Original subtitles

Summer 2002

Palestinian filmmaker Michel Khleifi

and Israeli filmmaker Eyal Sivan

embarked on a cinematographic journey through their country,

Palestine-Israel.

For this trip they traced a route on a roadmap.

They called it "Route 181", after Resolution 181

adopted by the UN in 1947.

This resolution divided Palestine into two states,

56% of land for the Jewish minority,

43% for the Arab majority

and the rest, an international zone.

This theoretical line presented as a solution

caused the first Arab-Israeli war,

which is yet to end.

This journey along Route 181 followed this border

that has never existed.

Lovely building!

Yes, it's beautiful.

It's called Migdal Tzedek.

There was digging here.

Further up I found some graves.

The gravestones have inscriptions on them.

It must be the cemetery for the people who lived here.

The inscriptions are in Arabic.

It's like Yemen.

It resembles Yemen?

My folks are from there.

From Yemen.

I don't know who was here.

They're ancient.

When I came there was nothing.

There's room for everyone in this land.

If one wants, there's room.

Depends how you do it.

In Europe too, wherever there's war

there are losers.

It's like poker, players know there's a chance they might lose.

These people had 20 wonderful years after 1967.

Sure, no identity,

no nationality.

But a good economy, they'll tell you.

Their economic situation was good.

That of the Yemeni Jews too.

Excellent, according to my folks.

But they had no right to take part in politics.

German Jews,

and Jews from elsewhere didn't care for politics,

only business.

They were well behaved, we liked them.

It was because they were smart

that the holocaust happened.

Was this inhabited?

- People lived here. - Did they evaporate?

Evaporate?

People don't evaporate.

They left because of the war.

I explained what war is.

What do you hope to prove by filming ruins?

There were no Arabs here.

Do you see any houses?

Show me where the demolished ones are.

Do you have a dog? I do.

I had trouble with my neighbor.

My dog coupled with his bitch.

He was livid because it's a pedigree.

My dog gave it wolf cubs! See the problem?

You can't stop a dog going after a bitch.

He built a wall but his bitch comes looking for my dog.

That's the conflict!

Is Qalqiliya an old town?

It's an ancient town!

- It dates from the Romans. - It's a mosaic.

Little colored squares.

A mosaic floor.

And this wall?

It surrounds the West Bank.

It separates the West Bank from Israel.

- We can't go in. - And your relations?

Some are inside.

My mother's in the Jenin refugee camp.

And the transfer?

They've threatened us for years with transfer.

They're capable of it.

- How would you react? - How can I?

- Like sheep. - No way!

Even important people are powerless.

It's our land, it's hard to leave it.

Who owns it?

It used to be ours, now it's theirs.

- It was Palestinian. - It was Arab.

No tyrant can last long

on this land.

We're here.

This is the UN map.

The UN partition map.

If this is it, it's a botched job.

If the Arabs had accepted,

then today there'd be a Palestinian State.

Do you know Solomon's Judgement?

Who refused to cut the child in two?

The adoptive mother.

- Who? - The real mother.

The real mother.

She refused and her baby was given back.

You got me! Here it's the opposite.

- We accepted partition. - Who did?

The adoptive mother.

- Why? - It wasn't hers.

Here it's the opposite to the Judgment of Solomon.

Why?

In the Bible, she who accepted partition got nothing.

Here, they who accepted partition got the lot!

- It's the opposite. - The baby was spared.

Yes, but land isn't a living being.

Who's the robber and who's the robbed?

Did the Jews take the land? Sure.

So? With the Intifada,

the left-wing realized peace was impossible.

It's all talk now.

I was very left-wing.

Ready to give everything.

Historic right is something you belief.

Arabs believe in Mohammed. Jews, in historic right.

Whoever it applies to. It's their belief.

- Do you believe? - Not at all.

Do you believe in Jewish rights?

Yes, but it's nothing to do with belief.

Israel's strong, it does what it wants.

Why Iraq?

Israel also has WMDs.

Why not send inspectors here?

Because the US has the power and the Jews are there.

If the president ordered it he wouldn't be re-elected.

