This story of Arab-Israeli pornography is tawdry and sad on every level. But the worst element, by far, is the Islamic cultural retardation sanctioning violence against those accused of violating "honor." This is the 21st century: grow up, mind your own business, do something worthwhile with your life, repect the rights of others - even your sister:
- "Fatima" saunters into the store, murmuring "Shalom." At the counter, "Yussuf" eyes her appreciatively and returns the Hebrew greeting. Cue music. The couple embrace, lapsing naturally into their native Arabic.
Were it not for the hardcore sex that comes next, it might have passed for another Israeli high school video on language education.
Instead, the bilingual film billed as the first Israeli-Arab pornography has inflamed the Jewish state's Muslim minority, drawing charges of sacrilege and a vigilante death sentence on "Fatima" issued by her own hometown and family.
Amal Kashua, a 38-year-old mother of eight who played Fatima, was set upon by a mob last week in Tira, a prosperous Arab community in central Israel. "Yussuf," a Palestinian known only as Amir, was beaten too. They went to a hospital under police guard, then into hiding.
Shamed by association, Kashua's relatives disowned her.
Tira residents were divided over whether Kashua and Amir were married or merely lovers. But none disputed that the stars of "Yussuf and Fatima" had brought the near-lynching in Tira square upon themselves.
...."This is a blow to the sensitivity of Muslims everywhere," said Tira attorney Ihab Galgoly, who was representing two men arrested on suspicion of leading the assault on the couple.
"We are considering suing the producers for breach of the law guaranteeing human dignity and freedom."
....On the door leading to the main square, Kashua's family had taped a black-on-white poster made to look like a death notice.
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