500 Dunam on the Moon

In 1948, military forces from the newly-independent Israel forced the residents of the 900-year-old Arab village of Ayn Hawd from their homes, many of which were subsequently destroyed (the village mosque was ultimately turned into a bar), before Ayn Hawd was eventually handed over to Romanian artist Marcel Janco to create an artists' colony called Ein Hod. Filmmaker Rachel Leah Jones' documentary 500 Dunam on the Moon serves up a stunning denunciation of Israel's half-century battle against the Arab villagers, arguing that after falsely claiming Ayn Hawd was abandoned, the Israeli government made concentrated efforts to prevent the Arab villagers from creating a new Ayn Hawd within two kilometers of their ancestral homes. Interviewing residents of Ein Hod, who sneeringly assert that their Arab neighbors are not suffering, the film documents the latter's denial of access to education, economic equality, basic amenities (including electricity and running water), and the right to build new housing and/or cultivate their lands. The so-called artists' colony is briefly toured and the quality of work being produced there is nil, which makes the displacement of Ayn Hawd's residents all the more painful to consider. The odd title refers to a whimsical conversation between an Arab man and his young daughter regarding lunar real estate and whether the Israelis would steal whatever part of the moon the Arabs claim for themselves. Presenting a distaff point-of-view on the longstanding controversy between Arabs and Israelis regarding Middle East land rights, this is highly recommended. Editor's Choice. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall)