Encounter Point video

This movie is a production of just Vision, under the leadership of main producer Ronit Avin. It is a documentary that highlights the various roles people should play at the grassroots level to end the long lasting Palestinian and Israelites war. Very few people can imagine the possibility of Palestinian and Israelites interaction like this. People affected by the war lead in the process of building reconciliation among the conflicting parties. It casts interviews and forums organized by the lowest people in power and comprising of people from both parties to the war. Through these interviews and forums producer is able to discuss his theme of change that he intends to communicate to audience in all parts of the world interested in non-violent resolution of conflict. In the forums, bereaved family members of both sides join hand to mourn the loss of the war. It relays this with scenes of men and women who have come together for reconciling the two sides in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Bethlehem, Hebron, and many other places. In these scenes mothers, fathers, spouses and sisters or brothers, meet to discuss about the loss of one of their beloved family member. They also talk about how they are dealing with it and whether they think the war should end. Through these discussions, Ronit dissects the process of reconciling the two sides. Consequently, audiences are able to detect the challenges that actors points as hindering the effort for reconciliation.

1: Do particular scenes or the film in general, present the conflict as between two equal or symmetrical parties?

On the contrarily in this movie there lot of imbalances between parties in the war. This is because far from portraying the two parties as having equal powers, this movie depicts Israel as possessing more powers. The main cause of the conflict is occupation of Jerusalem town for its religious symbolism, and Israel has control of this city. In addition, there are many other economic and social disparities between the life of people living in Israel and Palestinian. The other type of difference exists in the types of tactics employed by both sides of the war. Most of the Palestinians interviewed complained that atrocities were committed against them by the military. For instance, Ali Abu Awwad a former prisoner during the first Palestinian revolution against Israel complained an Israelite shot him in the leg. In a similar scenario but atrocities, Israelite soldiers committed atrocities on George young children. He complained losing his two daughters in a scene where soldiers sprayed their car with bullets as his wife was driving home from a supermarket. On the other hand, most of the Israel complained that suicide bombers killed their members of family. For instance, Tzvika lost his daughter in Tel Aviv through a suicide bombing case. Therefore, there a lot of difference between the two sides in conflict because of the tactics they employ as well as control of certain key resources.

2: Would you identify specific parts or the film in general, as pro-Israeli or pro- Palestinian?

On the contrary this movie cuts across both culture and show different actors from both sides as being committed to the reconciliation process. This inclusion of actors from both sides of the conflict makes the movie maintain neutrality in the way it highlights participants’ contribution in the reconciliation process. However, by taking a scenic view of the movie one might be compelled to think that it is inclined on portraying the truth from one side alone. For instance, if one watches the Tel Aviv scene where Tzak lost his daughter to the suicide bombers. One might think that the movie is implying that Palestinians are merciless and Israelites are the victims of these atrocities. However, when you watch and hear confession of other victims narrating their ordeals, facts compel you to look at the war as the cause of the grief in many actors families. This movie therefore documents series of atrocities committed against members of the actors families by agents of war based on their religious and cultural affiliations. These cruel deeds happened on both side of the conflict and everybody is a loser. Therefore, this movie is not pro-Israel or pro-Palestinian because it depicts the negatives of both sides of the war and their effect. By examining execution of various atrocities in the conflict on both sides, we can demonstrate this point better. Israelites soldiers and other agent of the war from their side are insensitive in the tactics they employ. They killed George’s family in a brutal way just because he is a Palestine. On the other hand, producer portrays suicide bombers from the Palestine side as merciless and insensitive. The death of Tzak daughter in Tel Aviv is the best example to explain this.

3: Do you recommend the video for other viewers?

I would definitely recommend this movie to other viewers. This movie presents audience with the best narratives of victims of war and the way they are handling it. This movie is an educative process to those who would like to seek vengeance for atrocities committed against them to have a second thought. One can be able to follow the stories of family members who have lost their beloved, but choose not to seek vengeance and have adopted a non-violent stance. These are people in a lot of pain and others are the actual victims of the conflict. It therefore acts like a challenge to the audience to think of the long-term effect of decision taken when somebody is in this kind of a scenario. In addition, this movie is very good for somebody interested in understanding the various roles that even those not as influential like politicians and other policymakers can play. It takes you to the lowest level of the power hierarchy and it gives you a feel of what noble people can do to change the world around them. This movie does not give you the action that other war movies provides to keep you glued to the screen, but it catches you with the narrations of ordeals that victims passed through and the stories of the bereaved. It also gives you hope that an end to the war is possible if everybody is committed to reconciliation. To sum it all, this movie will show you what people are doing about the conflict rekindle your hope and challenge you to join the queue.

4: Which character in the film did you identify with the most and why?

George Sa’adeh catches my attention most than other characters. This is because of the painful ordeal he went through together with his wife. George narrated the story of how he lost his two beloved daughters as his wife drove back from a supermarket in Bethlehem. He inspired me because unlike other victims who would seek vengeance under such circumstances, considering the pain of a parent in such a loss, he opted for the peaceful option. George and his wife joined a bereaved families’ forum to push for reconciliation. Therefore, to me he is an inspiration because in previous movies that I have watched, actors would prepare to go for revenge because that is the most obvious thing that comes into human mind. This therefore means that George had special intelligence or at least was human enough to avoid taking the incidence as a personal one like it would happen in those other scenes.

5: Very briefly, do you believe non- violence method is a good tool in resolving conflicts?

Yes, I totally agree to non-violent approach to conflict resolution. This is because it is easy for others to identify with the approach and there are reduced humanity costs. It is possible to apply these approaches in different conflict context and is therefore easy to associate with them. Non-violent approach to conflict takes time to change things, but allows participation by wide number of people and thus can be very effective in developing long-term change. Bringing together people from different sides of the conflict can be a good starting point to allow healing. In addition, because they include even the lowest in the power hierarchy, the approaches adopted are usually genuine and carry no strings attachment. Moreover, nonviolent approaches to conflict resolution are the best ways to rekindle people’s hope for peace, because they communicate the will and commitment of individuals to the peace process.