The Lemon Tree gives a very different perspective on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Most material on the subject is focused on hard politics and justifications for both sides concerning historical and legal considerations. However, this film presents a unique perspective. This film is not about politics or legal arguments, but about moral issues. Through the protagonist’s struggle in her lemon grove to keep it, the story depicts the palestinian people’s plight from both an emotional-spiritual level.
Salma, an Israeli widow from Palestine, is shown in the film. Her son is gone and she is alone with an elderly man. He helps her tend to her lemon trees. It is her most prized possession and sits on the Israeli border. The Israeli Defense Ministry moves in next to the grove and sees it as a threat to both his security as well as that of Israel’s nation. Salma joins forces with Ziad, an attorney, to try to get legal action for her lemon tree. After a long legal battle that was widely publicized, the Supreme Court decided that the tree would not be cut so it doesn’t pose a danger. Salma regrets this decision. It is her only link to her past life. The lemon grove is a symbol of the happy times she had in her past, as her husband, father and son are no longer there. This is a sign of the struggles of the Palestinian people. They lost their land and their entire way of life, and they are still spiritually persecuted by Israel as they build walls around them. Salma feels that the lemon tree is her last link to her family and her home country. In the face of seemingly insurmountable odds, she is determined to keep her cool. The Israelis have taken away all of her possessions, and if she takes the lemon grove, then she will have nothing. The flashback scene in which she recalls playing with her father in the grove is a great example of the connection. The film cuts immediately to the construction of the wall. These images are juxtaposed to show her feeling suffocated by Israel’s presence.
This film provides a nuanced and balanced view of the role that Israelis are playing in all this. Israel, the Defense Minister, views Salma’s lemon grove in a way that threatens his safety. This is representative of the current geo-political stance taken by Israeli officials regarding the remaining Palestinian land. The Palestinians are now occupying a very small portion of the land they once owned, with very limited resources. They are still considered a threat to Israel’s strategic interests and are being persecuted and isolated. Although the Defense Minister may have an advantage due to his guard tower, barbedwire fence, surveillance, troops and troops stationed around him home, he is not satisfied with his strategic stance and wants to eliminate the entire grove.
Mira, Minister’s wife is what makes this film so nuanced. Salma is someone she empathizes more with. She sees her as a widow and a woman trying to live a normal life. Mira is a symbol of many secular Israeli’s feeling the pain of the Palestinians because of their shared humanity. Mira wants her husband to be happy and she will do whatever he tells her to continue their life. However, Mira can’t help feeling for Salma because she has the exact same goal. Mira wouldn’t be willing to sacrifice much while Salma might. In today’s Israeli society, many young Israelis are faced with the dilemma of choosing between honoring the nation and the people they love and supporting their fellow Israelis. This is illustrated well by the conflict between his wife and Minister.
This film also shows the real-world dilemma of Palestinians trying to keep their old ways alive while assimilating to modern culture. Salma lives with her son in Washington D.C. He tells Salma to “Forget all the trees, come to America.” But Salma refuses to let go the past. Salma is reminded every day by the reminder that her husband died, as she keeps her home stocked with his portrait. She refuses to accept compensation from the Minister for the loss she suffered in her grove. Assimilation to Israel’s new world is her main goal, the Minister offers her compensation. As a protest, she stubbornly refuses the offer to leave her grove.
Salma struggles to keep her old ways in check when she sees the attraction between Ziad and herself. It is obvious that she wants to abandon the past and accept Ziad’s love. She nearly puts on her headdress as he approaches her at night. However, she resists the temptation and decides to leave it off. This is a sign of her desire to find something new. For her Ziad, it represents an escape from the expectations and rules imposed on her by her old life. Her obligation to her husband has been repeatedly reminded by her fellow members of the community. She also worries about how disrespectful it would be to him if she got involved in a legal matter. However, she feels a special kinship and secret desire to be with her husband. She decides to end her relationship with him after the court hearing.
Many Palestinians will have experienced this exact problem. As their situation gets more dire, the tendency to keep hold of past relics becomes less compelling. It seems to many that assimilation will be the only way out, and there will not be a place for them in the new world. Salma loses her fight. The political elites take Salma’s lemon trees and leave her with only sad reminders from the past. She is there, as are the Palestinians who live in occupied territories today with little of their past. This is an extremely sad end considering the current state of the matter. The Minister’s reaction to the whole mess was quite interesting. He lost his wife and the view of an orange tree has become a grim view of the wall that he had always wanted. The moral of this story is that while rhetoric and policy may be useful for your practical needs, they will not serve you well inside. You must understand and sympathize with others in order to be able to acknowledge our basic humanity.
