The build-up to last week’s San Francisco Jewish Film Festival screening [of the documentary Rachel, chronicling the 2003 death of Rachel Corrie] was intense, but the event itself turned out well from my point of view. You have Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb’s account and there are others.
I appreciated the support from the festival itself. Even under immense pressure, Peter Stein [pictured] and Nancy Fishman did not waiver in their decision to include both the film and me. I appreciated the thoughtful discussion I had with festival supporters and staff in the evenings preceding the screening–at the festival’s opening reception and at their Friday Shabbat dinner. There was some difference of opinion about the decision to include a spokesperson for the opposition–who was given five minutes to speak prior to the screening.
None of us knew entirely what to expect at the screening itself; but as we drove up, it was the "Free Gaza" signs that stood out for me. The Castro Theater–a gorgeous, large venue–filled quickly (I’ve seen estimates of over a thousand people but would have to rely on the festival for accurate numbers) and it was quickly clear that supporters of the festival vastly outnumbered the dissenters. As I said in my remarks that day and earlier, I think the controversy had less to do with the film and me than with the growing debate on Israel/Palestine within the Jewish community in, at least, San Francisco.
I have to admit to some relief at having the event behind me; but I was warmly received, treated very well, and felt there was some opportunity to set the record straight on some of the matters relating to Rachel’s case. I’ve noticed with a bit of concern that the opposition seems to be publicizing as a victory the fact that they were present to make their point–even to an audience that largely and vocally opposed their point of view.
