Death in Gaza

Description

This poignant and powerful documentary takes a shocking, first-hand look at the culture of hate that permeates the West Bank and Gaza, and which continues to escalate the perennial violence pitting Palestinians against Israelis. Starting out in the city of Nablus (where as many as 80 percent of suicide bombing plots are planned), James Miller and Saira Shah ended up in the Gaza town of Rafah, one of the most dangerous cities in this volatile region. There they spent several weeks focusing on the activities of three Palestinian children - two 12-year-old boys and a 16-year-old girl - who have grown up surrounded by messages of hate against Israel (whose military presence in their town is a constant), and taught that the greatest glory is to die a martyr. The film ends on a day like many other days in Rafah, with death - except that on this day, the fallen victim happens to be the man making this film.

Customer Reviews:

Religous Nihilism and Just General Despair in Gaza.......2007-09-07

I wish folks could watch a movie like this sensibly without letting their own nutty fanaticisms distort their ability to see things for what they are. Are the IDF depicted as ruthless occupiers? Oh yes. Does this paint Palestinians in a negative like? You bet. Does it cast Palestinian parents as being complete nutjobs? Unquestionably. The question we should be asking is not whether the director was able to exhaust all sides of the debate. Instead we should ask whether the sides that were covered were done so with intellectual honesty. I believe they were. I know both Arabs and Israelis like to think the oppossing side is the devil manifested on earth but really both sides are complete psychos if you ask me and not without some degree of jusification mind you.

It's as if some of us fail to see that this type of behavior is all taking place in what is at the very least a constant state of mini-warfare, one that has exploded into full scale regional conflict on an average of every ten years for the last half century. And while the what Palestinians teach their children might seem ghoulish and barbaric to us waging a war that involves children is far from an uncommon event in World History. It happened quite a few times even as late as World War Two even in the secular industrialized nations.

It's also probably easier for us to think of suicide bombings as just being random frustrated attempts at revenge and though there is a great deal of truth to that realistically there is at least some strategic value in engaging in these bombings namely it has brought immigration to the West Bank and Gaza down to a trickel. Again, wholesale attacks against civilians were not the exception but the norm throughout world history and throughout American History right up until the end of World War Two (which by the way was the last war we won).

What makes these bombings so bizzare however is that they don't seem to be undertaken with any of the strategic considerations in mind. Perhaps even more perplexing is that revenge doesn't even seem to be the primary reason for "strapping on the vest" as it were either. During the interviews with the Palestinians there's some vague talk about statehood in all this but for the most part it seems like Islam has yet again exacerbated an already hopeless situation. These bombings seem less like tactical maneuvars and more like rituals; it's their outward expression of the Abrahamaic "leap of faith" they're about to take as they will themselves to self-destruction and mutilation with the hopes that the sheer incomprehensibility (near unearthliness) of the act will propell them into God's kingdom.

No doubt the warfare and four decades of military occupation have contributed to this sense of despair but rarely if ever has even a military occupation been able to produce, what I'm guessing at least, is a collective sense of nihilism amongst so many people. Suicide and murder are one thing, but as was before stated these facts appear to be secondary qualities, maybe even finalities of sorts to these suicide bombers. I can't think of anytime in history when such a thing has happened. When people were so willing not just to simply fight for God (not that this is a trivial act either) but to literally committ suicide for him. I mean, I hope we all recognize the extreme difference between claiming to "fight for God," (shoot even picking up a weapon and fighting) and actually strapping a bomb to your chest and killing yourself instantly. I'd say probably quite a few Palestinians were predisposed to this form of nihilism and it was really just a matter of Hamas & Co. coming in and taking advantage of the situation to fit their political goals.

To be sure the Israelis, at least the military, doesn't come off smelling like roses either. I mean, they did shoot and kill the director of the film after all. Really, I don't know how any who saw that footage of the crew getting shot at could say that it was a mistake. Clearly they were trying to kill him/them, why exactly is anyones guess but the IDF certainly hasn't been very friendly with the press over the years and no doubt this is just another incident of them murking someone they thought might portray them in a negative light. Nice job.

Either way the inclusion of that footage at the end leaves no doubt in my mind that the producers were at least attempting to be objective with this film. Undoubtedly they were trying to depict both Israelis and Palestinians for the ultra-fanatical religous crackpots that many of them seem to be. Unfortunately this film really does leave you with the impression that there is absolutely no way to solve this whole mess. Things couldn't look more worse in this film. The decent of Gaza into anarchy earlier this Summer simply confirms this.

