Hi John,

Our film festival kicks off next week with a discussion of the newly released, headline-grabbing film Israelism, one of three films that we're screening and discussing throughout the month of March for our 4th annual virtual film fest.

Israelism: Released in 2023, Israelism uniquely explores how Jewish attitudes towards Israel are changing dramatically, with massive consequences for the region. Two young American Jews – Simone Zimmerman and Eitan – are raised to defend the state of Israel at all costs. Eitan joins the Israeli military. Simone supports Israel on ‘the other battlefield:’ America’s college campuses. When they witness Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinian people with their own eyes, they are horrified and heartbroken.

Simone Zimmerman, who is featured in the film, will be joining us for the panel discussion. Simone is a Jewish American activist and a Co-Founder of IfNotNow Movement. The panel will also include Deb Cowen, a Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. Deb is a founding member and on the steering committee of the Jewish Faculty Network. The discussion will be moderated by Rachel Small, WBW's Canada Organizer and a founding member of the Jews Say No to Genocide Coalition, which has mobilized thousands of Jews to take action against Israeli state violence and Canadian complicity in it since October 2023.

Naila and The Uprising (2017): When a nationwide uprising breaks out in 1987, a woman in Gaza must choose between love, family, and freedom. Undaunted, she embraces all three, joining a clandestine network of women in an inspiring story that weaves through the most vibrant, nonviolent mobilization in Palestinian history – the First Intifada.

The film was produced by Just Vision's Education and Public Engagement Manager, Rula Salameh, who will join us for the panel discussion in conversation with Jordana Rubenstein-Edberg, Just Vision's Public Engagement Associate. Just Vision is an organization that fills a media gap in Israel-Palestine through independent storytelling and strategic audience engagement.

As news reports remind us on a daily basis, violence and war are having a devastating effect on countries, communities, and individuals across the world. This hour-long documentary Power on Patrol (2022) from the Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom (WILPF) sheds light on the concept of militarised masculinities as a key driver of this conflict and aggression, the ways it manifests itself in conflict societies, how it is sustained and spotlights the stories of the male allies doing vital work alongside female activists to achieve equitable peace.

The panel discussion will be moderated by WBW's Africa Organizer Guy Feugap (who is also featured in the film!) with panelists Oswaldo Montoya of the MenEngage Alliance, Hareer Hashim of WILPF's Afghanistan section, and Reem Abbas, Communications Coordinator for WILPF's Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace Programme.

In peace,

Greta Zarro
Organizing Director
World BEYOND War
[email protected]