“I know I can feel what is about to happen. I felt it two weeks ago,”

thought Nasri, as the camera fades out to give us the first taste of what it is to be a ’48 Palestinian*.

The storyline takes place in [al] Ajami, a neighborhood of Jaffa where Palestinians and Israelis cross paths on a daily basis. Unlike many other films depicting Palestinian life, Ajami does not cover the basis of the conflict or try to paint a false image of their situation where both entities are shown fighting an equal struggle for land. Instead, the film is about working class people doing their best to make it through the day. In addition, the themes of love and relationship that are covered are carefully tied in with the religious and ethnic differences that exist between the different characters.

Omar, one of the main characters, lives in a part of town that could very easily be a tough neighborhood in Los Angeles or an underserved Parisian suburb, where drug trafficking and corrupt police officers are part of the everyday scenery. On the Israeli side, we have Dando, a policeman who leads a troubling life. Between looking for his missing brother, spending time with his family and serving a community he despises, he loses it…acting out frantically, he puts his life on the line.

The directors, Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani, a Palestinian and an Israeli, do a marvelous job engaging the viewer from the very start. In the beginning, you immediately connect with the Arab characters but by the end of the film, you question their actions and wonder what they should have done differently to change their fate as a community and as individuals. Nonetheless, they are the products of the establishment of Israel in 1948 yet seem to have assimilated to their situation to a certain degree. When Abu Muhammad, a man from Nablus who is working without papers in Israel, comes to seek refuge at a Palestinian-owned restaurant, he is quickly asked to leave. Feeling betrayed by his own people usually known for their hospitality and positive spirits, he states:

“Those Arabs of Israel…We talk about collaborators, they’re much worse.”

Malek, an undocumented worker whose mother is on her deathbed, along with Omar, whose family had been under attack by Nomads, decide to turn on their values to try and help their families. Instead, they are faced with life-changing consequences. In the end, we are left with many life lessons and a different yet much more realistic view of ’48 Palestinians* and Israelis.

Pros: A great motion picture that will leave you pensive and grateful!

Cons: Palestinians in the movie are referred to as Arabs and Israelis in the movie as Jews. A clear distinction between these different terms isn’t made and may be confusing for the average audience.


*’48 Palestinians are Palestinians who were not displaced as a result of the establishment of Israel and hold Israeli citizenship. Although they can work and live in Israel, they are, many times, treated as second-class citizens and live in poor neighborhoods.