'Paradise Now'

Would like the Israeli-Palestinian struggle summed up in an anecdote regarding the awards season of Paradise Now.

When a film is submitted for an Academy for Best Foreign Film, the submission must be made by the home country. For Paradise Now, it is Palestine -- whatever that really is anymore. However, Palestine was not considered a sovereign nation and other Palestinian films had been not considered for the award due to this stipulation despite films from Taiwan, Puerto Rico and Hong Kong being considered.

Israeli officials attempted to not have the film labeled under the state of Palestine and they attempted to list it as "Palestinian Authority" and, then, "Palestinian Territories." Later, another writer pointed that "country of origin" is determined by who funded the film, and this case it was European. The director, Hany Abu-Assad is an Israeli-Arab.

Also, families of Palestinian bombings attempted to have the film not considered.

The Arabs and Israelis have been fighting for hundreds of years, and it will probably go on for another 1,000 years. Any more, it's not about land or sovereignty. It's about movie awards and hollow gestures. Good luck clearing that all up.