Budrus documentary on peace activism

By Clarisse Thorn

Last week I saw a fantastic documentary: Budrus, an inspiring look at some of the non-violent activism that is shaping the Israel/Palestine conflict right now. Snip from the site: Budrus is an award-winning feature documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israels Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a womens contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat. While this film is about one Palestinian village, it tells a much bigger story about what is possible in the Middle East. Ayed succeeded in doing what many people believe to be impossible: he united feuding Palestinian political groups, including Fatah and Hamas; he brought women to the heart of the struggle by encouraging his daughter Iltezams leadership; and welcoming hundreds of Israelis to cross into Palestinian territory for the first time and join this nonviolent effort. Many of the activists who joined the villagers of Budrus are now continuing to support nonviolence efforts in villages from Bilin to Nabi Saleh to Sheikh Jarrah in East Jerusalem. Budrus includes diverse voices from the Palestinian leaders of the movement and their Israeli allies to an Israeli military spokesman, Doron Spielman, and Yasmine Levy, the Israeli border police captain stationed in the village at that time. While many documentaries about the Palestinian-Israeli conflict either romanticize the notion of peace, or dwell entirely on the suffering of victims to the conflict, this film focuses on the success of a Palestinian-led nonviolent movement. Personally, I was especially struck by the all-too-brief portrait of Yasmine Levy, the Israeli border police captain. She talked about how the Palestinian activists learned her name and would call to her, asking how a woman could be leading such an initiative. Although her face didnt look tormented as she spoke, I still thought I could detect a sense of inner conflict in her words when she discussed feeling like a robot while being aimed by her Israeli superiors at the nonviolent protesters. The organization that made Budrus is called Just Vision, and their mission is worth highlighting here as well: Just Vision emerged in response to the lack of media coverage of Palestinian and Israeli civilians working to end the occupation and the conflict. While violent extremism receives front637 S. Victory Blvd.| Burbank, CA 91502 | Phone: (818) 567-4400 | Fax: (818) 567-4401 www.fhofficesystems.com

page exposure, courageous nonviolence leaders and peacebuilders are relegated to occasional human interest stories. Consequently, at Just Vision, we work to ensure that these Palestinian and Israeli civic leaders are not only taken seriously as partners in the quest for peace, but are also more visible, valued and influential in their efforts. There are thousands of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians stepping forward to end the bloodshed and the occupation, preserve human rights, promote reconciliation and build a sustainable, free and secure future for all. However, their stories seldom make the headlines, drowned out by sensational media coverage of the region. This prevents the discourse on nonviolent conflict resolution among Israelis and Palestinians from emerging in the public sphere. There is an urgent need to share these peacebuilders and nonviolence leaders hard-won experiences with others, to promote initiatives that are successful and to encourage broader publics to get involved. Just Vision launched in 2003 after two years of intensive research. We consulted nearly 500 Israeli and Palestinian leaders in nonviolence and peacebuilding to learn about their work, their successes, failures and lessons learned. Heres a list of upcoming Budrus screenings. Just Vision is also looking for more people to host screenings. The screening here in Chicago was free to attend, and organized by university students.

637 S. Victory Blvd.| Burbank, CA 91502 | Phone: (818) 567-4400 | Fax: (818) 567-4401 www.fhofficesystems.com