ONLINE EXCLUSIVE — In spirit of International Peace week, Middle Eastern Peace and Awareness (MEPA) has partnered film and communications professor Craig Detweiler to host a screening of the documentary “Little Town of Bethlehem” for convocation credit on Wednesday at 9 p.m. in Elkins.
A Q&A will take place after the screening.
The documentary tells the story of three men living in Palestine and Israel: Sami Awad, Yonatan Shapira and Ahmad Al’azzeh.
They come from different religious backgrounds, but they all share the common goal of promoting nonviolence in Palestine and Israel.
“The region of Israel and Palestine is a fascinating subject, but most people don’t know a lot about it,” MEPA executive vice president Ingrid Maravilla said. “Usually people only know of what the news tells them, but the U.S. news is often biased, especially when it comes to the Middle East.”
MEPA president Adrian Aurrecoechea encourages students to watch the film to become better educated, and he also says that it can offer a sense of hope.
“This movie shows another side of the Middle East we’re not used to seeing,” Aurrecoechea added.
“It’s an inspiration to those who believe that violence is the only solution,” Aurrecoechea said. “Whether you have a religious faith or not, the story can increase your desire to be a good person, and I hope it increases people’s hope for the region.”
According to Aurrecoechea, the title of the movie came from the irony of the fact that Bethlehem was where God became human, and now there are men in Bethlehem with the single wish to be treated as humans.
Maravilla anticipates that the “Little Town of Bethlehem” will have an impact on the Pepperdine student body.
“We are showing it in hopes of shedding a new light on the Middle East,” Maravilla said. “And also to spark people’s possible interests that have to do with the region.”
Last year, Detweiler helped MEPA in showing an Israeli-Palestinian documentary titled “With God on our Side,” which turned out to be a huge success according to Aurrecoechea.