The Petition to Block Paradise Now from the Academy Awards

Do you agree with the petition to have the film removed as an award nominee or with the counter-petition? What are your reasons for favoring one over the other?

The film's success [stems] from the world's recognition that the Palestinians deserve 'liberty and "equality unconditionally.'"
- Hany Abu Assad, Palestinian director of Paradise Now

"First and foremost the movie is a good work of art. But if the movie raises awareness or presents a different side of reality, this is an important thing."
- Amir Harel, Israeli producer of Paradise Now
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I can't begin to write about my opinion without first saying that my heart breaks for Yossi Zur, whose young son Asaf was killed on a bus blown up by a suicide bomber. I can understand her point of view; she has lived with the consequences of the conclusion of Paradise Now. However, while removing my approval of the film as superb cinematic art for the time being and focusing instead on the points of her argument, I cannot agree with her petition for the removal of its nomination for an Oscar based on the reasons she gives.

Speaking of Islamic terror, Zur says, "We don't need to understand it ... We need to end it." Yes, it needs to be ended, but how can that be done without understanding it? And understanding it means going back to its seeds, which found root in the Jewish immigration to Palestine at the turn of the twentieth century. Undeniable abuses of Palestinians by Jewish settlers (buying thier land cheaply and then paying them cheap wages to work it is an example) and the continuing and growing influx into Palestinian lands of Jews who identified themselves as Zionists--those wanting to establish their own homeland--exacerbated tensions. The influence and meddling of outside countries in the takeover and loss of Palestinian lands, especially by England, added to the problems. There was a Palestinian riot in the mid 1930s in protest; the effect of the "Six Day War" in 1967* was to begin the PLO's retaliation using terrorism as a counterforce; the backlash continues today in the form of suicide bombings. The above is admittedly too simplistic in its explanation, but I hope it serves to make the point that the terrorism that has claimed so many lives over the course of more than a century did not start in a vacuum; it is the effect that came from a cause, and it must be understood. (*A small note: I worked as a secretary in a small law firm on 43rd Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City in the late '60s. The firm's four lawyers were Jewish. When the Six Day War was won by Israel, these normally sedate men were practically dancing with joy; they whooped and hollered. And from our windows overlooking Fifth Avenue, I could see that there was literally dancing in the streets.)

In her petition, Zur claims that the murderer is not human and that he has no doubts. I feel that Said and Khaled are both as human as they come--carrying baggage from the conflict that is painful and internalized because of the fates of their fathers due to the Israeli occupation. They both are involved with their families; love and affection and concern are there; Said kisses Suha, yielding momentarily to his understandable attraction to her. These show the universal essence of humanity. And there are doubts. After the botched initial attempt, Said asks, "Are we doing the right thing?" Kahlid answers, "Under the occupation, we are already dead." Said then asks, "Is there no other way to stop them?" Kahlid asks back, "Do you see your life like on a video?" This reflects the characters' doubts and concerns about what they have agreed to do; there is no blind rush to commit an atrocity. In the end, Said chooses as his victims a bus full of soldiers, who have themselves chosen to be part of the occupation, rather than civilians, while his friend backs out of the plans completely. They are indeed human.

Zur asks if an award would be considered for a film glorifying the acts of the bombers of the Twin Towers--learning how to fly an airplane, preparing themselves through Islamic rituals, and then crashing into the Twin Towers. I see no comparison between this and the situation of the young men in Paradise Now. The acts of the 9/11 terrorists were well organized and well financed; twenty young men were trained and prepared well in advance of what they did, and they had months--perhaps years--to fine tune their deadly plan to killed thousands of people. Said and Khalid, conversely, are auto mechanics who have no plans to commit terrorism until they are pulled in the course of a day into a small, albeit deadly, plot to detonate suicide bombs among Israeli crowds. Granted, they had agreed to it beforehand; however, it was not part of their lives until they were called on.

Zur claims that granting an award to this kind of movie gives the filmmakers a seal of approval to hide behind and that they can then say that the world sees suicide bombing as legitimate, by extension becoming part of the chain of terror. I would argue instead that the Oscar and other awards are not granted to promote causes; rather, I would agree with the counter-petition that states Paradise Now is a movie that attempts to explain the other side of the story and how a life of desperation can lead to an act of desperation--it cannot be stated better than that. I would also guess that if people from the general population were randomly selected and asked about the history of this conflict, most of them, of those who knew anything, would cite Jewish oppression and historic victimization. My response to that would be framed in the words of the counter-petition: We cannot deny the historical or present existence of the Palestinians. We need to know both sides of the story. We need to be open to other points of view, particularly political and religious ones. We need to avoid censorship of art because of preconceived notions and controversy about its subject. We need to be fair.

This is the petition I would sign, while still understanding the grief of Yossi Zur.