated BDS campaign that Inch'Allah's director
Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette would be "boycotting genuine Israeli cinema” However, despite Schulberg's claims, BDS does not advocate the boycotting of Israeli films simply because they are Israeli. As the Palestinian BDS National Committee has noted (on many occasions), nowhere in the world does BDS target businesses or anything else based on the nationality of the owner or producer or cultural products.

For a film to be boycottable under BDS guidelines it must either be commissioned by Israeli state institutions or funded by them or promote normalisation (for more information, see the PACBI Cultural boycott guidelines here).  Pro-Palestine activists regularly show films made/co-made by Israelis which do not break the boycott guidelines (for example, recently many pro-Palestine groups around the world have shown the film, 5 Broken Cameras. While the film is made by Palestinian director, it also has an Israeli co-director. The film was nominated for an Oscar and was listed as a Israeli, Palestinian and French co-production)


It should also be noted that when, for example, the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) has shown pro-Israel, pro-Zionist films, BDS activists have never called for these films to be pulled or banned.  When there has been a protest around MIFF, it has been to do with the Israeli Embassy/government being a sponsor and we have called for the film festival to reject the sponsorship. But we have never called on them to censor, ban or pull films.

What is more disturbing about this claim by Schulberg and also Dadon's comments is the implication that "genuine Israeli cinema" must always be ardently pro-Zionist and that a film is automatically “anti-Israel” because it portrays Palestinians sympathetically or does not automatically adopt the Zionist narrative.


In an attempt to justify their political banning of a film that is supposedly not "pro-Israel" enough, Dadon has told The Age newspaper (see article below) that the film
"justifies suicide bombing".  However, international reviews of the film have made it clear that this is not the case.  One such review by the Cinemablographer website (see review below) noted in relation to the both the suicide bombing and other violence in the film: "Some viewers might object that the film frequently puts children as the targets of the violent attacks that are most central to the narrative, but these tragic deaths of innocents ultimately accentuate the senselessness of all the bloodshed. The intriguing framing device of the film, in which the camera follows a child through a marketplace until his trip is cut short by a suicide bomber, will doubtlessly have viewers debating the futility of the violence".


Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette in an interview about her film noted: "For the most part, the Palestinians and Israelis who read the script liked it".  She went on to point out, however, that "In fact, Inch'Allah is not a film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It's a film about a Quebecer in Palestine, about a doctor who is thrown in the deep end of the war.  I wanted to talk, first and foremost, about what doesn't belong to us, about what happens to us when we're confronted with a reality so much bigger than us: war. That was my point of view, and the Middle Eastern people who read the script understood it right away".


Tom Ryan, a former Sunday Age film critic, who moderated the Melbourne Israel Film Festival Q & A session for the film before it was pulled from the festival has noted in an article published in The Age on the banning of the film that he had originally been quite impressed at the Q & A session by the audiences  "robust responses", "the diverse views on offer", and the "sharp intelligence" of Levy.  However, with the banning of the film, he has stated he is "truly dismayed" to learn the film had been pulled. "I had been mistaken about what I'd perceived to be a genuinely democratic openness to ideas," he said.


While the Israel Film Festival has banned the film, Inch'Allah will be shown in cinemas in Australia in October. 

I have included below the original J-Wire article, as well as a report by The Age on the banning of the film and the review of the film by the Cinemablographer website.

In solidarity, Kim

***

Trailer: Inch'Allah 


***

Film withdrawn from the Israeli Film Festival


August 22, 2013 by J-Wire Staff

Read on for article
A Melbourne-based patron of the AICE Israeli Film Festival complained to the organisers that the message delivered by one exhibit was in fact anti-Israeli.


The organisers agreed and the film has been withdrawn from the program.
Patron David Schulberg wrote the following letter to the Chairman of the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange Albert Dadon:

“With reference to the film Inch’allah that is being shown at this year’s ‘Israeli Film Festival’, we should note that Inch’Allah’s writer and director, Anais Barbeau-Lavalette, in 2009, was one of 500 Quebec artists (including many filmmakers) “joining the international movement against Israeli apartheid” and publicly signing a petition calling for BDS: boycott, divestment and sanctions.  This explains why Inch’allah is essentially a propaganda film;  it was shot in Jordan probably because of her boycott of Israel. Here’s the link to the petition: www.tadamon.ca/post/5824 that was signed by the film’s director.


Inchallah400

During the Q&A session that followed the screening I attended in Melbourne on Saturday night August 18, there was a widespread view that this film should not have been part of the program as it was not an Israeli film in any sense. So much for suggestions of “well-meaning” film-making that the partisan presenter of the Q&A session put forward in his overly enthusiastic support for the film.


This is not bona fide Israeli cinema. The film was shot in Jordan by a French-Canadian consortium with a very tenuous association with an international production company July–August productions that has some Israeli backers. The director herself, because of her BDS affiliation, would be boycotting genuine Israeli cinema and as such would not want to be associated with Israeli product that she would in principle be boycotting. Ironically any Israeli Film Festival would be boycotted by her!

The audience witnessed a film that gravely misrepresents the situation that exists in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting the alleged suffering of Palestinians at the hand of the Israelis by distorting and distending the facts on the ground, using stereotypical symbols of Israeli brutality e.g. a jeep deliberately running over a stone-throwing youth (reminiscent of the story of Rachel Corrie), and a woman giving birth at an Israeli checkpoint and being refused emergency entry to a hospital.

