Etz Limon

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Have you ever wondered how it would be like had the world been governed by women, instead of men?

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Salma Zidane is a widow living on a small estate on the West Bank border between Israel and Palestine. She has a beautiful lemon grove that she inherited from her father and the grove had been there for almost 60 years. Salma leads a rather lonely and yet peaceful life, with the grove occupying almost all her time, making it both her hobby and where she earns her living. This peaceful and quiet life is completely destroyed when her new neighbours, the new Israeli Defense Minister and his wife move in the other side of the border. Fearing that the lemon trees can be a threat to the minister family's life for they are convenient for terrorists to hide among and attack the minister, Israeli secret service decides that the trees should be uprooted. However, Salma, as a very courageous woman, does not simply obey and leave; she fights for her memories, for her life, for something that the cold hand of the states never can and will be able to understand, and in this struggle, she finds support in a completely unexpected person: the minister's wife, Mira.

Etz Limon is a 2008 film by Israeli director Eran Riklis. It is a highly acclaimed movie which has received several awards and nominations throughout various festivals in the world.


At first glance, it is one of those commonly-known movies: there is a global subject, the war between Israel and Palestine in this case, and instead of using images of brutal violence, the message is given through a modest but more real story of the lonesome individual, Salma and her emotional bond with her trees now under threat, which then attracts the attention of many people around the world, becoming an example. The story to be taken from real life does not spoil the repetitiveness of such a common way to handle the issues in the global movie scene. Yet, this time, maybe because the story is of a conflict that has been around somehow all my life or because in the center, it is a woman's story, I feel that the film does not become a cliche, rather, it becomes a classic.

The movie deals with so many issues at once; first of all it shows who is really damaged in such a conflict - the people that those governments are supposedly fighting in the name of, to protect their freedom and rights. Yet, while the states are now doing nothing but building walls and walls and walls, the people in every and each one of them suffer the consequences of such violence and closure. While not all the Israelis despise the Palestinians, not all the latter are terrorists. The defense minister is a symbol of orthodox point of view, however his wife is the hope, the hope that one day people will start thinking and put an end to this, saying to each other, we are sorry. The center of the two neighbours' conflict to be a living thing, a beautiful tree is rather ironic, in a way that shows that the states care about nothing but huge chunks of concrete, in the name of protection, which will sweep over the delicate beings of those trees with its bulk existence; such as the governments over the little people.



Another grand issue that the movie deals with is the women's place in the societies where the male dominancy is the real thing in every level and in every corner. While Salma is left alone in her struggle by her own people, those that should support her put an even heavier pressure on her instead, in the name of so-called chastity and honour. On the other side, Mira is under the pressure of what is expected from her, a woman in her status, by her husband, and her people. Both women should shut up and obey, and this is more or less what they do, with Salma's eyes screaming and Mira's tears revolting. Where is the freedom that people are dying for?

Etz Limon is hard to write about, for those it reminds of are the subjects not so easy to talk about, for in reality many of those seem unsolvable. But even the highest concrete walls can be pulled down one day, with the people finally joining each other in peace. Well, there is always hope.