by Paul Chi
02/24/2003


The Voices of Palestine, and Hayaat, the Palestinian human-rights organization at the UW, presented the Seattle premiere of the award-winning documentary film Jenin Jenin in Kane Hall last night.

A huge audience of UW students and community members watched the film, which depicted Israel’s war crimes and the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of Palestinians in the Jenin refugee camp. The screening was so popular that 150 people were turned away because of limited seating.

Made by Palestinian filmmaker and actor Muhammad Bakri, Jenin Jenin showed the oppression, terror and suffering of the camp’s Palestinian residents.

Bakri filmed in Jenin, located in the West Bank, after the death of 50 to 60 Palestinian civilians in April 2002. The documentary recorded the testimonies of local men, women and children.

“We felt it was urgent to raise awareness on this issue right away, as Israel’s ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people is escalating rapidly and may reach mass expulsions once the war on Iraq starts,” said Haithem El-Zabri, a graduate student and Hayaat officer.

The student group Huskies for Israel disagrees with El-Zabri.

“This film is pure propaganda,” said Eric Hasson, president of Huskies for Israel, who was protesting the screening outside Kane Hall. “We are protesting quietly to dispel the rumors and the flat-out lies.”

After the film, Riad Abdelkarim, a physician and relief worker, shared his experiences as an eyewitness in Jenin immediately after the event.

“I felt ashamed to be part of a world that has allowed such a monstrous crime to occur,” said Abdelkarim.

Abdelkarim also discussed his 15 days in a Tel Aviv prison after sending e-mail to friends and family about Jenin. This information was widely circulated over the Internet, and he was accused of sponsoring terrorism.

“Israel would take advantage of the Iraq conflict by taking on a full-fledged ethnic cleansing while the rest of the world’s attention would be on Iraq,” Abdelkarim said of the current world situation. “Iraq would be a cover-up.”

The first film to be banned in Israel in 15 years, Jenin Jenin spoke of horror. Vivid footage of the heaps of rubble and devastation captured the attention of the audience.

An additional showing of Jenin Jenin will be offered in two weeks. For more information, visit www.jeninjenin.org.