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Total number of comments: 2 (since 2010-01-02 19:39:00)

LisaAK

Coordinating Committee member of Chicago's Arab Jewish Partnership

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  • On 'Arna's Children' and the question of armed resistance
    • LisaAK April 24, 2011 at 12:19 pm

      Dear Phillip & American Friend,

      Thank you so much for opening up this discussion. I just watched the film in its entirety for the first time the other night. We were "screening" it to see if we should show it as part of a fundraiser for The Freedom Theatre. My concern, after watching it, was exactly what you said: that people would take it as an endorsement of violence. I don't believe that was the intention at all, but unfortunately, the film failed to make its true message clear.

      What I believe they were trying to show was that the Freedom Theatre was a venue of non-violent resistance to the Occupation "of the mind." It was a creative and even therapeutic outlet for grief, anger, fear, and frustration. And when that venue was gone - after Arna died and Juliano left - the Occupation succeeded in occupying the minds of these boys whose only outlet for their anger became violence. This is illustrated when they interview the one surviving guy from that group of friends, and he talks about the farewell video that his friend who died in a suicide mission left behind. He mentions that his friend included video footage of their performances in the Freedom Theatre as his only happy memory from his childhood. This is what motivated Juliano to return to Jenin and rebuild the Freedom Theatre - to try to prevent the Occupation from reaching the minds of the next generation. It is a form of non-violent resistance: when you cannot defeat the occupier militarily, you can defeat the occupier from reaching and corrupting your mind and soul. Juliano's venue for this was creativity through the performing arts.

      I think the failure of this film was in the editing and specifically, not making the time sequences clear. I had to watch a bunch of interviews with Juliano on YouTube to piece together what should have been clear in the film. That being said, I found "Arna's Children" to be one of the most powerful documentaries I've ever seen as far as illustrating the insidious damage of the Occupation, and how it perpetuates the conflict onto generation after generation.

  • Chomsky/Abunimah (the left and Zionism)
    • LisaAK January 16, 2010 at 7:31 pm with 2 replies

      Yet another Mondoweiss article that articulates the thoughts in my head, thanks!

      It doesn't upset me that Chomsky doesn't support BDS, and is a proponent of the two-state solution. Reasonable minds can differ on these issues and it is important to openly discuss and debate them. However, I did find it disturbing that Chomsky refused to appear with Ali Abunimah and Jeff Blankfort. I don't know Mr. Blankfort, but from what I've read (including his comments above), he sounds like an intelligent, rational, calm individual. I know Ali Abunimah to also be intelligent and rational, as well as extremely polite even with people with whom he strongly disagrees. Perhaps Chomsky doesn't do well in a panel discussion format? Or he is under some kind of pressure that would worsen if he appeared with Blankfort and Abunimah?

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