I am thinking that we should now be calling this film festival the ‘Anti-Israel Film Festival’. Please provide an explanation for the inclusion of this film created by a self-declared BDS supporter.”

He told J-Wire: “I have shared my dismay over the film Inch’Allah with others who have expressed anger and disappointment over the fact that the film was wrongly touted as being representative of Israeli cinema.”

Dadon agreed with Schulberg, withdrawing the film from exhibition.

Dadon replied: “Well received. I completely agree with you. The artistic direction for this film was in contradiction with our objectives. As a result I have asked Palace to pull off the film. I usually prefer not to get involved in artistic matters concerning the festival but in this instance (I had not seen every movie) the message of that film is completely at odds with what we are about.

All ads etc have been cancelled and the film has been cancelled from tomorrow for the rest of the festival next week.

Rest assured that such mistake isn’t about to reoccur.”

***

'It justifies suicide bombing': Inch'allah pulled from Israeli Film Festival


Philippa Hawker  Philippa Hawker  Film and arts writer: The Age

<i>Inch'allah</i> was shown several times before the decision was made to remove it from the program.
 Inch'allah was shown several times before the decision was made to remove it from the program.
The Israeli Film Festival has cancelled scheduled screenings of an award-winning French-Canadian movie following complaints it was "anti-Israeli" and should never have been part of the event.
The decision to pull the film, Inch'allah, was made by Albert Dadon, chairman of the Australia Israel Cultural Exchange, which presents the festival.

The film represents an ideology we obviously can't endorse. It justifies suicide bombing. It might have been OK to be in another festival, but certainly not in ours. 
Mr Dadon said the inclusion of Inch'allah was "an error" because the film was a French-Canadian production, not an Israeli film. He said that it also "represents an ideology we obviously can't endorse. It justifies suicide bombing. It might have been OK to be in another festival, but certainly not in ours."

He said he does not normally involve himself in the artistic direction of the festival, but in this case felt it was necessary.

Inch'allah, written and directed by Canadian filmmaker Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, is set in Israel but was shot in Jordan. It focuses on three women: a Canadian doctor working in a UN clinic in Ramallah (Evelyne Brochu), a pregnant Palestinian woman (Sabrina Ouazani); and an Israeli soldier. The soldier is played by Sivan Levy, who was a festival guest and appeared at post-screening Q&A sessions in Sydney and Melbourne.

The film was shown several times in Victoria and in other states before the decision was made to remove it from the program. The remaining three screenings, which were in Melbourne, were cancelled.

In February, the film won the FIPRESCI critics' prize at the Berlin Film Festival, as well as a special mention in the Ecumenical Jury Award. In the same month, the director was named artist of the year by the Montreal-based les Artistes pour la Paix (artists for peace).

The Australian and New Zealand-Jewish news site J-Wire quoted a festival patron, David Schulberg, who wrote to organisers demanding an explanation for the inclusion of Inch'allah, which he called "anti-Israeli", saying that it "gravely misrepresents the situation that exists in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting the alleged suffering of Palestinians at the hand of the Israelis by distorting and distending the facts on the ground".

He noted that Barbeau-Lavalette was one of 500 Montreal artists who had signed a petition in 2010 supporting the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel.
Tom Ryan, former Sunday Age film critic, moderated the Melbourne Q & A last Saturday. He said he had been impressed by the audience's "robust responses", "the diverse views on offer", and the "sharp intelligence" of Levy, but added he was "truly dismayed" to learn the film had been pulled. "I had been mistaken about what I'd perceived to be a genuinely democratic openness to ideas," he said.

Another festival patron, Sol Salbe, who attended a Melbourne screening of Inch'allah, said he felt the removal of the film was wrong, and made for the wrong reasons.

Film critic and broadcaster Peter Krausz labelled the decision to withdraw the film from the program "appalling", claiming it "makes us a laughing stock around the world".

The festival, now in its 10th year, concludes in Melbourne on Wednesday. The closing night film is Otto Preminger's 1960 Hollywood movie Exodus, which was filmed in Israel.

Inch'allah will be released in selected Australian cinemas in October.

CORRECTION: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to J-Wire as J-News.

****
REVIEW: INCH'ALLAH

By Cinema Blographer


(Canada/France, 102 min.)

Dir. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, Writ. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette

Starring: Evelyne Brochu, Sabrina Ouazani, Sivan Levy 




Inch'Allah comes on a wave of films about Canada's relationship to the Middle East. For example, Ruba Nadda’s Inescapable, which also plays at the TIFF 2012, jets Alexander Siddig and Marisa Tomei to Damascus for a politically-tinged thriller. The trend began with Incendies and its mythical tale about the devastating ravages of the civil war in Lebanon. The film proved a bone fide hit. Then came Monsieur Lazhar and its sweet tale about Middle Easterners becoming part of the Canadian cultural mosaic. There was also Afghan Luke, the inevitable CanCon turkey, but we'll just slip that one under the covers. If we can't see it, the problem doesn't exist, right?



The same rationalization becomes the central dilemma in Inch'Allah, the latest Canadian film embroiled in the drama of the Middle East. Inch'Allah, directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, is a powerful film. Comparisons to Incendies are inevitable, and audiences will be glad to hear that Inch’Allah holds its own against Denis Villenueve’s masterpiece. (Barbeau-Lavalette actually worked on Incendies and directed a behind the scenes documentary that appears on the Blu-ray edition of the film.) Like Incendies, Inch’Allah is an emotionally draining and devastating experience; however, as with Canada’s 2010 Oscar nominee, this tragedy has ample rewards.



