Posted on: Tuesday, April 16, 2002

Movie about Middle East fosters lively discussion

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion and Ethics Writer

As the credits rolled after yesterday's 7 p.m. showing of "Promises," nearly all 200 moviegoers in the sellout crowd remained riveted.

After viewing the documentary, which looks at the Israeli-Palestinian situation from a child's view, the crowd waited politely for Rabbi Morris Goldfarb and Hakim Ouansafi, speaking as Jewish and Muslim leaders, to help them make sense of a situation that has troubled political leaders, scholars and statesmen for generations.

While there were moments of consensus in the discussion, just as there were moments of hope in Justine Shapiro and B.Z. Goldberg's film, conflict in the Middle East soon became conflict in the middle of Restaurant Row.

A self-proclaimed Zionist, who refused to give his name, shouted at Ouansafi, the head of the Muslim Association here, as Arab backers shouted back on the issue of terrorism.

"A terrorist is made, not born," Ouansafi had told the crowd, eliciting groans from some in the diverse crowd and applause from others.

The 65-minute question-and-answer period began with Goldfarb telling the crowd: "My heart breaks. I feel so sad and so depressed when I see these youngsters unable to live as they should.

"... We should put the (Arab and Israeli) leaders on a boat together, to come to some kind of resolution."

Ouansafi stood up and said, "Ditto," then sat back down.

Other issues, however, were more contentious. Checkpoints, the frustration of resettling to a refugee camp, and the sharing of the Holy Land among different religions left several moviegoers in tears.

"The overwhelming sentiment of the audience was, we can learn something through the children," said programmer Don Brown, who organized the event.

The film quoted an Arab youngster as saying, "The more Jews we kill, the fewer there are," and an orthodox Jewish boy as telling an interviewer he has no interest in making friends with Arab children. But later, some young secular Israelis joined young Arabs for a meal and play.

The crowd seemed to come to an agreement that the only way to live together is to share the land.

"The question is, the two extremes are pulling the middle apart," Brown said. "How do you control the two extremes?"