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The film, Arab and Jew 2002; Return to the Promise Land produced by David Shipler, explores the complexities of a major conflict involving two groups of people fighting for control of one area of land. The strife between the Israelis and the Palestinians spans many decades with each side holding fast to uncompromising conditions that have led to extended and escalated war with no solution in sight.

Shipler's film presents to the viewer the very essence of why this dissension is taking place/ and why it has lasted as long as it has. It seeks to delve into the humanistic elements of the minds of both peoples as they rationalize the validity of their plight. Shipler strives to present a fair/ unbiased social narrative from both Palestinians and Israelis of why their existence in the "Promise Land" and the control of the holy worship sites in Jerusalem are essential to the cultural identity of their populations.

This documentary is effective in conveying to the viewer that both Jewish and Palestinian average citizens such a Palestinian journalist, a Jewish attorney and philosopher, and ordinary housewives, teenage girls, and men on both sides, have experienced two decades of carnage this social and political discord has caused. The 1988 interviews in Shipler's first film juxtaposed against these same people's current views illustrate two distinct things; the longevity of the commitment to a cause, and the increased despair and fading hope that peace can be achieved

One example of this is when the Palestinian journalist said, "a population with nothing left to lose, is a dangerous group that will bring upon much sorrow to the Jewish people." Another example is when a Jewish woman comments on how she doesn't think "Jews and Palestinians could or should live together in the same land." The film makes it evident that basic trust, the will to communicate and simply co-exist together have dissipated.

The film does a fine job in outlining the basic contentions and issues and obstacles to securing a peaceful resolution, they are well known to us all. More importantly, this film examines and exposes the most fundamental reasons for the conflict over the land now called Israel. It shows us the microcosm of personal views of those affected by the conflict. The viewer is enlightened to the fact that both the Palestinians and the Israelis are struggling for a mutual recognition of the legitimacy of their history and heritage. A right to live on sacred land that both groups of people are convinced belong to them.

The film demonstrates on a visceral level the determination of a Palestinian family to return to their original home. The man produces a key to the front door to a house long demolished, as a symbol to return to the land that once was own by his family. The viewer is given a brief glimpse of the deep-rooted longing to regain a solidified national identity and right to citizenship in a recognized Palestinian state.

The feelings of Israeli nationalism and Jewish religious history run just as deep in this battle. The Jewish philosopher recounts the fact that Abraham once walked this "Holy Land" and that the Bible decrees that the Jewish people be given the land of Israel. The Jews were once expelled from this land and scattered around the world. They long for a homeland that is based on the scripture and their geographical past. They are not keen on sharing it now.

The interviews show us the Israelis are wary of terrorist attacks against them; the suicide bombings and sniper attacks that kill their citizens, the military incursions that claim the lives of Israeli soldiers. We see the Palestinian man in the film talk of the broken promises to stop the expansion of the settlements in the occupied territories, and the dire living conditions there. He laments of the restriction of movement and the lack of employment for his people to support themselves. We hear of a Palestinian girl talk of seeing her father humiliated at an Israeli checkpoint, and how this shamed her. We see that both sides are tired of war, death, and social destruction of their peoples.

In the final analysis of Shipler's film, it gave an informative backdrop of the history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. With this factual foundation, the film delivered a clear and unbiased overview of the current issues and the personal views of a small cross section representing the populations of both sides — not the radicals, but the average citizens. The video was successful in promoting the fact that the humanistic perspective and individual thoughts of the Palestinians and Israelis are as complex as the solution to end this war, and that they are in many respects alike in their desire for peace and a homeland to live peacefully in.