Inch'Allah tells of the consequences of the civil war between Israel and Palestine. A Canadian doctor named Chloé (Evelyne Brochu from Café de flore) find herself caught on both sides of the concrete wall that separates the two territories, both literally and figuratively. Chloé is hired to work in a clinic in Palestine and she lands the side job of being the personal nurse to a pregnant young Palestinian woman named Rand (Sabrina Ouazani). As Chloé tends to the wounds of Palestinians, she sees firsthand the violence and destruction that ravages the land through war.



Chloé's experience in Palestine also teaches her that Israel is a much safer place; consequently, she keeps an apartment in Jerusalem and makes a daily trip across the border for work. Chloé can pass far more easily than others can. In Israel, Chloé befriends a young woman named Avi (Sivan Levy) who works in the Israeli army. Chloé’s friendship with Avi provides private evidence of how deeply and personally this war cuts. Avi never states her reasons for duty whenever Chloé enquires. The only excuse, from Chloé’s perspective, is that it's hereditary.



Chloé’s friendship with a girl in either warring faction leaves her straddling both sides of a complex situation. As much as Chloé tries to remain neutral and apolitical, she cannot help but be persuaded to fight with one side. One rowdy hooligan teases Chloé that “All sides is no sides.” The comment is delivered with the implication of promiscuity, and Chloé cannot help but feel cheap and dirty while watching bloodshed from the sidelines.



Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette handles the complexity of the Israel/Palestine setting with considerable care and skill. Dialogue about the specificities of the divide is scant, aside from the odd comment that this rift has strong roots rooted in religion and history. Rather than simplify such a complicated story within dialogue that makes for an engaging film, Barbeau-Lavalette doesn’t get mired in explaining too many details of the situation. The writer/director is smart to leave politics aside for much of the film, and she instead focuses on framing the bloodshed through a humanist perspective. Inch’Allah looks at the emotional and psychological tolls that war has on the individual. The film certainly doesn’t ignore politics; rather, it conveys them more subtly through symbolism and mise-en-scene. Inch’Allah will doubtlessly prove provocative and controversial, but it’s important to remember that the film is framed through the eyes of a foreigner who seems unable to scrounge up the facts from parties fighting on either side. Moreover, any explanations fail to justify the killing that Chloé sees.



Anchored by an excellent performance by Evelyne Brochu, Inch’Allah makes clear that the personal is political. Through Chloé’s strained and war-worn eyes, the audience sees a need to end the violence because it corrupts all. Chloé finds herself fighting in a land where nothing good can be produced, which is a fact that is stated powerfully in the climax of the film that brings Chloé and Rand to the border. Some viewers might object that the film frequently puts children as the targets of the violent attacks that are most central to the narrative, but these tragic deaths of innocents ultimately accentuate the senselessness of all the bloodshed. The intriguing framing device of the film, in which the camera follows a child through a marketplace until his trip is cut short by a suicide bomber, will doubtlessly have viewers debating the futility of the violence.



Produced by Kim McCraw and Luc Déry (the same pair of powerhouse producers who brought you Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar, and took Canada to the Oscars two years in a row), Inch'Allah boasts the kind of storytelling that intuitively intertwines the local and the global. By providing such a relevant tale, Inch'Allah aligns itself with Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar by offering a Canadian film that shows progress beyond an idealized national cinema. Inch'Allah should play well internationally when one considers its subject matter, not to mention the credits of its producers. However, this film by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette is another example of a well-constructed Canuck film that deserves to be noticed on merit.

TIFF Review: 'Inch'Allah'



