From the River to the Sea

One of a series of documentaries by Pierre Rehov dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from an Israeli perspective, From the River to the Sea concentrates on the “right of return”—the notion that Palestinians must be allowed to recover the properties from which they were ejected in the 1948 war and later conflicts—as a deal-breaker in peace negotiations. But the film goes further, arguing that by emphasizing the “right” as part of their credo, the Palestinian leadership—of both the PLO and Hamas—have cruelly used the refugees housed in Lebanese and Jordanian camps as bargaining chips, settling for a population of the permanently displaced as the price of their dream of a Palestinian state that, by stretching from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean, would effectively eliminate Israel. The documentary also accuses a UN agency—charged with providing for the refugees—of financial irregularities that not only line the pockets of its employees but provide support to terrorists. While making use of some archival material, the production employs wide-ranging interview excerpts with former ministers, UN officials, scholars, activists, ordinary citizens (including residents of the camps), and U.S. Congressman Eric Cantor of Virginia (whose portfolio in the House includes oversight of relief funds for Palestinian refugees). Unlike the many other filmmakers sympathetic to the plight of Palestinians, Rehov places the blame for their continued suffering not on Israel but on their own leadership, which (he contends) has prolonged hostilities by promoting an unrealistic demand that inevitably prevents real progress toward peace. Effectively presenting a provocative argument sure to spur debate, this is recommended. [Note: Rehov's two earlier related films First Comes Saturday, Then Comes Sunday and The Exodus are also newly available on DVD.] Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)