Disturbing.......2007-06-01

Hmm...

* All the scenes in schools involve teaching kids to hate Jews. (Funny, I've been through years of Jewish education and spent lots of time in Israeli schools, and I've never seen the reverse towards Muslims.)

* Kids get shot at because they spend their afternoon recreation time throwing hand-grenades and rocks at tanks while they're at work. Well, duh? And their deaths accomplish *what*, exactly, for Palestinian statehood?

To me, this movie accentuated the pernicious evil of the paramilitary "resistance" organizations in treating kids as weapons -- and the concomitant unlikelihood of a shared peace settlement. The more of their children die pointlessly like those in the film (such as in blowing up Jewish "pigs" and "dogs", to use their own words from the film), the harder it's going to be to accept a legitimate compromise settlement -- they'd have to accept that all of their kids really did get themselves killed for nothing.

Not recommended.......2007-04-15

This movie gives watchers with little background on the issue the IMPRESSION of being bias-free. However, it's filled with subtle biases that favor Israel and its close to 40 year occupation of Palestine.

Moreover, the woman (Sarah) who was speaking to the child was ridiculous. In one scene, a boy was telling her of his toy gun. She sat there smiling at him, instead of explaining how this is a product of occupation and violence directed at the Palestinian people.

Also, if watchers understood Arabic, they would see that in more than one scene, the translation is completely misleading. For example, the boys (Ahmad and his friend) are speaking of prayer and how FELLOW PALESTINIANS (not Israelis, as the translation puts it) are praying incorrectly. By phrasing the words in English as if they are pointed at the Israelis, this movie is furthering false notions of Palestinians society.

NOT RECOMMENDED!!!

fair.......2007-04-10

There were some scenes in here I was glad I saw. Nothing was quite so powerful was watching boys throwing stones at tanks and seeing tanks fire back. Stones versus tanks. To those that say the movie is biased because it doesn't cover the Israeli point of view, I will reiterate what has been said over and over--he was killed before he got a chance. The crew seemed rightly appalled at the way Palestinian miltants used children--this is no blind propaganda for the Palestinian cause. But you know, if ever anyone had a good reason to be biased, it would certainly be one who was killed by the mighty while weilding only a white flag

The making of martyrs . . ........2006-10-09

This film about life among young Palestinians packs the usual punch of HBO documentaries. Celebrated British filmmakers Miller and Shah get as close to the skirmishes directed against Israeli troops as possible, capturing footage that refuses to turn away from the human cost of this particular kind of urban warfare. It is high-risk filmmaking, and we know from the start that Miller is killed by Israeli gunfire before the shooting of the film is completed.

Viewers not familiar with the Palestinian resistance will be shocked by the impact that fear and hatred of the Israelis has made upon the youngest generation - the boys flinging rocks at Israeli tanks, who have come under the influence of masked, gun-wielding insurgents. We meet two young boys, close friends, who manufacture explosives, and an older girl who has lost several members of her family and weeps at yet another funeral. The romance of martyrdom overwhelms their youthful world as a welcomed though not fully understood prospect.

There is little resolution to the powerlessness the viewer can feel watching this film, and those sympathetic with the Israeli side of the equation will find it represented by distant, menacing armed figures in military uniforms or moving through the streets in tanks - objects to be feared, scorned, and hated. And as the film represents this ongoing struggle, there seems to be no end in sight. Worth seeing as a look behind the daily news from that part of the troubled world.

Average customer rating:

So sad, makes you want to cry.
Lies of omission
American Media is Unbalanced
Victims of the Israeli occupation
Fake Detractors? Balanced reviews, please!

Gaza Strip
Director: James Longley
Manufacturer: Typecast Pictures
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ASIN: B00008O35S
Release Date: 2002-10-01

Description

In January of 2001, American director James Longley traveled to the Gaza Strip. His plan was to stay for two weeks to collect preliminary material for a documentary film on the Palestinian Intifada. It was during his stay that Ariel Sharon was elected as Israeli Prime Minister. As violence erupted around him, Longley threw away his return ticket and filmed for the next three months, acquiring nearly 75 hours of footage. Gaza Strip, his first feature documentary, is an extraordinary and painful journey into the lives of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip struggling with the day-to-day trials of the Israeli occupation. Filmed in verité style and without narration, Gaza Strip at last gives voice to a population largely ignored by mainstream media.