Inch’Allah
(Canada/France, 102 min.)
Dir. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, Writ. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette
Starring: Evelyne Brochu, Sabrina Ouazani, Sivan Levy
Inch'Allah comes on a wave of films about Canada's relationship to the Middle East. For example, Ruba Nadda’s Inescapable, which also plays at the TIFF 2012, jets Alexander Siddig and Marisa Tomei to Damascus for a politically-tinged thriller. The trend began with Incendies and its mythical tale about the devastating ravages of the civil war in Lebanon. The film proved a bone fide hit. Then came Monsieur Lazhar and its sweet tale about Middle Easterners becoming part of the Canadian cultural mosaic. There was also Afghan Luke, the inevitable CanCon turkey, but we'll just slip that one under the covers. If we can't see it, the problem doesn't exist, right?
The same rationalization becomes the central dilemma in Inch'Allah, the latest Canadian film embroiled in the drama of the Middle East. Inch'Allah, directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, is a powerful film. Comparisons to Incendies are inevitable, and audiences will be glad to hear that Inch’Allah holds its own against Denis Villenueve’s masterpiece. (Barbeau-Lavalette actually worked on Incendies and directed a behind the scenes documentary that appears on the Blu-ray edition of the film.) Like Incendies, Inch’Allah is an emotionally draining and devastating experience; however, as with Canada’s 2010 Oscar nominee, this tragedy has ample rewards.
Inch'Allah tells of the consequences of the civil war between Israel and Palestine. A Canadian doctor named Chloé (Evelyne Brochu from Café de flore) find herself caught on both sides of the concrete wall that separates the two territories, both literally and figuratively. Chloé is hired to work in a clinic in Palestine and she lands the side job of being the personal nurse to a pregnant young Palestinian woman named Rand (Sabrina Ouazani). As Chloé tends to the wounds of Palestinians, she sees firsthand the violence and destruction that ravages the land through war.
Chloé's experience in Palestine also teaches her that Israel is a much safer place; consequently, she keeps an apartment in Jerusalem and makes a daily trip across the border for work. Chloé can pass far more easily than others can. In Israel, Chloé befriends a young woman named Avi (Sivan Levy) who works in the Israeli army. Chloé’s friendship with Avi provides private evidence of how deeply and personally this war cuts. Avi never states her reasons for duty whenever Chloé enquires. The only excuse, from Chloé’s perspective, is that it's hereditary.
Chloé’s friendship with a girl in either warring faction leaves her straddling both sides of a complex situation. As much as Chloé tries to remain neutral and apolitical, she cannot help but be persuaded to fight with one side. One rowdy hooligan teases Chloé that “All sides is no sides.” The comment is delivered with the implication of promiscuity, and Chloé cannot help but feel cheap and dirty while watching bloodshed from the sidelines.
Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette handles the complexity of the Israel/Palestine setting with considerable care and skill. Dialogue about the specificities of the divide is scant, aside from the odd comment that this rift has strong roots rooted in religion and history. Rather than simplify such a complicated story within dialogue that makes for an engaging film, Barbeau-Lavalette doesn’t get mired in explaining too many details of the situation. The writer/director is smart to leave politics aside for much of the film, and she instead focuses on framing the bloodshed through a humanist perspective. Inch’Allah looks at the emotional and psychological tolls that war has on the individual. The film certainly doesn’t ignore politics; rather, it conveys them more subtly through symbolism and mise-en-scene. Inch’Allah will doubtlessly prove provocative and controversial, but it’s important to remember that the film is framed through the eyes of a foreigner who seems unable to scrounge up the facts from parties fighting on either side. Moreover, any explanations fail to justify the killing that Chloé sees.

Anchored by an excellent performance by Evelyne Brochu, Inch’Allah makes clear that the personal is political. Through Chloé’s strained and war-worn eyes, the audience sees a need to end the violence because it corrupts all. Chloé finds herself fighting in a land where nothing good can be produced, which is a fact that is stated powerfully in the climax of the film that brings Chloé and Rand to the border. Some viewers might object that the film frequently puts children as the targets of the violent attacks that are most central to the narrative, but these tragic deaths of innocents ultimately accentuate the senselessness of all the bloodshed. The intriguing framing device of the film, in which the camera follows a child through a marketplace until his trip is cut short by a suicide bomber, will doubtlessly have viewers debating the futility of the violence.
Produced by Kim McCraw and Luc Déry (the same pair of powerhouse producers who brought you Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar, and took Canada to the Oscars two years in a row), Inch'Allah boasts the kind of storytelling that intuitively intertwines the local and the global. By providing such a relevant tale, Inch'Allah aligns itself with Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar by offering a Canadian film that shows progress beyond an idealized national cinema. Inch'Allah should play well internationally when one considers its subject matter, not to mention the credits of its producers. However, this film by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette is another example of a well-constructed Canuck film that deserves to be noticed on merit. 
- See more at: http://www.cinemablographer.com/2012/09/tiff-review-inchallah.html#sthash.mHg4Bqnx.dpuf
Inch’Allah
(Canada/France, 102 min.)
Dir. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, Writ. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette
Starring: Evelyne Brochu, Sabrina Ouazani, Sivan Levy
Inch'Allah comes on a wave of films about Canada's relationship to the Middle East. For example, Ruba Nadda’s Inescapable, which also plays at the TIFF 2012, jets Alexander Siddig and Marisa Tomei to Damascus for a politically-tinged thriller. The trend began with Incendies and its mythical tale about the devastating ravages of the civil war in Lebanon. The film proved a bone fide hit. Then came Monsieur Lazhar and its sweet tale about Middle Easterners becoming part of the Canadian cultural mosaic. There was also Afghan Luke, the inevitable CanCon turkey, but we'll just slip that one under the covers. If we can't see it, the problem doesn't exist, right?
The same rationalization becomes the central dilemma in Inch'Allah, the latest Canadian film embroiled in the drama of the Middle East. Inch'Allah, directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, is a powerful film. Comparisons to Incendies are inevitable, and audiences will be glad to hear that Inch’Allah holds its own against Denis Villenueve’s masterpiece. (Barbeau-Lavalette actually worked on Incendies and directed a behind the scenes documentary that appears on the Blu-ray edition of the film.) Like Incendies, Inch’Allah is an emotionally draining and devastating experience; however, as with Canada’s 2010 Oscar nominee, this tragedy has ample rewards.
Inch'Allah tells of the consequences of the civil war between Israel and Palestine. A Canadian doctor named Chloé (Evelyne Brochu from Café de flore) find herself caught on both sides of the concrete wall that separates the two territories, both literally and figuratively. Chloé is hired to work in a clinic in Palestine and she lands the side job of being the personal nurse to a pregnant young Palestinian woman named Rand (Sabrina Ouazani). As Chloé tends to the wounds of Palestinians, she sees firsthand the violence and destruction that ravages the land through war.
Chloé's experience in Palestine also teaches her that Israel is a much safer place; consequently, she keeps an apartment in Jerusalem and makes a daily trip across the border for work. Chloé can pass far more easily than others can. In Israel, Chloé befriends a young woman named Avi (Sivan Levy) who works in the Israeli army. Chloé’s friendship with Avi provides private evidence of how deeply and personally this war cuts. Avi never states her reasons for duty whenever Chloé enquires. The only excuse, from Chloé’s perspective, is that it's hereditary.
Chloé’s friendship with a girl in either warring faction leaves her straddling both sides of a complex situation. As much as Chloé tries to remain neutral and apolitical, she cannot help but be persuaded to fight with one side. One rowdy hooligan teases Chloé that “All sides is no sides.” The comment is delivered with the implication of promiscuity, and Chloé cannot help but feel cheap and dirty while watching bloodshed from the sidelines.
Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette handles the complexity of the Israel/Palestine setting with considerable care and skill. Dialogue about the specificities of the divide is scant, aside from the odd comment that this rift has strong roots rooted in religion and history. Rather than simplify such a complicated story within dialogue that makes for an engaging film, Barbeau-Lavalette doesn’t get mired in explaining too many details of the situation. The writer/director is smart to leave politics aside for much of the film, and she instead focuses on framing the bloodshed through a humanist perspective. Inch’Allah looks at the emotional and psychological tolls that war has on the individual. The film certainly doesn’t ignore politics; rather, it conveys them more subtly through symbolism and mise-en-scene. Inch’Allah will doubtlessly prove provocative and controversial, but it’s important to remember that the film is framed through the eyes of a foreigner who seems unable to scrounge up the facts from parties fighting on either side. Moreover, any explanations fail to justify the killing that Chloé sees.

