Palestinian-Israeli Conflict from the Perspective of Palestinian Filmmaker Name
Institution

Palestinian-Israeli Conflict from the Perspective of Palestinian Filmmaker The Palestinian movie industry has significantly grown in the resent past despite the challenge they face with majority of the movies coming from different sources of film production. There lack adequate equipments that are used to produce the movies, and this poses a great challenge to the industry. Lack of funds to finance the movie production, further, poses a greater challenge in the industry. The various Palestinian movie production sites include the Authority of Palestinian, the different Diasporas in Palestinian and also other producers in Israel. The Palestinian Cinema can, therefore, be viewed as an opposing representation because it originated from the conflict between Palestinian and Israel. The conflict between Palestinian and Israel began man years ago due to the decision of the United States to form Israel. The conflicts between the two nations involve the Arabs who are the Palestinians and Jewish who are the Israelites. The war has resulted in death of many people and has further, led to discrepancies between the Israelites and many Arab nations. The differences between the Zionists and various Arab nations that are not involved in the actual conflict are as a result of their involvement in the war to assist the Palestinians. According to Bulton (2013), most of the Palestinian films are based on the background of the colonialism of Israel. Further, if focuses on the misconception of the visual manifestation of the existence of the Palestinians movies in the media internationally. This essay evaluates and discusses the conflict between Israeli and Palestine from the standpoint of the Arabs and also Palestinian filmmakers. Besides, a comparison and a distinction of how the conflict is addressed by movie makers from the entertainment industry, and specifically by the Arab filmmakers is given. Further, pictures of a variety of movies are also displayed showing some scenes in various movies. The conflict between Israeli and Palestine has, to a great extent, influenced and affected the movie industry in many ways. The majority of the films that are produced in the region have their main focus on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and war. It is vivid that the state of a nation or region significantly influences the movies that are produced. The films have been showing the causes and the consequences of the conflict that started when Israelites migrated to Palestine land (Hirschfield, 2007). For example, the film ‘Parade Now’ provides an exiting tactic to the state of the conflict. Harmonious living of people is shown prior the migration of Zionist and establishment of a Jewish province in the Palestine, which was against the will of the Palestinians. Further, the film shows a pessimistic attitude by both Palestinians and Israelites which compares with the various characters of the Israeli depicted in the movie. Further, the movie portrays the ideological stalemate and also the present politics. It is also vivid from the movie that the violence between the two states increases with the increasing Israeli settlements in Palestinian. Israeli uses her power to overpower and conquer the Palestine land which fortifies the conflict. To some extent, the conflict it is seen to have no solution. Some Arab countries have come in to help the Palestinians reclaim their land which have seen them get in conflicts with Israeli. Despite of the many trials by these countries, Israel is seen to overpower them. Below are some pictures showing some scenes in the ‘Paradise Now’ movie (Abu-Assad, 2006).

Further, many filmmakers form Palestine and other Arab nations have criticized Israel because of their violence. Traditionally, the Israelites are seen as scoundrels and in many movies across the globe, they have been contrasted with the beast. ‘The Syrian Bride’ is an example of a film that vividly criticizes the Israel based on Zionism and also their establishment following their permit to settle in Palestine. Below are pictures of the movie ‘The Syrian Bride’ (Riklis, 2006).

Furthermore, some Palestinian films portray new sociologists and historians modern when contrasted in various Palestinian movies. For example, the film ‘The House” portrays the Arabs as technicians and portray the Israelites as violent and sadists. The movie shows the way Israeli used their superiority to violently conquer Palestine. That was after being allowed a land to settle in Palestine. The Palestinian movie of 1980’s is seen to have instances of violence which are similar with the ones found in the movies of 1970’s. The aspects common in the movies in the two decades include financial and political instability, the need to recognize and equip the filmmakers in the cultural sector. Israeli-Palestinian conflict is viewed in varied perspectives by both the filmmakers from the Arab countries and also the entire entertainment industry. Using movies to represent various challenges and differences provides insight, interpretations and also exposure to reality to the observers. That is a major approach that the Arab movie makers and other filmmakers use in their attempts to solve the conflict between Israeli and Palestine. Many filmmakers have produced films that focuses on the issue between the two countries and that helps in understanding the concepts presented. For example, ‘Parade Now’ is a movie that has created awareness about the problems that the Palestine people are facing and also have faced in the past. Furthermore, the movie can be used by various stakeholders to help to understand the intentions of the suicide bombers. Further, it can be used to educate about the problems brought by the bombers to the nation. Additionally, the approach enables people to understand various concepts regarding terror. The movie depicts revenge as irrational and an aspect that cannot keep or maintain peace in a country. Terrorists are seen to have lucid motives which should be discouraged. Shefrin, however, discredits Suleiman’s documentary asserting that the efforts were not geared to maintaining peace. He faults the film ‘Divine Intervention’ stating that it is symbolic ironical and absurd, because it only displays the problems facing Palestinians and does not present the actual violence. As a result of that, Shefrin hold that peace can not be restored in the nation unless people are shown the real image of the incidences in Israeli and Palestine. Further, he asserted that the negative effects of conflicts should also be displayed. Further, the film represents and questions the norms, ethos and feminism of the Palestinians. Some of Suleiman’s work questions the Palestinians in spite of the problems they encounter as a result dislodgement from their ancestral land. Further, the Palestinian movies have to a great extent tried to depict the sadistic power of the Israel, how they oppress the Palestinian people, and the adverse effects of the conflict which opposes the 1980’ films that were employed to criticize the political structure and the entire society of Palestine. Movies have been used to imitate and refer to the states that present to represent them. For instance, from the viewpoint of the Israeli, they view Palestine as a territory they had lost then they recovered. On the other hand, the Palestine views the conquered land as a lost territory that they hope to recover. To aggravate the problem, the Israelites have continuously used political supremacy and her armed forces to conquer the remaining Palestine land, therefore, weakening her economy. Despite the Palestine’s claims about the Israeli’s violence, filmmakers hold that the resistance was not adequate to impede the Zionists. For example, Roy & ebrary (2007), elucidates that the movie ‘Wedding’ which was produced by Khelfis criticizes the Palestine violence. The submissive nature of Mukhtar and their plan for revenge is criticized. Further, the peaceful resistance by the Palestinian women is viewed as the major cause of the downfall of Palestine. She argues that the women were ought to collaborate with the military so as to successfully resist the Israelis rule. Besides, the filmmakers form Palestine use films to reveal and expose their connection to their land. Most of the films produced portray them as being familiar, blinded and entrenched to the land. Further, the movies portray the Palestinians as characters who know the entitlement to possess land as depicted in the ‘Chronicle’ film which was produced b Elias. That is different with the manner the movie ‘Wedding’ by Abdel-Malek depicts the Israeli. In the movie, the Israelites are depicted as ‘foreigners’ who extensively use technology. Palestinians are viewed as primitive and rural. The picture below shows some scenes in the ‘Chronicle’ and ‘Wedding’ movies.
Chronicle Movie (Marcus, 1991) Wedding movie (Hannigan et al, 2006)

