About the film

The film opens with the year 1948. This is the year when Israel was established at the expense of its indigenous population, what Palestinians refer to as the Nakba, and the McCarthy Era kicked into high gear in the United States. The scene turns then to 2023 and the chilling echo of McCarthyism on college campuses. The Palestine Exception explores the unfolding policing and censoring of pro-Palestine activism. Drawing on scholars Ellen Schrecker and Saree Makdisi for history and context, the film follows four activist-academics of different backgrounds–Ted Khoury, Sophie Smith, Jennifer Gaboury and Premilla Nadasen– and how the personal became political in this critical year of the movement. The academic wall fortifying the Palestine exception has cracked but not enough to halt the US arming of the Israeli occupation and war machine. It is a period of tremendous hope and possibility but also one of deepening loss and peril. The film aims to embolden those who refuse to be intimidated into silence by this new era of McCarthyism.

Lead characters

Ellen Schrecker

Jennifer Gaboury

Judith Butler

Premilla Nadasen

Saree Makdisi

Sophie Smith

Ted Khoury

Meet the team

Jan Haaken

Director and Producer

Jan Haaken is professor emeritus of psychology at Portland State University, a clinical psychologist, and award-winning documentary filmmaker. Her documentary films focus on work carried out in contested social spaces and in sites of political controversy. Haaken has directed nine feature films, including most recently the 2-part NECESSITY Series: “Oil, Water, and Climate Resistance” and “Climate Justice & the Thin Green Line,” released in 2023, and “ATOMIC BAMBOOZLE: The False Promise of a Nuclear Renaissance,” completed in 2023. Haaken is author of Pillar of Salt: Gender, Memory, and the Perils of Looking Back, Hard Knocks: Domestic Violence and the Psychology of Storytelling and Psychiatry, Politics, and PTSD: Breaking Down and co-editor of Memory Matters: Understanding Recollections of Sexual Abuse.

Jennifer Ruth

Co-Director

Jennifer Ruth is a professor of film studies at Portland State University. She writes extensively about academic freedom and higher education in outlets such as The New Republic, Truthout, Academe, Academe blog, Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed, LA Review of Books and Ms. She is the author of one book and the co-author, with Michael Bérubé, of two – The Humanities, Higher Education, and Academic Freedom: Three Necessary Arguments and It’s Not Free Speech: Race, Democracy, and the Future of Academic Freedom. She is the co-editor, with Valerie Johnson and Ellen Schrecker, of The Right to Learn; Resisting the Right-Wing War on Academic Freedom, forthcoming from Beacon Press.

Marlene Eid

Associate Producer

Marlene Eid, graduate of the Sorbonne university, in Paris, is a psychology faculty at Portland Community College (PCC). Marlene is a Palestinian American born and reared in East Jerusalem, where she grew up under Israeli military occupation. She is a lifelong advocate of Palestinian human rights, and a defender of social justice issues.

Previous to PCC, Marlene worked at Portland State University (PSU), where in addition to teaching psychology and women studies, she worked as the coordinator of Arab Studies at the Middle East Studies Center.

In 1990, Marlene traveled to the Gaza Strip and was one of the founding members of the "Gaza Community Mental Health Program". While establishing the first mental health program in the Gaza city, she developed a play therapy program for the children, training programs for the working team, and mental health training for UNRWA clinic doctors. Marlene worked with international agencies such as World Health Organization, United Nations, International governmental and non governmental agencies, and local Institutions in Gaza.

In 2015 Marlene founded, and was the first president of PCRF, Palestine Children's Relief Fund, chapter in Portland, Oregon. The program provided medical care and prosthetic limbs to Palestinian children with difficult cases where care could not be provided otherwise.

Kevin Foster

Associate Producer

Kevin Foster is a journalist and multimedia professional. He focuses on marginalized voices and the intersection of politics and social justice. In his free time he enjoys surfing and rock climbing at crags around the PNW.