Anchored by an excellent performance by Evelyne Brochu, Inch’Allah makes clear that the personal is political. Through Chloé’s strained and war-worn eyes, the audience sees a need to end the violence because it corrupts all. Chloé finds herself fighting in a land where nothing good can be produced, which is a fact that is stated powerfully in the climax of the film that brings Chloé and Rand to the border. Some viewers might object that the film frequently puts children as the targets of the violent attacks that are most central to the narrative, but these tragic deaths of innocents ultimately accentuate the senselessness of all the bloodshed. The intriguing framing device of the film, in which the camera follows a child through a marketplace until his trip is cut short by a suicide bomber, will doubtlessly have viewers debating the futility of the violence.
Produced by Kim McCraw and Luc Déry (the same pair of powerhouse producers who brought you Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar, and took Canada to the Oscars two years in a row), Inch'Allah boasts the kind of storytelling that intuitively intertwines the local and the global. By providing such a relevant tale, Inch'Allah aligns itself with Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar by offering a Canadian film that shows progress beyond an idealized national cinema. Inch'Allah should play well internationally when one considers its subject matter, not to mention the credits of its producers. However, this film by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette is another example of a well-constructed Canuck film that deserves to be noticed on merit. 
- See more at: http://www.cinemablographer.com/2012/09/tiff-review-inchallah.html#sthash.mHg4Bqnx.dpuf

TIFF Review: 'Inch'Allah'



Inch’Allah
(Canada/France, 102 min.)
Dir. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, Writ. Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette
Starring: Evelyne Brochu, Sabrina Ouazani, Sivan Levy
Inch'Allah comes on a wave of films about Canada's relationship to the Middle East. For example, Ruba Nadda’s Inescapable, which also plays at the TIFF 2012, jets Alexander Siddig and Marisa Tomei to Damascus for a politically-tinged thriller. The trend began with Incendies and its mythical tale about the devastating ravages of the civil war in Lebanon. The film proved a bone fide hit. Then came Monsieur Lazhar and its sweet tale about Middle Easterners becoming part of the Canadian cultural mosaic. There was also Afghan Luke, the inevitable CanCon turkey, but we'll just slip that one under the covers. If we can't see it, the problem doesn't exist, right?
The same rationalization becomes the central dilemma in Inch'Allah, the latest Canadian film embroiled in the drama of the Middle East. Inch'Allah, directed by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette, is a powerful film. Comparisons to Incendies are inevitable, and audiences will be glad to hear that Inch’Allah holds its own against Denis Villenueve’s masterpiece. (Barbeau-Lavalette actually worked on Incendies and directed a behind the scenes documentary that appears on the Blu-ray edition of the film.) Like Incendies, Inch’Allah is an emotionally draining and devastating experience; however, as with Canada’s 2010 Oscar nominee, this tragedy has ample rewards.
Inch'Allah tells of the consequences of the civil war between Israel and Palestine. A Canadian doctor named Chloé (Evelyne Brochu from Café de flore) find herself caught on both sides of the concrete wall that separates the two territories, both literally and figuratively. Chloé is hired to work in a clinic in Palestine and she lands the side job of being the personal nurse to a pregnant young Palestinian woman named Rand (Sabrina Ouazani). As Chloé tends to the wounds of Palestinians, she sees firsthand the violence and destruction that ravages the land through war.
Chloé's experience in Palestine also teaches her that Israel is a much safer place; consequently, she keeps an apartment in Jerusalem and makes a daily trip across the border for work. Chloé can pass far more easily than others can. In Israel, Chloé befriends a young woman named Avi (Sivan Levy) who works in the Israeli army. Chloé’s friendship with Avi provides private evidence of how deeply and personally this war cuts. Avi never states her reasons for duty whenever Chloé enquires. The only excuse, from Chloé’s perspective, is that it's hereditary.
Chloé’s friendship with a girl in either warring faction leaves her straddling both sides of a complex situation. As much as Chloé tries to remain neutral and apolitical, she cannot help but be persuaded to fight with one side. One rowdy hooligan teases Chloé that “All sides is no sides.” The comment is delivered with the implication of promiscuity, and Chloé cannot help but feel cheap and dirty while watching bloodshed from the sidelines.
Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette handles the complexity of the Israel/Palestine setting with considerable care and skill. Dialogue about the specificities of the divide is scant, aside from the odd comment that this rift has strong roots rooted in religion and history. Rather than simplify such a complicated story within dialogue that makes for an engaging film, Barbeau-Lavalette doesn’t get mired in explaining too many details of the situation. The writer/director is smart to leave politics aside for much of the film, and she instead focuses on framing the bloodshed through a humanist perspective. Inch’Allah looks at the emotional and psychological tolls that war has on the individual. The film certainly doesn’t ignore politics; rather, it conveys them more subtly through symbolism and mise-en-scene. Inch’Allah will doubtlessly prove provocative and controversial, but it’s important to remember that the film is framed through the eyes of a foreigner who seems unable to scrounge up the facts from parties fighting on either side. Moreover, any explanations fail to justify the killing that Chloé sees.