Customer Reviews:

So sad, makes you want to cry........2007-07-18

Beautifull documentary about the results of occupation.
Also see Longley's latest film 'Iraq in fragments'!!!

Lies of omission.......2007-07-16

I watched this last night... and even as I write this I sit less than ten miles from the Gaza Strip. I have no doubt that the death and destruction portrayed in the film took place. However, the microcosm of the Strip, as seen in this DVD, needs some explaination.

The events in this film took place in 2000, following Sharon's defeat of Barak. Why was Barak defeated in the Israeli elections? Because Yassir Arafat consistently and deliberately failed to meet any of the obligations he incurred in the agreement which set up the Palestinian Authority. Mostly, he failed to prevent terror attacks from being launched from PA territory.

So, Fatah and Hamas were actively attacking innocent Israelis with bombs and weapons given to the PA for use by its police. The Gaza Strip is not, and for all practical purposes at the time of this filming, was not occupied by Israeli forces. Gaza was the responsibility of the PA.

I live in Egypt. The old-timers here tell me that 12 or 15 years ago, before Arafat was allowed to enter the Gaza Strip, you could drive from the Sinai to Tel Aviv by way of Gaza. Now we have to take a rather longer route. Before the Palestinian Authority, when the Israelis administered the Strip, the population there enjoyed one of the highest per-capita incomes in the region. Now it is virtually non-existent.

Today, July 16 2007, the Palestinian Authority is offering to renounce terrorism, no doubt with the understanding that the Israelis in turn will rid them of Hamas in Gaza. In the meantime, the ordinary people of the Strip continue to suffer.

And as far as the "gas-attack" incident portrayed in the film, it sounds like a staged propaganda act to me, either an exagerated response to an Israeli smoke marker or else an incident cut from lies beginning to end. Apparently no lie is too big if its in the cause of the destruction of Israel.

American Media is Unbalanced.......2007-02-13

"Gaza Strip" and "Promises" should be broadcast regularly on American television to counter the distorted perspective on Middle Eastern affairs presented by the American news media. I show this film to my college classes each semester, and they always ask the same question -- why don't the press and the media ever explain the Palestinian side? The American public is kept in the dark by its media. The only way to find a balanced discussion of international affairs is to seek out alternate sources and independent films like this.
It's interesting to see the anger in some of these reviews from those who can't stand to see a fair representation of both sides. Anything from the Palestinian perspective is "propaganda"! OK, so what is the Israeli-friendly American news? Truth?
Let's get real -- our foreign policy is as self-serving and hypocritical as it gets -- if you back us, we support you, no matter what crimes you commit. Our news stations back up the basic worldview of the American government -- no alternative views are permitted on primetime.
This is not to say that Hamas and the PLO are innocent, far from it. But to watch "Gaza Strip" is to begin to understand the hopelessness and degradation of the Palestinian people. Look especially at the children, so brilliantly portrayed in this film, growing up in the most degrading conditions. Conditions imposed by Israel and fully supported by the USA. Begin to understand how these abysmal social conditions -- no schools, no social services, no future -- which our government actively helps to sustain, inevitably create suicide bombers and "martyrs".
When we understand why ordinary Palestinian people -- who are no different than ordinary American people -- have got good reasons to hate the Jews and resent Americans, perhaps we, the American people will begin to question the monolithic support our government gives to Israel's anti-Palestinian policies.
Let us at least have the information that will allow us to have an honest discussion of these crucial issues here in the USA. Our ignorance doesn't keep us safe. Just the opposite. Our ignorance is more dangerous than any jihadist. Remember that the Israeli-Palestinian situation is one of the major reasons that Islamic fundamentalists use to recruit young people for martyrdom.
Why aren't Americans given the information that would allow us to make better political decisions and to vote for policies that would really be in the interests of our national security? We need to seek oyut the answers for ourselves. I recommend this film and also "Promises", which gives both Israeli and Palestinian perspectives.

Victims of the Israeli occupation.......2006-11-10

I highly recommend it to be watched using the producer's comments, it gives a good understanding where and why the scenes are taken. This movie expresses the real struggle of the Gazian people.