Those who speak of power and ideology know nothing about them.

Why peace if Israel has the US?

Israelis wanting peace?

Don't worry. There'll never be peace.

Enough about peace. Back to work!

We work for the trans-Israel highway.

We're not with the wall.

Speak Arabic?

Can't you tell I'm Arab?

They can and always ask for ID!

Can't you tell?

- Who's erecting the wall? - Thais, Romanians...

Before, they all came from the West Bank and Gaza.

If they could get in, they'd be here.

They'd build the wall, no problem.

- Out of necessity? - Of course.

All the settlements inside,

they built them with their own hands.

- Like you, here. - Or what, sit idle?

Who'd give us money and food?

Instead of farming your land, you build their settlements.

They didn't take the land.

We live in this State.

We're Israeli nationals.

Why shouldn't we do this work for a living?

DEAD END PALESTINIAN AUTHORITY AREA

Going back to Tulkarem?

- Yes. - Really? What about curfew?

They let us go home at least.

- They'll let you pass? - We'll see.

They will. They have a holiday.

They want us back home.

- How's the situation? - Couldn't be worse.

It's totally shit.

- Any news from Ramallah? - It's terrible.

It's one curfew after another.

- How far can we go? - No cameras, please.

Can't we go to Tulkarem?

By order it's a closed military area.

We'll let the truck through.

It's a closed military zone.

This is a legal demo, no provocation,

for peace between two peoples,

dialog between two peoples. Where's the harm?

I advise you to take the provisions truck through before curfew.

Bring the truck. Curfew's back at 3,00.

We don't care about the truck.

We want to take the food through on foot.

If you really care, give them your rations!

We might be breaking the law,

But let me remind everyone

that this is an important moral action

We stress that it's non-violent .

We will avoid all violence.

No pushing soldiers, no trampling on policemen

and no tear gas.

Nublus - 60 Days without food!

We'll take some baby milk

and make our way to Hawara.

The soldiers do have tear gas and all sorts of military toys.

But let's follow our conscience in our actions.

No to occupation!

As the Army won't let through

those who want to help Palestinians,

the members ofTa'ayush will cross the fields

to reach Hawara, close to Nablus.

No shooting, no crying, no wearing uniform!

Our partners for peace

are behind the roadblock

Yes to peace!

No to occupation!

Take pictures of the baby milk, starver of children!

Peace not occupation!

Life used to be happier.

There was more decency. Even at weddings.

- Really? - Sure.

We celebrate a wedding here

while they're killing over there.

My heart's not in it now.

I haven't been to one for 4 years.

It's indecent.

People are being killed in Tulkarem,

and here there are weddings!

Coffee, anyone?

- How much land do you have? - 6 dunams.

How long will it take?

It'll take...

It depends, but at least 10 days.

There are lots of olive trees.

It'll be long and tiring.

- What are you doing here? - We're from the rabbinate.

His plant gets kosher certification.

We check in the field.

For olives, we check that no trees are under 4 years old.

Someone checks the products that are used.

It's governmental, not private. the Rabbinate?

Yes. His plant has to close on the Sabbath.

- And him? - He ensures security.

- The region's a bit... - Complex?

Right. So we've a bodyguard.

We don't impose Kashrut.

People demand it, even the secular.

Vladi, smile!

What's the film on?

We're traveling along the 1947 partition line.

This isn't ours.

Do you know where we are?

None of our business.

We don't get involved in politics.

The economy's dead, even Jews are starving.

No money, no cash.

What can you do?

They're bringing in Russians and Thais.

But Arabs are better workers.

How old were you in 48?

About 22 years old.

- The prime of life! - I was in the Iraqi Army.

Why did the Arabs leave?

The superpowers decided it.

Why did you stay?

We saw those that fled live in humiliation.

We'd rather have died

than suffer the fate of those others.

It was more honorable.

Tell me about the border.

Here's my story of the border. In 1948

an engineer in the Jordanian army

arrived with guards and stuff.

He took out the map and ordered them

to paint the border markers with whitewash

right outside our house.

The house was here

and our land, further away.

