A Look into the Israeli and Palestinian Conflict: The Other

Osama Iliwat, a Palestinian activist, stands by a decorative gate on a dusty hillside in Jerusalem. He recalls as a child gathering stones for the many visitors to the site, however, only as an adult did he learn about the Holocaust when he saw the film “Schindler’s List.” The gate marks Oskar Schindler's grave and the visitors were Jews who came to honor his memory by putting stones on his grave — a Jewish tradition.  Schindler rescued more than 1200 Jews from Nazi death camps.

The 2025 film “The Other,” produced by We Uncover Films is woven from the voices of individual Palestinian and Israeli peacemakers. They explain why they believe that war and genocide must end. They show us how to re-humanize ‘the other’.

Decades ago, Palestinians and Israelis mingled more in daily life; now they are separated by ignorance and fear as much as by 30 foot walls and military campaigns. 

"On the Palestinian maps, we don't see Israel. The same thing on Israeli maps, we don't see Palestine," said Mohammed Dajani, the founder of Wasatia, an organization that promotes the Islamic traditions of nonviolence and compromise. 

"I lost 60 family members in Gaza. At the same time, I sit and I talk with Israeli people. That's because I believe in the future," said Ahmed Helou, Palestinian peace activist and former Hamas fighter, based in the West Bank. 

The showing was hosted by Sha’ar Zahav — a synagogue in San Francisco. “We strive to be  able to hear as many different perspectives as we can,” said Patty Caplan, chair of the congregation's Israeli Speakers work group.

“It's also just so powerful that people who have experienced the rawest pain somehow make the decision to put revenge and anger to the side and to work in a different direction,” said Rabbi Mychal Copeland. “They're not saying, I agree with you.They're saying there has to be another way.”

Joy Sela, the film’s director, went to the region in 2017 intending to make a few short videos. Sela stayed for years, slowly gaining the trust of these dedicated activists. In the end, she created this powerful film documenting how they see their work.

Families share stories of loss. A friend was blown up while sitting in a cafe. A brother was beaten to death by Israeli soldiers.

Israeli soldiers and Palestinian peacekeepers outraged by the brutality of the fighting secretly began working together, forming Combatants for Peace in 2005.

These are the voices of individual peace makers, but behind them are an array of organizations.  

The Orchard of Abraham’s Children is a school in Israel that teaches Israeli and Palestinian children in both Arabic and Hebrew. Two hundred children attend; their parents want a different future for them. Since Oct. 7, more families are applying to the school.

The Parent’s Circle Family Forum, is an organization of Israelis and Palestinians who have lost loved ones, and know there is no other way. 

After the Oct. 7, 2023, murders and the following genocidal assault on Gaza, it has been more difficult to argue for peace. Yet there are hopeful signs — enrollment is up at the bi-cultural school. Donations to the New Israel Fund (NIF), which funds many of the peace groups, have increased 60% since 2022. 

"We are not in coexistence. We are in co-resistance," said Palestinian artist Samira Saraya, with the Israel-based band System Ali.

Volunteers, all rabbis or rabbinical students, from Road to Recovery, have for years ferried Palestinians through checkpoints to hospitals in Israel. Seven of those volunteers were randomly murdered on Oct. 7, yet the group has not paused in their efforts.

Standing Together is a progressive grassroots movement organizing Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel against the occupation and for peace, equality, and social justice. They are opening new chapters, including in the United States, and are forming a political party. 

Rabbi Copeland compared the situation to the deep divisions in our own country. She wonders why we can’t just sit down and talk things out in the same way. 

The activists in the film strive to replace hate with understanding. But when Israel has ramped up the killing of innocents and the land grabs and displacement so much, it is hard to see how they will succeed. Yet, as they so bravely say, there is no military solution.

A burly man stood outside the synagogue’s street door and politely ushered out guests after the show. Yes, he said, he was standing guard.