Sarai

Centered in the towns of Haifa, Ramallah, Gaza and Sierra Leon, the story is about a family consisting of a widow, her son (Ben), her daughter (Sarai), a French boyfriend (Antoine) and the Arab maid (Ralia). The daughter and her French boyfriend are UN workers who have recently met. Antoine (the boyfriend) works at the UN office in Ramallah, while Sarai, works in Haifa but later on gets sent to Sierra Leone. The story takes place during the lead up to and beginning of the second Intifada in 2000 and is a study of life, love and ethics under extremely difficult and violent circumstances. None of the characters escape unscathed by the turmoil that erupts. The story circles around the family. The son Ben who is 19 years old, is serving in the IDF has become one of around 200 conscientious objectors in the military that refuse to fight beyond the 1967 borders. Ralia, who lives with the family and raised Sarai and Ben hasn't seen her daughter since Israel gave back the West Bank and Gaza and has yet to meet her grandchildren. She gets news that her daughter is in critical condition with shrapnel in her lungs from a recent bombing and the IDF won't let her cross over to see her. After Sarai leaves for Sierra Leone, Antoine is heart broken. Their relationship miles apart, suffers on and off. The story is set against the backdrop of war and territorial disputes.