It was impossible not to notice the unusual sight at the festive screening of the feature film Bethlehem in the Jerusalem Cinematheque: Side by side with the typical Jewish audience that frequents the place, a few dozen Palestinians invited by the film producers were seated in the auditorium. Their presence at the event was a disturbing reminder that they are not commonly seen in the Jerusalem Cinematheque. True, no one bars their entry, but even without explicit or implicit bans, Palestinians and Jews are rarely seen together in movie theaters, cafés, swimming pools, playgrounds, shopping malls or libraries in Israel.

Bethlehem, by the Israeli director Yuval Adler, has been nominated for 12 Ophir [Israeli Academy of Film and Television] Awards. It describes a close relationship between a Jew and a Palestinian. It is not, however, the type of close relationship envisioned by those who dream of reconciliation and good neighborly relations between the two peoples. 

Razi (Tsahi Halevi) is a Shin Bet officer who serves as coordinator of the Bethlehem governorate. Sanfur (Sahdi Mar'i) is his Palestinian informant — the best he has, in fact, as Sanfur is the younger brother of the local commander of the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, Ibrahim (Hisham Suliman). Razi cultivates the relationship with Sanfur as part of his job, but along the way he grows to care about the boy and to love him. At the same time, Ibrahim neglects Sanfur, as he lives on the run.