Fake Detractors? Balanced reviews, please!.......2006-10-15

Another reviewer mentioned that some have called this documentary "fake" or "propaganda" - and indeed there are those who are "anti-semites" or "self hating jews", but in reality the truth is always harder to find than this kind of soundbite - this kind of 'rolling 24hour news' (as rolled out by the dumbed-down Biased Broadcast Corporation); this is sensationalism as evidenced right across Europe. True that the events (not least in the Middle East) DO disturb, but let us ALL be more self-effacing and honest. Let us not forget, for example (just to add a little balance; a counterweight, if you like) that the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem himself set up legions of Arab SS, designed to snuff out the Jew. It seems clear from here in Europe, that even America is not free from such bias as would be cheered on in a meeting with modern day left OR right fanatics. Let's just hope that (Iranian?) Nukes aren't used, because Israel would be likely react in kind! The disservice to American and Israeli citizens, as well as to the wider world, is done by the likes of this film, by virtue of the fact that it puts only one side across (Fahrenheit 9.11 without the Fahrenhype 9.11 perhaps?), stifling honest debate that might lead to a solution precisely because some seek out the media that merely confirms their preconceived ideas. Shame that Americans didn't appear quite as moved when millions of Africans were slaughtered in Rwanda under the watchful eye of Clinton, but that's just the kind of bias we are used to over here.

Historic Palestinian Refugees Films DVD: 1950 History Film The Sands Of Sorrow About Palestinian Children in Refugee Camps In The Gaza Strip From The Middle East Palestine - Israel War of 1948. Includes Footage of UNICEF Aid & Several Refugee Camps.

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Historic Palestinian Refugees Films DVD: 1950 History Film The Sands Of Sorrow About Palestinian Children in Refugee Camps In The Gaza Strip From The Middle East Palestine - Israel War of 1948. Includes Footage of UNICEF Aid & Several Refugee Camps.
Director: Theodore A. Morde
Manufacturer: Quality Information Publishers Inc.
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Table Of Contents:
(1) The Sand of Sorrow (1950) 28 Minutes
Film Summary:
First Palestinian Arab Refugee Camp Footage From The Middle East In 1950

ASIN: B000IVZ4CA

Product Description

The film is elegantly introduced and closed by Dorothy Thompson, who was a civil rights activist, journalist, and had just recently returned from an extended visit to the Middle East. She stresses the importance of relief of which without the approximately one million refugees would otherwise die of starvation and disease. This film was produced by the Council for Relief of Palestinian Arab Refugees and is the first to document Palestinian Refugees in the Middle East and marks the beginnings of a large scale American public concern for those marginalized by the religious and natural resource conflicts that, to this day, continue to haunt the Middle East. Makeshift schools, workshops, hospitals, and kitchens in the Gaza strip are the focus of the footage of this film. Footage of refugees living in ancient roman ruins is also shown despite the fact that these people refuse to allow close up shots to be taken because of religious beliefs. The narrator refers to them as 20th century cave dwellers who lifestyle is barely fit for wildlife. The films main goal is to show the suffering of these refugees to encourage increased donations by Americans who sympathize with their plight. Oddly enough the reason why the refugees have been forced to flee there homes in not even addressed. The efforts of the United Nations and its UNICEF branch to help these refugees are stressed. The daily rations given to the refugees total 1400 calories per day, which is severely short of the 2000+ calories that are needed to sustain good health. Table Of Contents: (1) The Sand of Sorrow (1950) 28 Minutes

A West Bank Retrospective - Journey to the Occupied Lands

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A West Bank Retrospective - Journey to the Occupied Lands
Starring: Frontline
Director: Michael Ambrosino
Manufacturer: WGBH BOSTON
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ASIN: B0009OUAG6
Release Date: 2005-08-02

Description

As the Arab-Israeli peace talks enter their 17th round of negotiations, Frontline examines the issue which holds the key to peace- the land of the West Bank and Gaza. In a personal journey to the Israeli-occupied territories of the West Bank and Gaza, correspondent Michael Ambrosino explores the bitter and complex issues of land ownership, the scope and future of the Israeli settlements, the realities of Israeli military justice, and daily life under Israeli occupation.

Charlie Rose with Haim Shibi; Nathan Myhrvold; Malcolm Gladwell (September 26, 1996)

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Charlie Rose with Haim Shibi; Nathan Myhrvold; Malcolm Gladwell (September 26, 1996)

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Haim Shibi of the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot, talks about the battles between Israeli and Palestinian troops throughout the West Bank and Gaza Strip and Palestinian riots in response to Israel's decision to open an archaeological tunnel near one of the holiest sites in Islam. Then, Dr. Nathan Myhrvold, group vice president in the Advanced Technology Group at Microsoft, talks about the future of computers and the Internet. Finally, Malcolm Gladwell of The New Yorker talks about recent progress by scientists in the quest to extend the human life cycle. .

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