From 1992 until 1998, Jones worked in several positions in the non-profit sector, including as a fundraiser, writer and photo editor at the
Alternative Information Center, an NGO that disseminated critical information and progressive analysis on Israeli society, Palestinian society, and the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict; as a fundraiser for
HILA, a
Mizrahi-
Arab-
Ethiopian NGO that advocated for disempowered children and parents in the public education system; and as the political projects coordinator for the
Jerusalem Link, a joint Israeli-Palestinian women's NGO working to empower women in both societies.
Documentary films In 1994, Jones began her career in documentary filmmaking, working as a line producer and assistant director, working primarily on films by
Duki Dror, among them the award-winning
Raging Dove; and films by
Simone Bitton, including the film
Wall, which premiered in the
Director's Fortnight at the
2004 Cannes Film Festival and won the Special Jury Award at the
2005 Sundance Film Festival, among other international prizes. The first documentary directed and co-produced by Jones was
500 Dunam on the Moon in 2002, which tells the story of
Ayn Hawd, a
Palestinian village that was captured and depopulated by Israeli forces in the
1948 Arab–Israeli War, and subsequently transformed into a Jewish
artist colony and renamed
Ein Hod. The film was screened at international film festivals, including the
San Francisco Jewish Film Festival,
Human Rights Watch Film Festival and the
Austin Film Festival. It won the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the
Festival de Trois Continents, and was broadcast on
France 2 television. was screened at documentary, Jewish, and Palestinian film festivals around the world, was released to
cinematheques across Israel, and was broadcast on Israel's
Channel 8. The controversial subject of the film led to special screenings with discussion panels, in which major cultural figures participated, especially from the non-Ashkenzi side of the social map, such as
Sami Shalom Chetrit and
Jamal Zahalka, who were also featured in the film. The film was also cited in academic research, such as the journal ''Pe'amim'', published by the
Ben Zvi Institute for the study of Jewish communities in the East, in an article by Reuven Snir, "Baghdad Yesterday: About History, Identity and Poetry" (in Hebrew: בגדאד, אתמול: על היסטוריה, זהות ושירה). Jones' next major effort was of more autobiographical significance. In
Gypsy Davy, which premiered at the
Sundance Film Festival in 2011, she tells the story of how "A white-boy with
Alabama roots becomes a
Flamenco guitarist in
Andalusian boots and fathers five children to five different women along the way." Jones is one of those children. In the film, she narrates as if she is writing a letter to her elusive father, The film, which was well-received by critics, went on to screen at many international festivals, and won the Jury Award for Best Documentary at the
International Women's Film Festival In Rehovot. It was later broadcast on Israel's Channel 8 and on
HBO Latin America.
Advocate, which had its world premiere at the
Sundance Film Festival on January 27, 2019, and its Israeli premiere at
Docaviv on May 23, 2019, proved to be her most controversial work to date. The film, co-directed and co-produced with
Philippe Bellaïche, tells the story of
Lea Tsemel, an Israeli
human rights lawyer known for representing Palestinian defendants, especially those who have engaged in armed actions. When the film won Best Documentary at
Docaviv, which was supported by the
Israel Lottery Council for Culture and Arts, a storm of right-wing political pressure broke out, demanding that the council renege on its financial obligation to the festival. When Minister of Culture
Miri Regev joined the call to cancel its support, calling the film "anti-Israel", the council announced it would no longer fund the award. In response, dozens of leading artists, writers, filmmakers, journalists and professional associations slammed the decision as a curbing of free speech, mounted protests, called for boycotts, and published columns and editorials protesting the governmental interference in cultural production. The film, which was enthusiastically received by critics, opened the 2019
Human Rights Watch Film Festival, and plucked top prizes at the
Kraków Film Festival,
Hong Kong International Film Festival, and the
Thessaloniki Documentary festival, among others.
Advocate's Israeli theatrical premiere took place on September 5, 2019, when it opened at cinematheques across the country and subsequently in the united States, where it was distributed by
Film Movement. Similarly, it was sold to dozens of territories and aired on
PBS'
POV,
BBC Storyville,
DR,
SVT,
YLE,
FRANCE TELEVISONS, among others. Due to the public reaction to the film, Jones, who was already a well-known and highly regarded filmmaker in Israel and abroad, a recognized member of several international professional guilds such as the
IDA, and a Juror for the 2013
Jerusalem Film Festival - quickly became the center of the high-profile media coverage of
Advocate, at home and internationally. The film has been called both a symbol and a standard bearer by critics. In 2025, Jones wrote and produced
Coexistence, My Ass! directed and produced by
Amber Fares, revolving around
Noam Shuster Eliassi as she crafts a one-woman show by the same name. The film had its world premiere at the
2025 Sundance Film Festival on January 26 and went on to win the Jury Award for Freedom odf Speech, as well as the Golden Alexander and the
Council of Europe Human Rights in Motion Award (2025) at the
Thessaloniki International Documentary Festival, the
Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, CDS Filmmaker Award (2025), and the
Torino Film Festival, Special Jury Prize (2025), among others. A
New York Times Critic's Pick (2025), the film won the
IDFA Forum Award for Best Rough Cut (2023), while still in production. Like
Advocate six years prior,
Coexistence, My Ass! was also shortlisted for the
Oscars.
Television From 2001 to 2002, Jones was an editor and camerawoman for the nationally syndicated US television program,
Democracy Now!, hosted by
Amy Goodman, working during that time on the transition of the program from radio to television. From 2003 to 2004, she produced several documentary programs, including two episodes of the French television series ''L'Invitation au Voyage
, about Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish and Israeli novelist Aharon Applefeld, hosted by Laure Adler and "Another Israel", a reporting segment for the France 2 program Un Oeil sur le Palenete''.
Publishing Jones has worked as a translator and editor in the publishing industry, mostly between 2001 and 2006. Among the books she translated are: ''Self Portrait: Palestinian Women's Art
(Lerer, Yael Ed.; 2001, Andalus, Tel Aviv); Breaking Ranks: Refusing to Serve in the
West Bank and
Gaza Strip (Chacham, Ronit, Ed.; 2002, Other Press, New York); Reporting From
Ramallah: An Israeli Journalist (
Amira Hass) In An Occupied Land
(also edited by Jones; 2003, Semiotext(e), New York); Mother Tongue: A Mizrahi Present That Stirs In The Thickets Of An Arab Past
(Nizri, Yigal Ed.; 2005, Babel, Tel Aviv); Cities of Collision: Jerusalem and the Principle of Conflict Urbanism'' (Misselwitz, Philippe & Rienitis, Tim, Eds.; 2006, Birkhauser Press Basel-Boston-Berlin). ==Filmography==