He placed the border right outside the house.

I said: "That's no good. Either you put

"the house and the land in Jordan,

"or the house and the land " in Israel."

But our house was in Israel and our land in Jordan!

"The map is like that and I can't change it."

The moment his back was turned

I pulled up the markers and moved the border

to include our land.

I even whitewashed them again

to look as good as new.

That's how the State grew

by about 2000 hectares.

The next day, two liaison officers,

a Jordanian and an Israeli, arrived on horseback.

"Here, young man.

"Where's the border?"

I was terrified.

If they found out they'd kill me.

"Yesterday, the surveyor marked the border here."

They looked at their map...

"That's exact. Thank you, young man."

And that's how our house and land stayed together.

- We want to be filmed with him. - With him?

I don't mind. Come on.

- Where are you from? - Sarid.

Where are we now?

Why is it in English?

We're making a film

about the 1947 border. We're looking for this point.

Where's Sarid? Have you been there?

The border's just above.

Which side is Sarid on?

The Israeli side.

Is it the partition border?

That line.

I was right, it goes above Sarid.

Yfat is in Israel.

Yfat is and Sarid isn't?

Sarid's in Israel too.

No, Sarid is there.

On the border

What else can you tell us?

- About partition? - Yes.

There used to be peace.

There was peace. Remember?

When was there peace?

There were long periods of peace.

My mother talks about going

to Ramallah and Hebron without fear before 48.

She came from Germany in 1940.

She went everywhere.

Her brother lived in an Arab area.

- What's the film about? - Following the partition line.

You tell people's stories?

Dayan said only an ass won't change its mind.

It's clear from the behavior of Arafat...

Some of the Labor Party

thought that the settlement policy,

that places like Sarid Yfat and Gvat are passe

Now the true Zionists are there (in the Settlements).

So they started supporting settlers.

Then it was mixed-up with Gush Emunim,

religious people who see settlement as fulfilling,

Jewish Messianism,

which is born of religion and not Jewish nationalism,

and the secular Jewish Messianism of the Labor Party

or some of them.

Sadly I did two stints in Hebron.

I saw our behavior, the behavior of the settlers.

I understand the Arab reaction,

considering what goes on.

Wouldn't it be better

to give Israeli nationality

to everyone?

It's easy.

If it was up to me, I wouldn't do that.

I want a Jewish state.

Not a bi-national state.

A peaceful multi-naitional state?

On one condition,

that no one side has all the power.

Hello.

Where are you from?

From here, the valley.

- What are you filming? - Can I have a lift?

It's OK, I'm a soldier.

I'm not allowed to pick up civilians.

Do you always obey the law? You ever go over 70?

- Here? - Yes.

On the road.

I can do 80 on the road.

- You were doing 85. - No way.

See you, guys, goodnight.

Who was that?

"Hey, my land of Israel is so nice and so green

"In the land of Israel " We have a house

"We have a road " We have the land of Israel..."

Child pioneers, do you have muscles?

We'll be the pioneers...

Louder!

Let's all be pioneers

Girls!

Boys!

Comrades,

here's the story of Jewish settlement

in the Jezreel Valley, which reached its peak

81 years ago.

The land was settled in 1921.

The songs and poems of the Jezreel Valley

were the distinctive mark of the new Israeli.

A Jezreel Valley pioneer was someone special.

At one end, a eucalyptus wood.

Beyond the wood, Kfar Barukh.

Further, villages built in 1926.

On the horizon, Mishmar Haemek.

At the other end of the valley there were Arab villages,

Bedouins and Fellahs, two different subcultures.

We'll discuss that later.

"What does a pioneer do

"When he arrive at the kibbutz?

"He arrive at the kibbutz hungry

"See a girl and forget his hunger..."

- Where are you going? - To Lavie Forest.

- Lavie Forest? - Named after my family.

Why the gun?

The country's unsafe.

Youth movement? - No, the Young Guard.

There was a big village here called Lubya.

Is that why it's called Lavie?

When was it?

Before 1948.

Who was there?

Who lived here before 48?

Who? Arabs?

We didn't know.

