Palestinian Writer Critiques Israeli Film About Gaza Conflict
A Palestinian poet and blogger, Iyat Abu Shams, has offered a critical perspective on the Israeli documentary "Nezah" (which translates to "Pride" or "Defiance"), focusing on its portrayal of the Gaza conflict and its intended audience. While acknowledging the film's bravery in exposing internal Israeli military discussions and decision-making processes, Abu Shams expresses reservations about its ultimate purpose and impact.
Abu Shams reveals that her family was among the 35 people killed in a single Israeli airstrike in Gaza, a quarter of whom were relatives ranging from an infant to a 23-year-old. This personal tragedy makes watching the film, which features soldiers discussing "collateral damage," deeply difficult. However, her primary concern is that the film is not truly for Palestinians but rather a tool for Israelis to confront their own actions and complicity.
She argues that Palestinians have consistently told their own stories through various mediums, and the film does not grant them a voice they lacked. Instead, Abu Shams posits that the film serves as a mirror for Israeli society, compelling them to examine the "crimes" committed in their name and understand how they were enabled. She cites the work of Yuval Abraham, the film's director, as courageous within the Israeli context, believing it reveals aspects of the conflict that Palestinians might not access directly, not what was done to them, but the internal Israeli decision-making and language used.
However, Abu Shams feels that Palestinians, and Gazans specifically, are reduced to the "raw material" or "props" through which Israelis achieve self-reflection. She questions whether this self-examination, prompted by witnessing Palestinian suffering, constitutes genuine repair or merely an opportunity for Israelis to observe their own actions. Drawing parallels to discussions on the suffering of enslaved people, she asks if the pain of the other is merely a catalyst for self-contemplation.
Abu Shams distinguishes between self-reflection and true repair, suggesting that the latter requires Israelis to take responsibility and actively rectify the injustices inflicted upon Palestinians. She points to a separate incident involving a high school student expressing a desire to kill Arabs as an example of the urgent need for societal change and intervention, particularly within the education system. True repair, she concludes, must involve concrete actions by Israelis to prevent future harm and address existing grievances, rather than solely focusing on introspection prompted by Palestinian suffering.
