“Jamila’s Loop” Sheds Light on Plight of Israel’s Stateless Bedouin
The 12-minute animated short “Jamila’s Loop,” which premiered at the Cinema South Festival in sderot last week, aims to raise awareness about the often-overlooked struggles of thousands of individuals living in Israel without citizenship. Created by Gili Tsalik and Idan Levy, the film centers on the story of Jamila, a 16-year-old Bedouin girl whose aspirations of becoming a teacher are hampered by her lack of an Israeli identity card – a reality shared by approximately 3,000 stateless Bedouin in Israel.
The Cinema South Festival, held at the Sderot Cinematheque, marked its full return on november 11, 2025, after being postponed from its original june date due to the conflict with Iran and the subsequent events of October 7, 2023.
“Jamila’s Loop” employs a distinctive pencil-drawn animation style, bringing viewers into Jamila’s world through glimpses of her life – from her work in a sweet potato factory to moments shared with a playful lizard. according to Levy, the film’s use of flashing frames and a trembling visual effect is intentional, conveying Jamila’s sense of detachment and impermanence. He further explained that the eraser used throughout the animation is as crucial as the lines drawn,symbolizing the erasure of identity experienced by those without citizenship.
“Its an illustration without a lot of detail, just like these people who are faceless,” Levy stated, highlighting the film’s artistic representation of the marginalized community.
The screenplay, a collaboration between Levy and Tsalik, received support from the CoPro Foundation for Israeli Content Marketing, a nonprofit institution dedicated to using cinema to drive social change, influence policy, and foster public dialog.
Tsalik and Levy first connected through thier work in the south of Israel and within Bedouin villages in the Negev. In 2020, they met Jamila and learned of her ambition to pursue higher education, an ambition thwarted by her unrecognized status within the Israeli goverment.jamila’s story, Tsalik emphasized, represents a larger group of roughly 3,000 Bedouin, especially those residing in the Negev desert, who are not recognized by the state.
The consequences of statelessness are far-reaching, impacting basic rights. Those without citizenship are barred from participating in national elections, obtaining passports, accessing education, and frequently enough face higher costs for national health insurance. They also contend with a lack of basic services and the constant threat of displacement. This issue primarily affects Bedouins whose ancestors were not registered as citizens between 1948 and 1952, or who, in some instances, relinquished their citizenship.
“There’s no way for them to deal with it and there’s no way of knowing how many there are,” Levy noted, underscoring the complexity of the situation and the lack of thorough data. Tsalik added that the bedouin community affected by this issue often lives in fear, lacking awareness of their rights and harboring a deep-seated distrust of authorities.
Initially intending to create a documentary,Levy and Tsalik realized that Jamila’s participation in a customary film format would jeopardize her safety and exacerbate her precarious situation. Animation, therefore, emerged as the only viable option for sharing her story responsibly. Levy confirmed that Jamila was actively involved in the film’s creation and has viewed it, but is unable to publicly share it or attend screenings, including the premiere in Sderot.
“She really, really loved it,” Levy shared, “but she couldn’t tell anyone about it.” Tsalik added, “That’s part of what we’re trying to fix.”
The november 11 screening at the Cinema South Festival represents the first step in their broader strategy, with hopes that the short film will gain wider distribution and reach new audiences. Pnina Halfon Lang, CEO of the CoPro Foundation, described “Jamila’s Loop” as a powerful example of how cinema can be leveraged as a tool for meaningful social change, noting that the film was also supported by the Shorts for Change Lab, the Western Negev Regional Authority Cluster, and the Negev Foundation.
Looking ahead, Levy and Tsalik aim to compile a database of stateless Bedouin individuals to amplify their voices and facilitate access to essential resources, including healthcare and education. They firmly believe their work is not rooted in political agendas. “This isn’t political at all,” Levy and Tsalik asserted. “It’s human, about taking care of human beings who aren’t seen at all.”
