It's not that funny really.

As I re-read my last post, I re-realized that I'm losing my sense of humor over this whole "Israel-Palestine Thing", so I apologize if my postings are losing their luster. Still, the "situation" goes on and so I'm not going to resign myself to the polluted beaches of Tel Aviv just yet. And so, howabout some more tidbits from the "situation" with Jerusalem as its capital.

Last night I attended a screening of "Bil'in Habibti" by an activist named Shai Pollack at the Jerusalem Film Festival. Yes, it's about the same Bil'in that you've been reading about all along. But this guy (Shai) has been there more than once, in fact, by the looks of his film, he's probably been there just as many times as, if not more than, the army commander in charge of putting down the local resistance. He also seems a lot more welcome there. Without going into detail, I'll just say that I thought the film was amazing. And of course, probelmatic, as all films in this region tend to me. But I should admit that I cried a few times during the 80-something minutes. At the end, the film got a standing ovation, a bunch of applause and a whole lotta good vibe. (I feel like I should mention that the majority of the crowd was on 'our side' though I did spot a few kippot in the audience.) Ok, nothing new here I suppose. But then comes the hobnobbing with fellow leftists and the few Bil'in residents who were able to obtain the permit to attend the screening (about 20 or 30).

As Tal and I gathered round the hors d'oeuvres, I recognized one of the bus drivers from the other day's field trip to the courthouse. So what did he think of the film? There's no point.. it's not going to make any difference, people already know this situation and nothing's going to change. Incidentally, those guys who squeezed under the fence on Sunday had a permit to cross. The driver said he's always the one to take the Bil'iners here and there and he refuses to drive anyone without a permit to be in Israel. He's already served time in jail for doing so. The other driver (the brother of Sunday's driver #2) shared the same sentiment. Moving on... I asked one of the Bil'in guys (Imad), the one who always has a camera going, what he thought of the film. Turns out I asked a professional, Imad works for Reuters and he's making a film of his own. One that's "yoter khazak" (stronger). Seems like the 3 out of 3 Arabs think that Shai's optimism was a bit misleading and/or a bit too easy-on-the-eyes. Once again, the applause of the leftists drowns out Palestinian skepticism. Maybe that's too harsh, and I should mention that this is my own observation and I take full reponsibilty for my uninformed rants. (For the record, Imad thought the film was good).

So, I think I'll return to Bil'in tomorrow, make some more chit chat, and perhaps, see a bit of Imad's footage. I hear it's hard to watch.