Films

A number of films are available over the internet for those interested in knowing more.

NECIP on Youtube

We have a series of videos that can be found on NECIP’s Youtube Channel.

The Gatekeepers

Nominated for an academy award in 2012, the Gatekeepers is a documentary based on live interviews with five former heads of the Israeli Security Service the Shin Bet. It is currently creating quite a bit of discussion within the Jewish community in Canada (and the USA, because it portrays Israel in a very grim light.

Man from Plains

A surprisingly intimate documentary about a controversial Christian man – former President Jimmy Carter. The film documents Carters book tour as he went around the USA promoting his book “Peace not Apartheid” arguing that peace is possible in Israel/Palestine. It is a great depiction of Carter’s Christian character and motivations. Reaction to him and his book range from adulation to vituperation.

Al Naqba (Al Jazeera)

This is an excellent 2 part series on the history of Palestine. Each part is 90 minutes. It features a lot of archival film footage, and interviews with Palestinian, Israelis and independent observers and scholars. The first part deals with the history of Palestine from 1800 to 1947. The last part deals with the conflict that Israel calls its “War of Independence” and which the Palestinians call “Al Naqba” (the catastrophe), and the subsequent events. It comes right up to about 2000.

Budrus

The CBC’s “The Passionate Eye” showed this film. The hour long documentary follows the struggle of a Palestinian village against the proposed construction of the hated “wall” which will cut their village off from their orchards. An uplifting film, it shows how men and women, Fatah and Hamas, and ever Israeli supporters joined together in a courageous – and in the end partially successful struggle.

Budrus

The Ultra Zionists

I have only met one Zionist settler in the West Bank. He was from Chicago. Here is a fascinating documentary produced by BBC reporter Louis Theraux. Somehow he got to talk to many settlers. They tell him quite clearly what they think. It is 58 minutes long, so you will have to settle in for a bit. But it is quite interesting. Of course these are extremists. Not all Israelis think like this. But the Israeli government does protect them…

Canada Park

Did you know that there is a “Canada Park” inside the Occupied Palestinian Territories? It is a lovely place to walk around and have a picnic. Thousands of Israelis do just that every year. But the park has a dark past. Until 1967, it was the site of 3 Palestinian farming villages, Imwas, Beit Nuba, and Jalu, with a total population of about 10,000. In June 1967 (the so-called “6 day war”), Israeli Defence Forces attacked the defenceless villages and drove the unarmed villagers out. The residents had to flee for their lives. Many walked on foot to Ramallah, more than 60 kilometres away. . The CBC television program “the Fifth Estate” aired an excellent documentary devoted to the Canada Park scandal in 1991. Twenty five years later the park is still there.

Canada Park