Palestinian suicide bombers and the American-backed Israeli army have created a cycle of revenge and violence that makes the lives of ordinary Palestinians barely livable, according to a new documentary film that will be shown in Providence on Thursday, February 13.

The hour-long film, Crossing Kalandia, will be shown at the Columbus Theatre on Broadway in Providence starting at 7 p.m. There will be music afterward by the New York City-based Palestinian band, the George Zeiadh Ensemble, and Middle Eastern food. Zeiadh, who helped make the documentary, will also discuss it. The event is sponsored by Beyond Borders, a Providence-based Palestinian solidarity group, which requests a $7 to $10 per-person donation for the screening, but promises to turn no one away.

"Crossing Kalandia" documents the lives of filmmaker Sobhi al-Zobaidi and his wife as they attempt to raise their infant child during the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian city of Ramallah in 2001 and 2002. During breaks in the Israeli imposed curfews, al-Zobaidi visits sites of army attacks and Israeli Army checkpoints. And he talks to enraged Palestinians whose homes have been ruined by the Israeli army, the Palestinian owner of a destroyed disposable diaper factory, and an Israeli journalist known for her anti-Israeli government views. While portraying the Palestinians as the victims of Israeli occupation, al-Zobaidi also criticizes suicide bombers for perpetuating violence and distancing most Palestinians from the struggle for self-determination.

Al-Zobaidi critically notes the weakness of the Israeli peace movement and observes that despite the destruction of their economic lives by roadblocks, Palestinians fail to boycott Israeli goods. His view depicts the human cost of the conflict, rather than delivering a righteous power-to-the people portrait.

In an e-mail interview from Palestine, al-Zobaidi, a 1994 graduate of New York University, was pessimistic about prospects for peace in the region, saying that neither the Israelis, the Palestinians, nor the international community is ready to seek a non-violent solution. And he blames the United States for the conflict, writing "In the last two or more years, every other day there was an object of destruction that was made in America and that landed in our midst: rockets, bullets, shells, grenades, tear gas, airplanes, choppers, F-16."

After noting the numerous US vetoes of United Nations resolutions supported by the Palestinians, al-Zobaidi decried US media coverage of the Palestinian cause, saying, "Imagine never seeing a movie, or TV movie, or a commercial, or a news clip that ever [portrayed] me right. How would you feel about such a country? Wouldn't you hate it?"

As for the threatened American attack on Iraq, he says, "This war will only enhance the security of the oppressive regimes in the Arab world."

Another view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be presented Friday, February 7 at 6 p.m. at the Direct Action for Rights & Equality office, 340 Lockwood St., Providence. Seattle environmental consultant John Reese, who recently spent seven months in Palestine, will show slides and talk about the environmental impact of the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

Issue Date: February 7 - 13, 2003