Israeli families of the victims of Hamas suicide bombers have gathered 30,000 signatures to petition the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to withdraw the nomination for the Palestinian film Paradise Now.  The Oscars awards ceremony is scheduled for Sunday, March 5 — three years to the day that the son of Yossi Zur, 16-year-old Asaf, was murdered in a bus attack.  This brings up the issue of what defines free expression and what would be considered threats to national security or defamation.   Should the Academy bow to the Israeli families and be forced to withdraw the nomination because it somehow legitimizes terrorism?

It is my contention that without artists and their ability to hold up a mirror to society and explore the actions, emotions, and philosophy of the human condition, our existence would certainly be worse off if not totally in chaos.  It is through understanding what we are, our history, and our ways of dealing with the world that we learn to become better patrons of this planet and happier, more engaged, and productive individuals.  Since we are made up of so many different cultures full of different ideas on how to live and interact with others, it is no wonder that we do not all agree on every issue.  The situation between Israel and Palestine is thousands of years old, and one film isn’t going to break the camel’s back.  By reaching out to understand the people who live on the other side of the tracks, the better the communication between two peoples becomes, and in time better relations and possibly friendships will develop.  Not all stories have happy endings, and nothing is black and white.  It is the daily struggle in the mire of the gray that makes life both difficult and interesting.

Instead of trying to prevent artists from expressing themselves, we should be encouraging more and more of them to show us ourselves so that we can take the images, feelings, and thoughts they provoke and promote and turn them into productive catalysts of change that will bring about a better world for our children and for the many people who will inherit this earth another thousand years from now.

Rich Burlingham