The Lavie family was here 4000 years ago.

The name Lubieh derives from Lavie,

the family name.

It's all documented.

- Where are your folks from? - Israel and the US.

- Enjoy your hike. - Thanks.

There are three important points to know about Sejera.

It was the first Jewish settelment in the Lower Galilee.

Secondly, all the new ideas

of the Jewish settlements,

the kibbutz, Jews guarding,

Jews working the land... It all began here.

As did the 3rd point, the conquest of Galilee.

They settled here because the land was cheap.

If you like, let's talk in my office.

I have to make a call.

I'm trying to be a new Jew.

I'm a Jewish patriot.

I have an interesting photo of the RAF,

the British air force, taken in 1946.

This crossroads is stratigically very important.

This is why it's here?

The crossroads and the water.

The pogroms of Russia pushed the Jews,

all kinds of fanatical socialists,

to come and do things that were impossible there,

to create the new Jew.

The Jew of the Diaspora was considered sallied.

Here, Jews worked the land with no Arab workers.

They wanted to create an independent economy.

Not out of hatred of Arabs.

but to found a more just society.

Here, the co-operative, there, the Arab village Sajarah.

We have two photos.

They're in the office.

They're blow-ups.

We have two good photos of the village.

Here's the entrance to the Sejera farm.

The co-operative's to the side.

And the village of Sajarah.

When was this?

It was taken in the 1930s.

30, 32, 36, something like that.

- Are the Arabs still around? - Yes, they're in Tura'an,

4 to 6 km away, or in Kfar Cana.

And some are in Syria and Jordan.

You have a sister?

She's in Syria and I'm here.

My earliest memory is of Sajarah and the Jews there.

We worked the land for them.

During the chick-pea harvest,

we'd roast them at night as a treat for the kids.

You lived near the well...

As we drew water the Jews shot at us.

When the war started they put up barricades.

We were opposite, and they shot anything that moved.

They threw the bodies anywhere.

We fetched water at night.

We'd go to the well with a guard.

We got off lightly, others died.

They chased us all the way here.

They chased people home.

They killed my uncle in his house.

They caught him in front of his children.

- They killed him? - Him and many more.

They didn't leave my mother a single calf.

We were lucky.

- Did they expel you? - Of course they did.

We were surrounded and attacked.

Day and night.

People fled one after the other to get their children to safety.

Those who stayed were expelled forever.

Did you threaten them?

They shot at us, we riposted.

We cleaned up rusty old bullets.

Are rusty old bullets weapons?

They were well equipped.

Behind their barricades,

they shot us like rabbits.

The moment someone showed their head, bang!

Our fast legs saved us.

We fled, they occupied the village then razed it.

The old people stayed behind.

They were thrown

into the cacti and the low walls.

I swear, it was unbelievable!

They rounded them up and drove them down

into the valley, across the terraces.

They really made them suffer.

Their children went looking for them at night.

Some carried their mothers, others their grandmothers.

Some didn't even know who they were carrying!

Once they'd got away they said, I'm so-and-so, your son.

Did you meet people from Lubieh?

Loads of them.

I had gone to help my uncle picking.

The next day, Lubieh was besieged.

It lasted until dawn.

I remember it clearly.

Someone came to tell the women, "The road north is open.

"Flee or surrender."

We fled aimlessly.

We stopped in Nemrin.

We sheltered under the olive trees.

- How old were you? - 13, 14.

How old's your mother now?

About 70.

Is it ancient history for you?

It's not my history.

My land and house are here.

I was born in Toura'an. I won't give up my land.

I don't know it there.

Do you want to return?

I'd so love to see Sajarah, a prickly pear tree,

an olive tree,

the shade of a low wall.

I'm dying to smell its scent.

The refugees in Syria asked me

for a fistful of its earth

so they can smell its scent.

My precious homeland.

I love it deeply.

My aunt returned from exile in 74.

It was the first time she saw her sister again.

The trip cost a lot of money.

We traced her.

When she arrived,

I was shaking with expectation. I couldn't believe it.

- Did you recognize her? - Yes.

It's her only sister!

