UMM AL-FAHM, Israel: In Israel’s Arab community, life is imitating art.
A new award-winning film about Arab women battling their society has touched off a real-life battle: The municipality of a major Arab city in Israel has called for a boycott of the film, and the film’s director says she has received death threats for her unflinching portrayal of sex, drugs, parties and rape in her community.
“In Between,” which has won accolades at Spanish, Canadian and Israeli film festivals, was written and directed by Maysaloun Hamoud, 35, and was inspired by her own experiences living in Tel Aviv for the last decade.
“It is the time now for women to come and speak up,” said Hamoud. “Until now, we were listening to men, and they were the ones to run everything.”
“In Between” is the film’s English title. In Arabic, it is called “Land Sea,” an expression meaning “Neither Here Nor There,” the film’s name in Hebrew.
The film tells the story of three Arab women who leave home to work and study in Tel Aviv. They find themselves stuck between an Arab society that often rejects nontraditional roles for women, and an Israeli society that while more open and Westernized, often does not treat Arabs as full equals.
Arab-Israelis make up about 20 percent of Israel’s citizenry. But they share the same ethnicity, language and culture of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and many identify as Palestinians rather than Israeli.
Abd Al-Monem Foad, a spokesman for the Umm Al-Fahm municipality, said his city has called for a boycott of the movie because it gives the city, home to two central characters, a bad name.
“The message that I want to reach Palestinian society is that we are very, very strong women,” said Mouna Hawa, who plays an important role in the film.
A new award-winning film about Arab women battling their society has touched off a real-life battle: The municipality of a major Arab city in Israel has called for a boycott of the film, and the film’s director says she has received death threats for her unflinching portrayal of sex, drugs, parties and rape in her community.
“In Between,” which has won accolades at Spanish, Canadian and Israeli film festivals, was written and directed by Maysaloun Hamoud, 35, and was inspired by her own experiences living in Tel Aviv for the last decade.
“It is the time now for women to come and speak up,” said Hamoud. “Until now, we were listening to men, and they were the ones to run everything.”
“In Between” is the film’s English title. In Arabic, it is called “Land Sea,” an expression meaning “Neither Here Nor There,” the film’s name in Hebrew.
The film tells the story of three Arab women who leave home to work and study in Tel Aviv. They find themselves stuck between an Arab society that often rejects nontraditional roles for women, and an Israeli society that while more open and Westernized, often does not treat Arabs as full equals.
Arab-Israelis make up about 20 percent of Israel’s citizenry. But they share the same ethnicity, language and culture of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, and many identify as Palestinians rather than Israeli.
Abd Al-Monem Foad, a spokesman for the Umm Al-Fahm municipality, said his city has called for a boycott of the movie because it gives the city, home to two central characters, a bad name.
“The message that I want to reach Palestinian society is that we are very, very strong women,” said Mouna Hawa, who plays an important role in the film.