However, not only the internal colonialism but also the primitivism of the Palestinians has been greatly criticized by film makers, such as Elia Suleiman (Strawson & ebrary, 2010). Moreover, some key components, for instance, irony, the role played by women as well as how the Palestine group is being criticized are altogether misrepresented in the works of Elia Suleiman when contrasted with how they are depicted in Khleifi’s works. Agricultural exploitation and land ownership are emphasized in various movies which include the ‘Wedding’ and ‘Malul’. In addition, the challenges that come with abuse of power as well as dispossession have likewise been tended to in the motion pictures in order to demonstrate the torment experienced by the Palestinian especially when moving within their land. Additionally, as depicted in ‘The Syrian Bride’ movie, Michael Khelif’s narrative gives outlaw stories of the displaced groups as an endeavor to deal with the transportation of individuals and property into Palestine land. The way the Palestinians are treated by the Israeli dehumanizes them as they are denied freedom to move within their own land through the presentation of checkpoints as demonstrated in the “Malul” film. Generally, these checkpoints and barriers to movement make their lives difficult at the cultural, political, economic as well as individual level.
From a cinematic point of view, nonetheless, the barriers to movement only allow the subject security when they localize in the cultural, political and geographical level. In such manner, the checkpoints are utilized as way of showing the experience of the individuals who manage to travel. Consequently, it enables the movie producers to confine in the cinematographic activity ranges (Cook, 2003). That is contradicted to the Palestinians views who believe that presentation of frontiers and points of exit demonstrates that a place lacks any remarkable significance or character. Moreover, the film portrays the checkpoints as places where social gatherings contact or weddings that unite individuals or where individuals get the opportunity to marry as in ‘Rana's Wedding’ and ‘The Syrian Bride’. In such situations, the checkpoints obtain different meanings as opposed to being seen as spots or hindrances that only make the Palestinians’ lives difficult due to the fact that they control their movements. Furthermore, the Palestine film producers utilize these movies as well as other media to help resolve the Palestine-Israel conflict. This is achieved by their use of movies to change people both within and outside Palestine and Israeli (Gazit & Abington, 2001). After all, the movies help both parties to realize themselves and also learn what other people experience like the victims of their conflict. For instance, the films such as ‘Paradise Now’ help people to not only understand themselves better but also obtain some relevant information regarding their enemies. This is because Abbu-Assad does not condone suicide bombing but instead clearly illustrates why people can take part in acts of terror. The films also enhance dialogue which is a peace-initiative approach. As in the ‘Encounter Point’ and the ‘West Bank Story’, dialogue is shown to be a viable option that can improve communication between two conflicting parties in an attempt to find a resolution. A lot of movies that promote knowing about one’s enemies have been produced by the Palestinian film producers. This is because understanding the enemies is a critical concept when it comes to resolving conflicts. Furthermore, there are instances where actors from both countries take part to produce a movie which demonstrated that solutions for their conflicts are possible. In addition to solving some of their differences, it unites their audiences as they get to link together while watching the film since both parties have actors in the movie.
From the above discussion, it is clear that the conflict between Palestinian and Israeli can be ended. In as much as it may not be as simple as it may be desired, it is definitely possible. It is also clear that the conflict has also motivated the production of movies that show the issues that arise from the conflict as well as other effects such as the massive deaths and weakened Palestinian economy. On the other hand, the conflict brought about improvement of the films of the Palestinians as they have interesting topics to produce on such as the suffering of the war victims. As a result, a large number of people watch these movies as a way of sympathizing with the victims as well as understanding the cause of their suffering in order to realize a proper way to end the war. Furthermore, the market for these movies has increased as a lot of festivals are organized in support of the film industry. Additionally, not only the Arab film producers have used movies in an endeavor for peace but other producers in the entertainment industry as well. Films provide a conducive forum for dialogue which enables people to find an agreement process that is the best approach of attaining a favorable connection between the conflicting parties.

References
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Abu-Assad, H. (2006). Paradise now. United States: Warner Independent Pictures.
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