In a room full of people passionate about the truth, conflict
was inevitable.
On Wednesday night, the screening of a film about the Israeli
military action in Jenin last spring and a presentation by a UCLA
student who visited the site sparked a heated debate over the
actions of the Israeli military in the West Bank refugee camp.
The United Arab Society hosted the film and speaker that
attracted an audience of about 50 people, members and non-members
alike.
The film, made by prominent Palestinian filmmaker and actor
Muhammad Bakri, has been banned in Israel for political
reasons.
Entitled “Jenin Jenin,” it examines the lives and
experiences of Jenin residents after Israeli military forces
entered the camp in search of terrorists in April 2002.
Panning over the rubble of bombed and bulldozed homes, the film
captures both the human and physical devastation of Jenin. In
interviews, Bakri listens to residents recount their memories of
the experience and express their determination to resist and
rebuild.
In pamphlets passed out at the meeting, Bakri emphasized that
the film was about “the people who live in the camp”
and did not include the views or reactions of any Israelis.
After the film, Hyun-mi Kim, a fifth-year history student,
recounted her experiences in Jenin and shared photographs of the
camp.
Kim had been studying in South Africa with the Education Abroad
Program before deciding to visit the Middle East on her own, in
order to “see with (her) own eyes” what had happened
there.
Kim said she witnessed first-hand war crimes committed by
Israeli forces. She, along with Jenin residents interviewed in the
film said that “(the Israeli troops) shoot children and
pregnant women.”
Kim conducted a question-and-answer session after her
presentation, and her statements elicited strong reactions from the
audience.
Nir Teiler, who served in Jenin with the Israeli Defense Forces,
said the film and the presentation were “all lies.”
Teiler sat with a section of pro-Israel students who challenged
the veracity of Kim’s claims and engaged in an emotional
debate with other members of the audience.
At one point, someone from the crowd shouted to Teiler,
“How many Palestinians did you kill as an Israeli
soldier?”
Although Kim admitted she was “pro-Palestinian,” she
said her intention was to present “just the facts”
about Jenin.
The discussion, however, frequently veered away from the events
at Jenin and widened into a debate about the entire
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with each side citing official
sources to support their claims.
Overall organizers said the event was a success. UAS president
Maraam Haddad, a third-year psychology student, said she was
encouraged to see “some sort of debatable discourse.”
She emphasized that UAS welcomes non-Arabs to its meetings and
“loved to see opposition.”
Many event participants were also eager to hear differing
perspectives on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Naser Hamdi, a graduate student studying biomedical engineering,
said mainstream U.S. news coverage is “directed
propaganda” and expressed his avid interest in alternative
media sources.
Other students said the film provided an alternative perspective
by portraying the suffering of Palestinians, whose plight has been
largely ignored.
Shukry Cattan, a third-year history student and external vice
president of UAS, said he was frustrated at seeing so much anger
and not knowing what to do.