We hugged.

We couldn't let go. We cried over our fate.

What channel are you?

Al Jazeera.

Never again When did they put that up?

Ages ago.

1940...

- What's it for? - No idea.

- And the history of your country? - No idea.

We learn the history of Israel.

We know nothing about Hitler.

Nor Napoleon.

We're useless at history.

What's it about exactly?

- What are all these names? - I don't know them.

What's your name?

Hamudi.

- There's a Hamudi. - They're martyrs.

- When was it? - Ages ago.

- Are you afraid of the truth? - Why?

We weren't born.

Read it and see.

"In remembrance of those who fell..."

They're our martyrs

of 1938 to 1948.

A fight between two villages.

- Do you know the story? - We're Israelis!

- No, Palestinians. - Shut up.

I'm a true Israeli.

We're Palestinian and Muslim.

I'm with Allah and an Israeli.

No!

Go to Palestine if you're Palestinian.

In memory of the martyrs

It's old!

We weren't born.

They died

defending their land.

What did they do?

- The 48 war. - Against who?

- Israel? We're not sure. - Against Toura'an.

They died in Lubieh.

- Where's Lubieh? - Higher up.

See the crossroads? Go left.

- And where's Sajarah? - Near Lubieh, that way.

Do you want to go to Lubieh?

We've been, there are only trees.

There's a play area. We sometimes go to play.

How do you know it's Lubieh?

We go there to play.

WELCOME TO FARUD

- Are you Aaron Greenberg? - That's what it says.

- Where were you born? - Tel-Aviv.

Almost 73 years ago.

My folks arrived at the turn of the century.

They arrived as babies,

from Russia, Odessa and Lithuania.

At 17, I went to war. I fought in the Galilee.

First in Operation Matate.

In the Galilee, there were many Arab villages.

But not only.

Also a lot of Bedouin camps.

They moved around with tents and camels.

You can't...

We needed a front to stop the Arab armies invading.

The Syrian, Lebanese and Jordanian armies.

We couldn't leave

so many of the enemy behind us.

We had to chase them out. But not kill them.

How?

We chased them to Jordan.

But how?

How? You don't have to kill.

You fire in the air and they scram.

The Bedouins. The Arabs were different.

Operation Matate?

We swept them out.

We needed them out of the region

to create Jewish territorial continuity.

We formed a chain.

We were armed, of course.

When they saw us coming, they fled.

We were the lftah Regiment, a battalion of 1500 men.

It's not complicated.

- You saw them flee? - Sure.

We gave chase, we advanced,

pushing them towards Jordan.

Once in Jordan, they couldn't come back.

We stayed in our positions until they'd disappeared.

It didn't take us long to create an Arab-free zone.

But they wanted to return?

They couldn't. It was before the Arab invasion.

Before?

It was to head off invasion by Arab armies.

It was the gateway to Israel.

That's where they'd come in.

We had to close off access.

We couldn't, with the Arabs in the middle.

They'd have allied themselves with the invading armies.

- And the women and children? - The same.

Children went with parents.

- And their homes? - Nothing.

It was the people who were in the way.

We needed to block the armies that would invade

from Lebanon, Syria and Jordan. That was our aim.

You saw the families go with your own eyes?

- Yes. - Close up?

Close up, sure.

Were they afraid?

You saw mothers and children?

It didn't take a lot to scare them.

Fear in the mind is worse than anything.

They're going to kill us!

So some were killed...

Many were killed.

You knew the purpose.

We had superiors,

commanders,

sub-commanders, units, sub-units...

It was just like the army.

Why "Operation Matate?"

Do you understand "matate"?

You don't know what it is?

Oh, I see!

A broom!

To clean the earth.

Why that name?

Because we swept out the Arabs.

Especially the nomads.

The purpose was expulsion.

It wasn't to conquer and control the people.

That wasn't the aim.

The aim was to get rid of them.

- Were villages razed? - Sure.

For Jewish settlements kibbutz for example.

The land went to kibbutz and moshavs.

Some houses are still standing. Empty.

In the north.

Did people try to come back?

