In the Arms of Occupation
About twenty percent of Israeli citizens are Palestinians. Their Arabic culture and their language are suppressed - and although fluent in Hebrew, many of them boycott the language in public and live as a separated, discriminated society. The well-known musician in the Middle East, Jowan Safadi (41), is part of the Palestinian minority. As the lead singer of the band Fish Samak he has won over a considerable fan base with his articulate and politically provocative songs. What is so special about him is that, in his writings, he criticizes both the Israeli and Palestinian positions, which caused him legal problems including a night in jail in Jordan and even death threats. Jowan lives in Haifa and is a single father to his son Don (15), who only returned to Israel about a year ago after being raised by his mother in New York for the past 5 years. He attends a jewish school due to the better education offered, but is confronted with everyday racism there, which is completely new to him. Jowan's family lives in Nazareth and is dominated by conservative Arab values - they would prefer that their son pursued a traditional life. Jowan's cousin, Yazid (33), is one of his closest confidants. He is politically active and has wanted to open an artist café nearby Akko for a long time. Due to a special legal situation, however, he is prohibited from buying land in the area because of his Palestinian origin. Jowan’s everyday life, and that of his close family and friends, is determined by the highly reserved atmosphere of the status quo. While most Palestinians do not want to enter into a dialogue with the Israelis anymore, he now decides to step in the opposite direction. He starts a daring campaign using his music and his voice, addressing Palestinians and Israelis – to open eyes and to stop speechlessness – at any price.