Important Books & Films of 2004

Books

We highly recommend:

Stolen Youth: The Politics of Israel’s Detention of Palestinian Children
by Catherine Cook, Adam Hanieh, and Adah Kay Buy it!

Sharing the Land of Canaan: Human Rights and the Israeli-Palestinian Struggle
by Mazin B. Qumsiyeh Buy it!

Shackled Dreams: A Palestinian’s Struggle for Truth, Justice, and the American Way
by Sami A. Al-Arian Buy it!

The Truth About Camp David: The Untold Story about the Collapse of the Middle East Peace Process
by Clayton E. Swisher Buy it!

In addition, James Bamford’s A Pretext for War (Buy it!) is an excellent source on the Israel/Palestine connection to Iraq.

We highly recommend:

The Israeli Wall in Palestinian Lands

Two American filmmakers set out to explore the impact of the Wall on Palestinian lives. They talk with seven Palestinians; a young mother from Dheisheh refugee camp, a businessman from Abu Dis, a music student from Ramallah, a school director from Jerusalem, a farmer from Jayyous, the director of the Stop the Wall campaign in Beit Hanina, and an African-Palestinian tour guide in Jerusalem. These diverse perspectives shed light on the true impact of the Wall.

Director: Andrew Courtney and Emily Perry
Producer: Andrew Courtney and Emily Perry
Website: www.wallfilm.com
Buy it!: Send a donation for $15 to If Americans Knew, 6312 SW Capitol Hwy, #163, Portland, OR 97239-1938. This is only available in DVD format.

Until when...

Set during the current Intifada, this documentary follows four Palestinian families living in Dheisheh Refugee Camp near Bethlehem. Fadi is 13 and cares for his 4 younger brothers, the Hammashes are a close-knit family who pass on the lessons of life with humor and passion, Sana is a single woman who endures long commutes to do community work, and Emad and Hanan are a young couple trying to shield their daughter from the harsh realities of the occupation. They talk about their past and discuss the future with humor, sorrow, frustration and hope. ‘until when...’ paints an intimate in-depth portrait of Palestinian lives today.

Director: Dahna Abourahme
Producer: Annemarie Jacir and Suzy Salamy
Associate Producer: Jess Ghannam
Website: www.falafeldaddy.org/
Buy it!

Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land

Peace, Propaganda & the Promised Land provides a striking comparison of U.S. and international media coverage of the crisis in the Middle East, zeroing in on how structural distortions in U.S. coverage have reinforced false perceptions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Director: Bathsheba Ratzkoff & Sut Jhally
Producer: Bathsheba Ratzkoff
Website: Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land
Watch Online Buy it! – More expensive, but a good choice for group purchases.