They couldn't.

You needed a visa to enter the country.

Even their own homes?

Their homes? Come on...

I'm only asking.

When you leave your home...

It wasn't us who wanted war. We accepted the partition.

I danced in the streets

when the UN voted the partition.

Do you know Solomon's Judgment?

What's the link?

Tell me about Solomon's Judgment.

Two mothers fight over a child.

One says, "Take it." It's the true mother.

The other says, Give me half.

That's Solomon's Judgment.

Solomon realizes who the mother is.

He gives the child to her.

Who's the real mother?

Which one, in the Judgment?

The one ready to give up her child.

- To split the child? - No, you're mistaken.

Giving up the child showed wisdom.

The wisdom of Solomon.

That's how he knows who the real mother is.

She wouldn't let her son be killed.

- Split. - Splitting means killing.

- Splitting is killing? - Sure.

Two halves can't live separately.

So we know the real mother.

Have you never felt pity for the expelled?

Can you talk about what you felt?

No, I can't.

Let's move on.

Let's drop it.

We felt pity. We're human.

Why won't you tell me?

I told you, we felt pity.

So what?

One could say you took part in deportations...

There's always these smartasses

who use expressions

of all kinds...

What's the difference?

We didn't expel them for the sake of it.

We did it to stay alive, to survive.

But the children, the women?

You can't expel parents without their children.

That's pity.

Did you get...

You're going around the country...

and you're filming...

Did you get permission?

- Who from? - We have a permit

Why do you ask?

I have my reasons.

I have my suspicions about you.

Your attitude

is a bit strange.

In what way?

Let's say you bring up...

Your vision of things

is different from ours.

- "Ours"? - Mine.

Ours is mine, I'm representing them now.

WELCOME TO SHAMMAI

"Kfar Shammai,

"on the eve of the 3rd millennium, " has 70 families,

"300 inhabitants " and a main street.

"Kfar Shammai

"rhymes with nigh, cry and why.

"A new life would begin A good life was nigh

"But as time passed by Life was tough in Kfar Shammai

"We worked hard as if to die

"But to no avail, it made us cry

"We wondered who'd be first " to say goodbye

"But today let us try " To dream again of Kfar Shammai."

Do you understand?

- Yes. - What?

It's a story

about a dream coming true and a better future.

Why did they write that?

It's our story.

Passers-by read the story of Kfar Shammai.

It's not sad. It's the story of Shammai.

- Were you born here? - No.

In Morocco.

I emigrated in 1961.

I've lived in Kfar Shammai since.

I got married here, built a home...

That's the story.

The first immigrants were Yemenis.

Next they brought in Moroccans, then Romanians.

Most of the Romanians left.

The Yemenis and some Moroccans stayed.

I'm Moroccan.

Her mother's also Moroccan.

Where did the Yemenis come form?

See this hill? It was the original village.

Then they were moved here.

We built the Jewish one here.

That was the Arab village.

After independence, nearly all the Arabs fled.

At 15 or 16, I was

in a youth movement.

I had to help emigration.

To convince families to emigrate to Israel.

What did you tell them?

That if they went to Israel, they'd be housed,

they'd be busy,

they'd be given jobs.

That was in 1959, 1960.

Monitors from Israel told us what to do.

They hid their faces.

They hid them under large jellabas

so they couldn't be seen

So we wouldn't know who they were if we got caught.

They had aliases.

In French they called us "brooms".

Broom, simply because...

You know what a "broom" is?

We did dirty work.

They were the leaders. We did the dirty work.

Finding likely candidates, sending them here...

They directed it all from above.

It was illegal.

Morocco prohibited it.

Morocco wanted its Jews to stay.

They left with no passport, nothing.

At night, so the neighbors wouldn't notice.

My dad left his shop, his car...

He just closed up and left.

He brought only two suitcases.

Today he'd probably refuse to go.

But at the time,

it was a kind of fashion.

It was good for everyone to emigrate to Israel.

Maybe they were afraid...

And yet my father had a good life there.

Were they promised things you didn't know?

What things? I told my Dad to go.

I sent my parents before me.