Anchored by an excellent performance by Evelyne Brochu, Inch’Allah makes clear that the personal is political. Through Chloé’s strained and war-worn eyes, the audience sees a need to end the violence because it corrupts all. Chloé finds herself fighting in a land where nothing good can be produced, which is a fact that is stated powerfully in the climax of the film that brings Chloé and Rand to the border. Some viewers might object that the film frequently puts children as the targets of the violent attacks that are most central to the narrative, but these tragic deaths of innocents ultimately accentuate the senselessness of all the bloodshed. The intriguing framing device of the film, in which the camera follows a child through a marketplace until his trip is cut short by a suicide bomber, will doubtlessly have viewers debating the futility of the violence.
Produced by Kim McCraw and Luc Déry (the same pair of powerhouse producers who brought you Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar, and took Canada to the Oscars two years in a row), Inch'Allah boasts the kind of storytelling that intuitively intertwines the local and the global. By providing such a relevant tale, Inch'Allah aligns itself with Incendies and Monsieur Lazhar by offering a Canadian film that shows progress beyond an idealized national cinema. Inch'Allah should play well internationally when one considers its subject matter, not to mention the credits of its producers. However, this film by Anaïs Barbeau-Lavalette is another example of a well-constructed Canuck film that deserves to be noticed on merit. 
- See more at: http://www.cinemablographer.com/2012/09/tiff-review-inchallah.html#sthash.mHg4Bqnx.dpuf

Monday, August 26, 2013

Israeli Occupation Forces murder 3 Palestinians in Qalandia refugee camp, seriously injure at least 15 others.

Dear friends, 
Israeli Occupation Forces invaded Qalandia refugee camp in the early hours of the morning on 26th August.  In resulting clashes, 3 Palestinians were murdered by the Israeli Occupation Forces, including a UN Relief worker.  At least 15 or 16 others were injured, at least half of the critically, including 5 children.

I have included below reports from the International Solidarity Movement and the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

In the wake of the murders at Qalandia, protests have broken out in other Palestinian cities and Israeli Occupation Forces have conducted invasions into a number of cities, including Jenin and Hebron.


In solidarity, 
Kim
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Israeli Forces Use Excessive Lethal Force Killing 3 Palestinian Civilians and Wounding 16 Others, Including 5 Children, in Qalandya Refugee Camp

Monday, 26 August 2013 00:00
Ref: 87/2013

In an excessive use of lethal force, on Monday morning, 26 August 2013, Israeli occupation forces killed 3 Palestinian civilians and wounded 16 others, including 5 children, in Qalandya refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem in the central West Bank.  The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) denounces this heinous crime, holds Israel fully responsible for the current escalation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) and  demands the international community to assume its responsibilities and provide protection for the Palestinian civilians.

According to investigations conducted by PCHR and statements of eyewitnesses, at approximately 05:00 on Monday, 26 August 2013, Israeli forces in military vehicles and a 20-member infantry unit moved into Qalandya refugee camp, north of occupied Jerusalem.  They positioned themselves in the streets and then moved into al-Souq neighborhood in the centre of the refugee camp to carry out an arrest campaign. Israeli forces raided a house belonging to the family of Abdul Rahim al-Khatib near the Grand Mosque to arrest one of the family members.  In the meantime, dozens of young men and boys gathered and threw stones at Israeli forces that immediately fired live ammunition,  tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the stone throwers.  Israeli forces received backups that moved into the camp through its entrance and western side. They heavily opened fire at the stone throwers.  As a result, 3 Palestinian civilians were killed and 16 others were wounded, including 5 children; the majority of them were wounded in the upper part of the body. Moreover, Israeli forces arrested 2 brothers: Yusef Abdul Rahim al-Khatib (24) and Omar al-Khatib (27). Yusef was taken to an unknown destination while Omar was released at Qalandya checkpoint an hour after Israeli forces had withdrawn from the camp at 07:30. .

