Saturday, August 24, 2013

The Gatekeepers

I just finished watching this extraordinarily insightful documentary about Israel.


Despite having Israeli friends and no Palestinian friends, I am squarely on Team Palestine. But after watching this film, I am reminded that when your people were almost completely wiped out less than a century ago, and every country around you wants you dead, you have to react and defend yourself and your family.

The retired intelligence chiefs are incredibly candid. They talk about morality and the use of extralegal force in fighting terrorists. 

I learned that under Ehud Barak's tenure (a PM I had a soft spot for), more settlements were built in the Occupied Territories than any other PM. 

I also learned that under Ariel Sharon (whom I despise), a dozen top Hamas leaders were meeting in a house. He ordered that a 1/4 ton bomb be used instead of a one-ton bomb because he didn't want innocents killed in the collateral damage. All of the Hamas leaders walked out of the building alive.

Finally, there was a plot by right-wing settlers to blow up the Dome of the Rock. That would have changed history, had they succeeded.

No comments: