“Are we not allowed to love?” Yusef, a 12-year-old Palestinian boy living in a Gaza refugee camp, asks his mother. She laughs lightly, then responds, “In our time, love only existed in movies.” This exchange appears in Tale of Three Jewels (1995), the first film ever shot entirely in Gaza. It follows the story of Yusef, a young boy who falls in love with Aida, a young gypsy girl, and embarks on a mission to find her grandmother’s lost jewels in an attempt to win her heart. What Yusuf was asking was not whether love was forbidden, but whether it could have space in his heart when it was weighed down with other emotions, such as the pain and grief brought on by conflict. In asking his mother, what he was truly wondering was, “Can we make room for love in our hearts?” He wanted to show that the younger generation is willing to open their hearts even further, allowing love to take root despite all they have experienced and endured. Even though he was burdened by the First Intifada, which was a series of protests carried out by…
What Does Arab Love Look Like? Habaytak Exhibition Explores Modern Arab Love
May 13, 2025