The civilians who were killed are:
1- Yunis Jamal Jahjouh (23), who was hit by a live bullet to the chest;
2- Jehad Mansour Aslan (21), who was hit by a live bullet to the chest; and
3- Rubin Abdul Rahman Zayed (33), who was hit by several live bullets to the chest as well.

As a result, the number of Palestinian civilians who have been killed in a week has mounted to 4, as Israeli forces killed a civilian in Jenin refugee camp, in the north of the West Bank, when they moved into the said camp on 20 August 2013.

PCHR is strongly concerned over this crime, which further proves the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians in disregard for the civilians’ lives. Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention.  These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol I Additional to the Geneva Conventions.

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Three killed in Qalandiya: Protests spread across West Bank

26th August 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Ramallah Team | Qalandiya Refugee Camp, Occupied Palestine

At around 2am on 26th August 2013, eleven military jeeps invaded Qalandiya Refugee camp to arrest a recently released prisoner. Residents of the camp tried to stop the army from arresting the man by throwing stones at military jeeps. Confrontations then erupted, with the Israeli soldiers shooting tear-gas canisters, rubber-coated steel bullets and live ammunition at the youth defending the refugee camp. Nineteen people were injured from live ammunition and rubber-coated steel bullets and two were killed on the spot, with a third dying shortly afterwards. Around six of these are still reportedly in a critical condition. Demonstrations mourning the martyrs and out of anger at their deaths spread across the West Bank, with particularly fierce clashes at Qalandiya checkpoint and in the city of Hebron.

Poster showing the three martyrs, along with women on a roof overlooking the funeral march today.
Poster showing the three martyrs, along with women on a roof overlooking the funeral march today (photo by ISM)

During the early morning raid, 32-year-old Robin Ziad, a UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) worker, was on his way to work when he was shot in the chest with live ammunition. Younes Jahjouh, aged 22, was shot in the chest; while 20-year-old Jihad Aslan was shot in the neck – also with live ammunition. Robin and Younes died immediately from their wounds, whereas Jihad was transferred to Ramallah hospital, where he was declared clinically dead later in the morning. Israeli forces continued their raid, arresting the man they were looking for and leaving the refugee camp at around 7.30am.

Hundreds of mourners attended the funeral of the three martyrs at Qalandiya refugee camp, as friends and family members carried their bodies through the camp to the cemetery where they were buried. Gunshots and chants protesting their killing were heard throughout the ceremony as mourners filled the streets surrounding the cemetery.

After the funeral, dozens of youths marched along the main road to Qalandiya checkpoint and made barricades of burning tyres to prevent the Israeli military from approaching. Israeli forces arrived from across the checkpoint and shot several rounds of tear-gas canisters and sound bombs, while Palestinian youth defended the area by throwing stones at the Apartheid Wall, the checkpoint and the heavily armed and armoured soldiers.
Demonstrators burned tyres at Qalandiya checkpoint (photo by ISM)
Demonstrators burned tyres at Qalandiya checkpoint (photo by ISM)

As confrontations continued, Israeli forces shot many rounds of rubber-coated steel bullets at protesters, injuring at least ten. Medical personnel present at the scene also treated an old man who had suffered from the effects of excessive teargas inhalation.

Across the West Bank, there was a general strike as shops and businesses shut down for the day in solidarity with the martyrs and in protest against the occupation that caused it. Also, as news spread of the three martyrs, solidarity demonstrations sparked in many other cities and refugee camps.

Hundreds of protesters took to the streets of Hebron in response to the killings. Demonstrators armed with stones were met with teargas canisters, rubber coated steel bullets and sound bombs from the Israeli army.

The clashes continued for around eight hours and shut down the main shopping streets of Hebron, where barricades were constructed from burning tyres and empty water tanks. Israeli soldiers invaded the Palestinian Authority controlled H1 area, taking up positions on the roofs of residential buildings. The Israeli forces arrested at least four Palestinians, including Amjad Ibrahim Al-Natcha, 19, and three children.

Soldiers invade H1 and shoot rubber bullets at demonstrators
Soldiers invade H1 and shoot rubber bullets at demonstrators (photo by ISM)

Confrontations between Israeli forces and Palestinian youth protesting the killings also happened at Al Fawwar refugee camp near Hebron, Aida refugee camp near Bethlehem and  Al Ram, amongst others.

Tomorrow, 27th August, has been declared the “Day of Anger” and more protests throughout the West Bank in response to the Qalandiya killings and the continued occupation are expected.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Israel setting up “covert units” to tweet, Facebook government propaganda

Dear friends,
many of you will already be aware of Israel's hasbara (propaganda) efforts and its establishment of hasbara (propaganda) units to push their "Brand Israel" campaign and to combat the Palestinian BDS campaign and Palestine solidarity activism on social media.  I am posting this recent article by Ali Abunimah from Electronic Intifada as it gives a good round up of the Israeli government program and its latest developments.


in solidarity,
Kim

Israel setting up “covert units” to tweet, Facebook government propaganda




Screenshot shows Israelis in an organized digital “war” room posting tweets against the flotilla to Gaza in the summer of 2011. (Source)

The Israeli prime minister’s office is organizing Israeli students in “covert” and “semi-military” style units to tweet and post pro-Israel messages on social media without revealing they are doing it as part of a government propaganda campaign, Israeli media reported today.
But as The Electronic Intifada has previously revealed, this effort is not entirely new.
Haaretz reports today:

