Menachem Begin’s Political Heritage

Begin: The Leadership Years, directed by Levi Zini, is a fascinating three-part documentary series, produced for broadcast on Israel TV.

Menachem Begin was elected prime minister in May 1977 in what was considered a tremendous political upheaval.  His days in the prime minister’s office and his Likud party changed the face of Israel forever.  Using a wealth of archival materials and many interviews, this documentary series provides a fascinating look at Menachem Begin’s particular brand of moderate politics. 

The first episode deals with his extraordinary vision in making peace with Sadat.  This month, we celebrate the 40^th anniversary of that amazing event.  

This episode has already been broadcast on Israel TV.  You can see it here on youtube (no English subtitles).  

Two additional episodes will be broadcast on Israel TV on April 3 and April 10.

My husband was particularly impressed by the two episodes which we saw at the Jerusalem Cinematheque this week.  You can see his article, published today, about this series and about Menachem Begin on the Times of Israel website.

I sit on the joint film fund of the Gesher Multi-cultural Film Fund and the AviChai Foundation and I am proud to say that we provided some funding towards this important documentary series.

The Oslo Peace Process

Here is a guest review by my husband, Ron Kronish, who has dedicated most of his professional life to dialogue and mutual understanding across the divide in Israel and Palestine.

Viewing the new documentary The Oslo Diaries, directed by Mor Loushy and Daniel Sivan, last week at the Jerusalem Film Festival was a fascinating yet painful experience—-fascinating because of the courage and commitment to peace on the part of the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and their senior staff and advisors, and painful because of the power of the rejectionists on both sides of the conflict who prevailed through terrorism, violence, incitement and hatred of the other in severely crippling the historic and hopeful Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process in the early 1990s. 

The film retraces the back channel talks which took place in Norway in 1992 and 1993 —under the auspices of the Norwegian government officially as “academic conferences “—which led to the signing of the Oslo Accord on the White House lawn in front of thousands of people from around the world on September 13,1993. The story is told through the diaries of two of the main partners in this amazing process — on the Israeli side: Ron Pundak , a young academic and on the Palestinian side: Abu Ala, Ahmed Qurei, who later became prime minister of the Palestinian Authority -- as well as interviews with many of the key players on the Israel side, such as Dr.Yossi Beilin, Uri Savir, Shimon Peres and others, but only two Palestinians other than Abu Ala. In addition, there is much good archival footage, not only of the secret talks that took place in Norway but also of the violence in the streets of the anti-peace demonstrators on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides of the divide. 

For me the most painful parts of the film were the hatred in the eyes and the incitement in the faces of the Israeli right wing anti-peace fanatics led by the young and dangerous Likud leader Bibi Netanyahu and others, especially at the infamous rally in Zion Square in which they spewed venomous hatred against Prime Minister Rabin, which undoubtedly sowed the seeds of violence leading to his assassination shortly thereafter, in November 1995. Whenever I see the footage of these fanatic anti- Peace right wing politicians standing on that balcony shouting and screaming like madmen -- looking and sounding like Mussolini —and inciting their faithful base to extreme emotions of hatred clearly leading to violence -- it gives me the chills and makes me feel sick. In fact, in the footage of Netanyahu ranting and raving hysterically at that rally, even his hair (coiffure) was frazzled and out of shape! 

The film revealed to all of us who were privileged to see it both the high hopes and the dashed expectations of the Oslo Peace Process. It showed famous footage of Palestinians rejoicing at the hope of peace by throwing flowers on Israeli soldiers, and it revealed scenes of Israelis dancing in the streets, reminiscent of the day that Israel proclaimed its independence on May 5, 1948. It also revealed terrible scenes of horrific suicide bombings on the part of Palestinian rejectionists as well as excessive brutality against Palestinians on the part of Israeli soldiers. 

Despite all the problems and challenges, this important film brings us back to a period of unprecedented optimism and serious commitments to peace. I remember well the euphoria that could be felt in Israel at the time when for the first time in our history we actually believed that peace with the Palestinians was possible. Moreover, the film reveals beyond any doubt that courageous and creative leadership could lead us to peace via persistent dialogue. 

If only one day we could have such competent, caring and compassionate leaders—and advisors —once again!

The Oslo Diaries (documentary, 97 minutes) is available from Medalia Productions and from Docs For Education. 

Combatants for Peace

Last night, I went to see the film, Disturbing the Peace, directed by Stephen Apkon and Andrew Young.  This is a film about Combatants forPeace, an organization which has been created by former enemy combatants, Israelis and Palestinians, who have realized that working to end the occupation and to establish a two-state solution is the best way to bring about peace in this part of the world. 

This is a documentary film (83 minutes) which attempts to present an even-handed look at two narratives, presented in parallel, beginning with the 1940s – the Holocaust, the declaration of the State of Israel, and the Nakba – a moment in time when the two narratives--the Palestinian one and the Israeli one-- can be seen side-by-side.  Then, the stories continue up to the terrible reality of the last 20 years -- the occupation, the terrorist bombings, and repeated wars in Gaza. 

The film follows the amazing and compelling stories of personal transformation of some of the leading activists of Combatants for Peace -- Jamil, a Palestinian father from Dehaishe; Avner, an Israeli soldier; Suleiman, a Palestinian fighter from the Al Aksa Brigades of Fatah; and others.   These are former enemies who are today working via non-violence during an ongoing armed conflict in order to resist and ultimately to end the conflict.  This is certainly not an easy task, and it is not sufficiently appreciated within their communities.

The film makes use of dramatized sequences, mixed together with archival footage, which creates a very effective and hard-hitting experience for the viewer.  The reactions from the audience last night were mostly positive. In the discussion following the screening, viewers described the film as “very brave,” “makes me hopeful,” “deeply moving.”  When Jamil stood up to speak, he began his remarks with expressing condolences for the terrorist attack that took place here in Jerusalem just the day before.  Then he went on to say that “we condemn violence on both sides, on the Palestinian side and on the Israeli side.”

According to Avner, the film itself was “created as an invitation to action.” He and the other leaders of this courageous organization clearly see this film--which is being shown in many places in Israel and in Ramallah--as a programming tool for encouraging more people on both sides to join their movement. They offer a new and unique model of non-violent resistance to the current situation, and at the same time they offer hope when despair seems to be all too prevalent in our country and our region.