Sam Praus

Associate Producer

Samantha (Sam) is a queer, latine documentary filmmaker and researcher based in Portland, OR. Her most recent projects include the feature-length documentary Atomic Bamboozle (Producer), the series Necessity: Oil, Water & Climate Resistance (Co-director), Necessity: Climate Justice & the Thin Green Line (Co-director), and Our Bodies Our Doctors (Assistant Director).

Jeff Harshman

Editor

Jeff is a multidisciplinary filmmaker with an emphasis in post-production. When he’s not writing, planning, shooting or splicing he enjoys hiking in the abundance that is the PNW with his wife, two growing daughters and overly affectionate Boston Terrier, Zuri. He also loves good food and bad puns.

Matt Hathaway

Graphic Designer & Motion Artist

Matt is an experienced designer in print, web, and film. He enjoys the challenge to concept an idea into impactful graphics, animation and even set design establishing a brand to be remembered. Aside from his career you will either find Matt creating fine woodwork in his shop or deep in the wilderness where you can’t find him.

Ben Bach

Cinematographer

Born and raised in Vermont, Ben Bach grew up surrounded by art - his mother was a painter and his father was an amateur photographer. As a teenager, Ben was lucky enough to take classes in 35mm film photography where he fell in love with the dark room, film, and the creation of images.

Since 2003, Ben has created a body of work that spans fiction and nonfiction, commercial and experimental. He is constantly working to refine his craft- studying, practicing and experimenting. He takes great pleasure in collaborating with dedicated, thoughtful directors, producers and crew to create work that draws in the audience. His favorite moment on set is watching through the eyepiece as an actor brings a performance that transforms our world into a new one.

Some of the work he is most proud of include the feature ‘Why Dig When You Can Pluck’ which premiered in competition at BAFICI, the music video ‘Fantasy In Terms of Liberation’ for musician and performance artist Jewlz which has won awards for Best Cinematography and Best Original Concept, the Telly Award winning Documentary ‘The Ghosts They Carry’ about PTSD in the first responder community, and the pandemic themed dance film ‘How We Live’ which won Best Dance Film at Toronto Experimental Dance & Music Festival. He also has numerous commercial credits for companies like Gatorade, Intel, Sephora, Yamaha, Michael Kors, and Estee Lauder.

Mentorship and teaching have long been a part of Ben’s career as well. He has worked as a teacher and mentor of film through the BIZProgram, a nonprofit which prepares youth in the Portland Metro area for jobs in the music and film industry, as well as Outside the Frame, a nonprofit that works with homeless and marginalized youth to tell their stories through film. He currently resides in Portland, OR with his wife Cambria, son Forrest, and dog Vida."

Morgan Robinson

Cinematographer

Morgan is an award winning Brooklyn-based filmmaker with fifteen years of professional experience. His passion is telling stories that build empathy and incite action towards a healthier and more just planet Earth. Morgan’s documentary work has aired on PBS, MTV and Viceland. In 2017, he founded the full-service production company Little Human Media. Morgan lives with his partner Katie, his son Theo as well as Frankie the Cat.

Timothy Wildgoose

Cinematographer

Timothy Wildgoose is an Emmy award winning cinematographer focusing on vérité documentary and branded content for social good. His diverse body of work has screened everywhere from festivals around the world to the Super Bowl. Pulling from a deep well of empathy, he is drawn to intimate, character-driven stories that bridge divides and evoke emotion.

Advisory Committee

Bill Mullen - Professor Emeritus of American Studies, Purdue University

Cynthia Coleman - Professor of Communications, Portland State University
Eric Edwards - Cinematographer

Johanna Brenner - Professor Emerita, Portland State University

Kristin Hole, Associate Professor of Film, Portland State University

Lara Sheehi - Assistant Professor, Doha Institute

Lynne Layton - Psychoanalyst
Maureen Katz - Psychoanalyst

Patricia Kullberg - Retired physician

Stephanie Wahab - Professor of Social Work, Portland State University

Tami Gold - Professor of Film Studies, Hunter College