The Evidence of Jahalin

In “The Evidence of Jahalin,” Tina Schmidt and Kerry Steen investigate the traces of the Jahalin Bedouin in the Khan al-Ahmar school community, a village in Area C of the West Bank. The village is not marked on any map, and its inhabitants are not documented by statistics anywhere. Living in fear that they will be displaced by the Israeli government, which would prefer to demolish the village without discussion, the Jahalin Bedouin fight for recognition and the right to stay. The convoluted situation that has existed since the founding of the state of Israel in 1948 has become continually more heated following several wars, continuous border disputes, the establishment of Israeli settlements in the area that has been claimed by Palestinians, and growing violence on all sides. In their multimedia archive in progress, which consists of images, texts, and film material, Tina Schmidt and Kerry Steen attempt to give these people a voice so that their justified yet politically controversial issue is heard.