They never found work in Israel.

That's what made Moroccans so bitter.

They weren't used to this life.

They weren't used to farming work.

They were put into co-operatives in the back of beyond.

I was young, only 15 or 16.

The whole song and dance,

all the garbage they told us, we bought it.

We believed everything they said.

I wouldn't believe it today.

Maybe we did them wrong, sending them here. Who knows?

The Moroccnas were hoodwinked.

You hoodwinked them.

I was hoodwinked first.

I just repeated what I'd been told.

True, I gave them the whole spiel. It's a disappointment.

They told us what to say.

Their promises were paper thin.

Look at that lovely tree.

It has a nice shape, hasn't it?

Film the tree instead of me.

I may have said everything or forgotten things.

Maybe there are things I want to forget.

I don't know.

How long have you been here?

What?

How many years have you lived in Shefer?

Where did you emigrate from?

Morocco.

I'd love to retire there.

- You miss it? - You don't know how much.

But I can't go back!

I'd need a lot of money and I've no children.

Can you say "I miss it" in Moroccan?

I miss Morocco, sure.

In Moroccan.

I can't remember.

I can't remember.

In local Arabic then?

In Arabic! No, I don't know.

I long...

I long for my country.

Say it to the camera.

- What do you long for? - Our home.

It's ancient history.

- Food... - Your country is Israel.

- Only recently. - But how long have you been here?

- 50 years. - See!

So stop boring us with your Morocco.

- Morocco's great for vacations. - Don't you want to leave here?

- I have nowhere else to go. - Then stay!

I have nowhere else.

What about Tunisia?

Your mother's Tunisian. I'll go to Morocco!

What's all that earth?

- What are they doing? - Who knows? Digging.

Where are you from?

Beni Mellal.

It's in Morocco.

Why did you come here?

Why? We came with all the other Jews.

To get a big belly!

Here's Bourgiba...

Here's Bourgiba! Stay there, we're coming.

Coming, Myriam.

We sit here every morning and evening.

Come and join us.

I saw their car on the road.

Thought they were terrorists.

But of course they're not.

Sit down.

- Sending him back to Morocco? - He can stay here.

But if I go to Tunisia I won't come back.

He's scared I'll leave him!

They'll take you to Tunis.

No one's taking me anywhere!

I came from Tunis. I married him in 54.

I'm sending her back!

Thank God, we have eight children.

Three boys and a girl are already married.

Three girls are at home, one in Jerusalem, two here.

My youngest boy was killed in the war in Lebanon.

He was the loveliest child in the world.

That's why I can't stand Israel.

- A catastrophe. - You hate Sharon.

I'm a mother. And it's not a game.

Nothing in the world compares to a mother.

He was a friend, a brother, a father, the lot!

- How old was he?

He only had 5 months of service to go.

That's life.

Israel has everything, it's a beautiful country.

It's not like we lack anything.

But there's no "joie de vivre".

No one enjoys life.

You hear one's dead in Lebanon, another in Syria,

another in Gaza...

a soldier's stepped on a mine, another one's kidnapped...

You just give up.

You stop listening to the news.

We've stopped.

We're all human.

If I went to Egypt, I swear,

I'd be treated with kid gloves.

Some say Arabs are bad, some say Jews are bad.

But we have to make peace.

We have to bring peace and all will be well.

For sure.

Sharon and Arafat - get rid of them, both!

They're useless.

Do you think we can live together?

Of course we can.

Jews and Arabs together, like in Tunisia.

In Morocco, other Arab countries, we lived together.

Our neighbors were Arabs.

My house there, my Arab neighbors here.

We'd drink tea together... A simple, peaceful life.

Here, even if you have it all, you have nothing.

Here, no one enjoys life.

It's no life at all.

- And the Jewish Agency? - It was a mistake.

We were young. If I were young again,

I'd go to Canada or back to Tunisia.

Forget it.

The Germans wanted to kill us and bury us in ditches...

But the Arabs hid us.

They saved the Jews.

They saved the Jews!

They'll take you back to Tunis. - No one's taking me anywhere!

Sure they will.