The American Jewish Committee vs the Palestinian perspective.

Director Julian Schnabel has been forced to go on the defensive from American Jews, over his new movie Miral, a story about an orphaned Palestinian girl in the wake of the Arab-Israel war in 1948. The screenplay was written by Rula Jebreal, based on her semi-biographical novel that features a chronicle of Hind al Husseini, a Palestinian socialite known for rescuing 55 orphaned survivors of the Deir Yassin massacre, after they were dropped off in Jerusalem and left to fend for themselves. She later converted her grandfather's mansion into an orphanage to house them, which eventually became a school providing education to orphans and other children from Palestinian towns and villages.

Unsurprisingly the controversial subject matters of Palestine, Hind al Husseini's plight and the Intifada all appearing in a mainstream movie would not be without its controversy. The story of Miral - a girl who joined the orphanage a short time after it was established - follows her journey as a young woman torn between the First Intifada of her people and the belief that education, not conflict should be the road to peace. 

With the film already premiering internationally in 2010, yesterday saw it's US premier at the UN General Assembly Hall, and with that the wrath of The American Jewish Commitee (AJC) as well. Prior to it's showing, the AJC issued a statement condemning both the movie and the decision of the UN to show the US premier there by stating: 

"The film has a clear political message, which portrays Israel in a highly negative light [and] will only serve to reinforce the already widespread view that Israel simply cannot expect fair treatment in the UN.'

Slumdog Millionaire's Freido Pinto as Miral

Its curious how official members and supporters of a state that has been documented violating the human rights of the Palestinian people time and again, will still take time to single out a relatively 'insignificant' movie that has only thus far garnered 20% on Rottentomatoes.com. What makes this film special? Is it because it being shown at the UN serves as a type of 'official confirmation' that the actions committed against children in the country's name since 1948 can be construed as legitimate 'crimes' as the film implies? Or is it because the film maker Schnabel and its distributor are both Jewish Americans themselves?

To the AJC, a little advice: What is rule number one when opposing a movie that one may disagree with? Do not disagree publicly unless you want to generate lots of free press for it, especially when its subject matter is political, and the one doing the complaining represents that movie's bad guys.

Furthermore any rational individual, regardless of racial and religious background or even political affiliation, should not be afraid to ask the difficult questions when they need to be asked. Like any good cinema that attempts to be cutting edge, Miral is the latest in a series of movies made by Jewish film makers that dare to challenge the status quo of their country and are not afraid to shed a critical eye over controversial issues that makes the State of Israel and Zionism look bad.