I Shall Not Hate-Maggie Freeman
I Shall Not Hate is a documentary film released in 2024 that details the life of Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish. In 2009, the Israeli military launched an unprompted attack on Dr. Abuelaish’s home. The attack killed 3 of Dr. Abuelaish’s children. The story of the attack gained international attention because of Dr. Abuelaish’s reaction to the attack. Instead of demanding retributions for the misdeeds, Dr. Abuelaish merely wanted an admittance of wrongdoings from the Israeli military. Dr. Abuelaish became an advocate for peace and ending violence, and he wrote a memoir in 2010 about his experiences. This documentary retells the memoir while adding to the story via showing more recent footage of Dr. Abuelaish.
The film, which was released amid arguably the most tense period of the Israel-Palestine conflict, uses archival footage and new interviews to reiterate Dr. Abuelaish’s message of choosing peace. The film raises awarness about Dr. Abuelaish’s story, but it also draws attention to the ongoing, brutal conflict in Gaza. The documentary uses a specific example of unimaginable loss in the wake of war to make viewers understand the gravity of the violence present in Gaza. Viewers are shown first hand how war effects ordinary, innocent people, and it urges viewers to consider the individual toll that war takes. Additionally, the film aims to show viewers that the only way to end violence is to chose not to retaliate. Dr. Abuelaish serves as a model for behavior, and the film compels audiences to act and think the way that Dr. Abuelaish does.