Forbidden Family

Forbidden Family is a story about the separation barrier and its effect on one Lutheran Palestinian family. I produced this video for the ELCA in 2005.

The social, political, economic, and religious situation in the Holy Land is complex. This video, “Forbidden Family,” highlights one very visible aspect of those complexities and its effect on a single Christian family—the Kasabrehs.

Rimaz and Ghassan Kasabreh live in a suburb of Jerusalem called Beit Hanina. They have been married since 1996. When they first married, they applied for a “Jerusalemite” identity card for Rimaz. Ghassan, as a lifelong resident of Jerusalem, already had his Jerusalemite identity card. At first Rimaz was told repeatedly that her case would be considered. Then the law was changed to require that she reapply every year. Finally in June 2003, the Israeli government officially suspended issuing such permits.

In spite of her conscientious efforts to gain the necessary permits, Rimaz has been denied Jerusalemite status and told she may not reapply. As a result, she cannot legally enter even East Jerusalem, which is on the Palestinian side of the internationally recognized border, but administered and controlled by Israel. The schools and hospitals that serve the greater Jerusalem Palestinian population (including Rimaz’s children) are in East Jerusalem and, therefore, are all “off limits” to her. She is prohibited from attending her church. She is prohibited from going to work at the Christian school where she was a music teacher. She is forbidden to take her children to the doctor’s office or—in an emergency—to the hospital. She cannot even do the grocery shopping.

Rimaz’s situation is repeated throughout the Jerusalem area and the West Bank* —with people separated from family, work, and worship. Hers is not a unique story. Until recently, Rimaz, and thousands of people in situations like hers, could manage to get to work or worship illegally—risking fines and imprisonment, but still contributing to their families’ livelihoods and being active in their faith communities. But with the construction of the wall this is no longer possible.