In the Land of Pomegranates

The seemingly intractable hostility between Israelis and Palestinians is given a very human dimension in Hava Kohav Beller’s documentary, which focuses on a program called "Vacation From War" that brings young Israelis and Palestinians to Germany to address one another as fellow human beings rather than faceless adversaries. Much of the film is devoted to excerpts of the conversations among the participants at the sessions in Walberberg hosted by Mohammad Joudeh, but the give-and-take is more often accusatory than peace-oriented, and by the close it seems that no minds have been changed. Additional footage simply shows the reality on the ground in the disputed territories and introduces individuals back home who tell their personal stories. An Israeli photographer suffering from PTSD after being injured on a bus targeted by a suicide bomber is paired with a Palestinian man who was imprisoned in Israel for his terrorist activities; a hearty Israeli mother living with her family near the wall from which gunmen in Gaza can fire bullets into enemy territory is contrasted with a Palestinian woman who endures multiple checkpoints to bring her little son to an Israeli hospital, where the boy undergoes surgery for a life-threatening heart ailment. As the DVD cover notes, the pomegranate is a tasty fruit native to the region that symbolizes rebirth, but it is also Israeli slang for a hand grenade. Beller’s film documents a program that aims to instill hope but also reveals the deep bitterness that still afflicts the Middle East. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)