From Challenge # 66
March-April 2001economy
Hanitzotz News
Sindyanna Needs You!
Organizing a public event? Please put Sindyanna's natural olive oil soap up for sale. Sindyanna is the only Fair Trade company in Israel. We market olive oil and its products. Our olive oil facial cream will soon be available. We shall appreciate orders starting from 200 bars of soap upwards. The cost is $1.00 per bar (150 grams).In this way, you can help us to stimulate the Palestinian economy in Israel. We look forward to your orders.
A special note to our supporters in Germany: GEPA, the German Fair Trade organization, has so far ordered five tons of Sindyanna's top quality Extra Virgin olive oil. The oil will be available from April 2001. For any other information, you may contact "Friends of Challenge" at 0228-352844.
Video '48 packs Cinematheque
The Tel Aviv Cinematheque, with 400 seats, had standing room only on January 15 for the opening of "Not In My Garden," the first production by Video '48. Alon Garbuz, who manages the hall, opened with the words: "I am happy to say that we in the Cinematheque have not seen such a full house in a long time. I'm sad, though, that such a distressing topic is needed to make this happen."After the screening, Nir Nader of Hanitzotz Publishing House - and founder of Video '48 - addressed the audience. Here are some of his words:
"Video '48 deals with documentation and education. The Palestinian question and that of Arabs in Israel are the main concerns of our group. We want to unveil the racist practices of Israel, whether in the Occupied Territories or in Israel itself. In one place they shoot with guns, in the other with laws. In both cases, Palestinian society suffers. We want to side with those who will change this reality.
"We began working on the film in January 2000. People asked us what we were looking for in such a remote little place as Ramya. We answered that the problems represented in Ramya's story are coming to a head and will soon explode. So it happened. In October, just as we finished the film, the Intifada in Israel erupted."
Here is a review by one of Israel's best-known cinema critics:
Not In My Garden
Shiri Wilk directed and shot this film, which manages to connect to the current situation, dealing with a subject most Israelis prefer not to see - and thus showing, indirectly, one of the causes behind the recent uprising of Arabs living in Israel. The film is a product of "Video '48," a group that focuses on the problems that Arabs in Israel have as a result of the political discrimination against them. This engaging video group, like its counterparts in other countries, seeks to put in the spotlight what the establishment does not want to see (and does its best to keep its citizens from seeing). The film, therefore, is not just a cinematic act, but also - and essentially - a political one.The film tells the story of an unrecognized Galilean village called Ramya, which in 1991 was ordered to give up all its lands so that the City of Carmiel might build "a neighborhood for new immigrants." The film surveys the struggle of the Ramya villagers against Carmiel, shows the difficult life they lead, and describes the situation of an unrecognized village: no electricity, water, sewage, telephones or paved roads. It also addresses the weakness of the traditional Arab political leadership. Through interviews with Carmiel residents, it exposes petty, banal, everyday Israeli racism. A timely, much-needed film. A must!
Nahman Ingber
Ha'ir, January 11, 2001