‘The future of Palestinians and Israelis is deeply intertwined, and true peace can only be achieved through justice, freedom, dignity, equality and security for all. It is time to humanise, not politicise, our approach to conflict resolution, and to work relentlessly towards a future where peace reigns supreme’ – Dr Izzeldin Abuelaish
The moving documentary film I Shall Not Hate is one of those works that embodies its message. The story, directed by Tal Barda, who grew up in Israel, is based on the book I shall not hate, by Palestinian doctor Izzeldin Abuelaish, and tells of this man’s thirst for peace and tolerance, despite the loss of his family, decimated by the Israeli army.
This gynaecologist, nicknamed the ‘Nelson Mandela of the Middle East’, has spent his life treating patients in an Israeli hospital. He defends a humanist vision of the world that is not dictated by religion or nationality. He cared for every patient, Israeli and Palestinian alike, who visited his practice, sometimes even free of charge. His ambition for peace and his conviction that hatred is not innate but is nurtured (“hatred is not by nature it’s by nurture”) led him in 2006 to stand as an independent candidate in the legislative elections, to offer an alternative to Fatah and Hamas, which was elected for the first time on that occasion. His pacifist convictions and his desire for reconciliation between Israel and Palestine have made Abuelaish famous, and their durability despite the death of his daughters has made him a symbol of resilience: ‘If I had the certainty that my daughters were the last to be sacrificed on the road to peace between Israelis and Palestinians, then I could accept their death’, he declares in this film.
By giving him and his children a voice, the director helps to humanise the victims of war, as does Schlomi Eldar, an Israeli journalist and friend of Abuelaish. When he calls him, in tears, after the death of his daughters, while Eldar is on the set of an Israeli television news programme, he puts on the loudspeaker to let the people of Israel hear the suffering that his army is creating.
Three of Izzeldin Abuelaish’s daughters and one of his nieces were killed on 16 January 2009 when an Israeli shell was fired at the building where the families of Izzeldin and five of his brothers lived. Following these deaths, a ceasefire was declared by the Israeli Prime Minister at the time, Ehud Olmert. After immigrating to Canada, Abuelaish took Israel to court, seeking recognition of the State’s responsibility for the deaths of her daughters and a public apology. In 2021, the Israeli Supreme Court declared that the State was not responsible because of the context of the conflict, described the deaths of Bessan, Aya, Mayar and Noor as an ‘act of war’ and made no apology to Abuelaish.
This film and this man, who wanted to ‘be the very example of coexistence’, in his words, offer the world a genuine message of hope and peace by highlighting people for whom peace and hope must replace hatred. As Izzeldin Abuelaish himself says, “I shall not hate. Let us hope”.
Generation for Rights Over the World is proud to be one of the partner organisations for this film in France.
Transalted by Gabriel Capitolo