The Prime Minister’s Office is planning to form, in collaboration with the National Union of Israeli Students, “covert units” within Israel’s seven universities that will engage in online public diplomacy (hasbara).
The students participating in the project, who would post on social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter on Israel’s behalf, will be part of the public diplomacy arm of the PMO [prime minister’s office], but would not identify themselves as official government representatives.
It is clear that the Israeli government views universities and students as tools in its international propaganda, as a government document, cited by Haaretz, reveals:

“In light of the success in the battle for awareness during the Pillar of Defense Operation [the Israeli military operation against the Gaza Strip in November of last year] and the experience gained in activating a large number of situation rooms on university campuses and work with students in general, it was decided to establish a permanent structure of activity on the Internet through the students at academic institutions in the country.”
Haaretz adds that it is apparent from the document “that a diplomacy group will be set up at each university and structured in a semi-military fashion.” The person in charge of the initiative is Daniel Seaman, former director of the Government Press Office, who has used his personal Facebook page to post racist, Islamophobic and violent material.

Israel’s covert use of social media not new

But this effort is not new. Last year, The Electronic Intifada revealed that the National Union of Israeli Students was already a full-time partner in Israeli government propaganda and set up a project to pay Israeli university students up to $2,000 to spread propaganda online.
As The Electronic Intifada also reported, the National Union of Israeli Students sent its members for government propaganda training and described students as Israel’s “pretty face,” to be deployed as a propaganda auxiliary force.

The union set as one of its organizational goals, working “in cooperation with government ministries and additional organizations, to improve the explanation [hasbara] of Israel’s position around the world.”

At the time, the Electronic Frontier Foundation’s Jillian C. York compared Israel’s online propaganda efforts to those of China, Syria and Bahrain.

“I have seen considerable efforts, both by Israeli companies like Ahava and–apparently–government-supported groups, to utilize some of the same techniques as Syria and Bahrain, particularly on Twitter,” York also previously wrote.

Such Israeli government efforts, which attempt to disguise official propaganda as the work of ordinary concerned citizens and students, date back at least to December 2008, during Israel’s Operation Cast Lead assault on Gaza.

Every computer user is a “kind of soldier”

At that time Israeli social media strategist Niv Calderon wrote that he was hired by the foreign ministry for a first of its kind effort to create a digital “war room” to promote Israel’s propaganda message internationally.

Calderon was later involved in similar organized social media efforts to discredit the Gaza flotillas, and in one report on Israeli TV from June 2011, Calderon can be seen managing a social media “war room” working against that summer’s flotilla to Gaza.



“There is a media war here,” Calderon explains, “and every citizen, every computer user, is a kind of soldier.”

“Equipped with laptops and iPhones,” the report says, government social media propagandists go to war using “tweets as their weapons.”

The report even shows social media propagandists being trained to find random images of market places in Gaza to post online to obscure the fact that Israel’s siege has caused severe hardship to the civilian population there.

Calderon has also previously worked on the social media campaigns of the anti-Palestinian group StandWithUs.

Desperate

The new “covert” social media push comes as surveys confirm Israel’s status as one of the most negatively viewed countries in the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shrugged off these findings, declaring, “it’s not about the facts, it’s about the defamation of Israel and our portrayal as peace rejecters, war mongers instead of an enlightened nation that is fighting against aims to destroy us.”

Netanyahu, like the Israelis behind these various covert schemes, seems to think Israel can still market, sell, cheat and tweet its way out of being seen, rightly, as an apartheid-practicing, colonizing occupier, violently depriving millions of Palestinians of their most fundamental rights.

One obstacle the Israeli campaigns must overcome is the fact that Israel’s biggest social media hits have been entirely negative – a result of the tendency of many Israelis, especially soldiers, to post violent, hateful and outright racist material on their social media accounts, especially on Facebook and Instagram.

Strengthens case for academic boycott

The recruitment of universities and their complicity in government propaganda efforts aimed at justifying Israeli violations of Palestinian rights will likely strengthen arguments in favor of the Palestinian call for the boycott of Israeli academic institutions.

This call received a boost this week – unrelated to these social media campaigns – from dozens of international faculty calling on their peers to boycott an upcoming conference on oral history at the Hebrew University.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Poems for Palestine: Art is not a mirror to reflect reality but a hammer with which to shape it


Dear friends,

Bertolt Brecht once said: "Art is not a mirror to reflect reality, but a hammer with which to shape it".  Despite the claims by some, art and culture are not neutral or value free, they are infused with politics and ideology whether we realise it or want to admit it. 

For those of us who recognise this, we also recognise that art and culture can and should be used to shape our world, to help transform it, to challenge those in power and to challenge the power structures that exist in our society in order to support and advocate for ordinary people, for the oppressed and those in struggle.  

This is why it is important to not only support the Palestinian campaign for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel, but also to support resistance art.

Please find below three of my favourite Palestinian poets with some of their most powerful and passionate spoken word pieces.

in solidarity,
Kim


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Remi Kanazi - Normalize This

Rafeef Ziadah -  We Teach Life, Sir.


SUHEIR HAMMAD'S GAZA SUITE
Suheir Hammad - Gaza Suite: 1. Gaza

Suheir Hammad - Gaza Suite: 2. Rafah

 
Suheir Hammad - Gaza Suite: 3.Tel al-hawa

Suheir Hammad - Gaza Suite: 4.Jabalya

 
Suheir Hammad - Gaza Suite: 5. Zaytoun