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Citizen Nawi

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Synopsis

Citizen Nawi tells the story of Ezra Nawi, the driving force behind the protection of Palestinians in the South Hebron Hills who regularly face attacks from their Jewish settler neighbors. The South Hebron Hills have recently turned into the "wild west," where the strong rule and the weak are silenced. Nawi works to change this situation. He embraces the necessary fights and arrests, assists in the Arab olive harvest and in digging wells, and also organizes day camps for the Arab children. Ezra has committed himself to the cause of the South Hebron cave dwellers. Saving them has become an essential part of his life.

Ezra, a plumber by trade, ignores the police harassment. He has lost count how many times he has been arrested and interrogated, due to his activities in the South Hebron Hills. At the same time Ezra is fighting a personal battle for the rights of Fuad Mussa, a Palestinian from Ramallah and an illegal resident chased by Israeli law enforcement officials. For a while Fuad and Ezra lived together in the Rehavia neighborhood of Jerusalem, not far from the Prime Minister's and the President's residences. As a couple, they stood out in the neighborhood. Surprise visits from the police, arrests, and violence, were all part of their daily routine.

Over the past few years Nawi has consistently stood by Fuad. Though Ezra has been unwavering in his commitment to his partner, it is he who is grateful. His experiences with Fuad have opened his eyes to the continuing injustices of the occupation, and stirred his consciousness in the fight for human dignity.

Ezra Nawi manages to break every possible stereotype. He is the boy from the poor Sephardic neighborhoods who fights for Arabs' rights; a plumber who is close friends with an Irish Member of Parliament; and a homosexual who is not afraid of beatings from settlers and cops and is always ready for the next round.

Ezra undermines the Jewish settlers' efforts to expel the local Arab population. He exposes their malicious behavior to the Israeli public and files complaints with the police. The settlers consider him an enemy worse than the Arabs and his life is under constant threat. He also finds himself engaged in stormy quarrels with ultra-orthodox Jews in Jerusalem's Gay Pride Parade. Yet through it all he retains a blazing wit and sharp human observation that allows him, and us, to see as never before what it means to be trapped by one's circumstances while still committed to resistance.

Keywords

Documentary/Documentaries, Gay Male, Gay/Lesbian, Military/Soldier, Politics, Religion/Spirituality

Genres

Documentary, International

Customer Reviews

Gayb in Palestine

Amos Lassen wrote on 02/05/2010:

“Citizen Nawi”

Gay in Palestine

Amos Lassen

Ezra Nawi is a social and political activist and to tell his story, director Nissim Mossek labored for five years. The film “Citizen Nawi” has two simultaneous story lines—Nawi’s personal life and the hardships which Palestinians who live in the hills of Hebron face on a daily basis.
Ezra Nawi is the force behind the protection of his people, the Palestinians, who live in the hills surrounding Hebron. The Jewish settlers who have built their homes nearby launch attacks against the Palestinians living there and the area is wild with gunfire. It is here that rule is by the strong and silence is for the weak. Nawi opposes his situation and wants it changed. He works the land, protects his people as best he can and he organizes day camps for Arab children. His life is devoted to the area and his mission is to save his people.
By profession Nawi is a plumber and he pays no mind to harassment by the police. He has been arrested and questioned more times than he can count or remember. Yet Nawi has another mission—he is fighting for the rights of a Palestinian, Fuad Mussa, from Ramallah (where I did my Israeli army duty). Faud is an illegal resident that is being chased by the Israeli government. Faud and Nawi once lived together in an exclusive area of Jerusalem near the houses of both the President and Prime Minister of Israel but they were obvious as a couple and were the victims of surprise police visits, violence and arrests.
If it is not clear, Nawi and Faud are life partners and it is through this relationship that Nawi has become aware of the injustices of Israeli occupation. His conscious has caused him to fight for the dignity of man.
The film is a melodrama that unites Nawi’s activism with his private life as a gay man and in doing so lays bare the racism and homophobia in the minds of Palestinians as well as a sector of the Israeli population. The relationship of the men is filled with risks and we also learn of Nawi’s broken-hearted mother and the way she feels about her son’s life choice.
The story exposes the existentialism of the political system in Israel today. Nawi is a real person who finds himself pitted ageist life. He is an Israeli and he is unique. His heritage is an Iraqi Jew who happened to fall in love with a Palestinian Arab who is not allowed to share is home. Since Nawi cannot have Faud, he works to make life better for other Palestinians.
This is not an easy film to watch and for me, who is an Israeli citizen, it was especially hard. I think I know something about the Arab mind, especially since I served in the Israel Defense Forces. However, watching this film as a gay Jewish man living in America now, I find my opinions shifting. “Citizen Nawi” is a tour de force that should not, for any reason, be missed by anyone but especially not by thinking members of the gay community.