Shorlisted for an Academy Award®, this collection of 22 short films gives…
Disturbing the Peace
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
In a world torn by conflict--in a place where the idea of peace has been abandoned--an energy of determined optimism emerges. When someone is willing to disturb the status quo and stand for the dream of a free and secure world, who will stand with them?
DISTURBING THE PEACE is a story of the human potential unleashed when we stop participating in a story that no longer serves us and, with the power of our convictions, take action to create new possibilities. DISTURBING THE PEACE follows former enemy combatants--Israeli soldiers from elite units and Palestinian fighters, many of whom served years in prison--who have joined together to challenge the status quo and say 'enough.'
The film reveals their transformational journeys from soldiers committed to armed battle to nonviolent peace activists, leading to the creation of Combatants for Peace. While based in the Middle East, DISTURBING THE PEACE evokes universal themes relevant to us all and inspires us to become active participants in the creation of our world.
'A tremendous achievement - a stirring and profound film that chronicles the noble efforts of Israelis and Palestinians to realize their common humanity, to break the horrendous cycle of violence and move toward peace. We, people of every nationality, need to see it, think about the individuals who expose themselves to us, and be drawn into the indispensable process of wrestling with our own vengefulness in order to transcend our lesser selves.' Todd Gitlin, Professor of Journalism and Sociology, Columbia University
'Their stories are compelling - and persuasive...The transformations they describe are less like lightning bolts and more like dawning epiphanies.' Andy Webster, The New York Times - *Critics' Pick*
'A deeply-moving, powerful film with an inspiring message...The film offers us a glimmer of hope at time when the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace look so bleak. This is essential viewing for educators, activists, and anyone concerned about this tragic conflict.' Dov Waxman, Professor of Political Science, International Affairs, and Israel Studies, Co-Director of Middle East Center, Northeastern University, Author, Trouble in the Tribe: The American Jewish Conflict over Israel
'The film is a space for listening, for trying to understand.' Diana Clarke, The Village Voice
'A very powerful film, especially those first-person accounts by former Israeli soldiers of the moment when they realized they were doing something morally indefensible, despite the propaganda they'd been subjected to. Also very powerful to see how caged the Israeli army is when there are peace demonstrators on both sides - an illuminating moment.' Eve Spangler, Associate Professor of Sociology, Boston College, Author, Understanding Israel/Palestine Race, Nation, and Human Rights in the Conflict
'Vital, absorbing...Inspiring.' Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times
'It sets a high precedent for the fest's new humanitarian award...Not only does it provide proof of previously thought unbelievable tales of peace, but it further humanizes everyone in the conflict.' Nick Allen, Ebertfest 2016, on Disturbing the Peace winning First Ebert Humanitarian Award
'A moving documentary...potent and earnest.' Chris Barsanti, Film Journal International
'Disturbing the Peace is a rejoinder to pessimism, delivering a message of hope that lands with some success.' Stephen Mayne, Under the Radar
'Fresh and thoughtful...Essential viewing for anyone wanting to understand the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a human perspective, but also as a testament to the human capacity to forgive and the need for empathy.' Alan Berry, Critical Movie Critics
'Of the many films I've seen, this is one of the best. It presents both sides without equating them.' David Swanson, Counterpunch
'Offers hope that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict might come to an end in our lifetimes...Packs a powerful message.' Christian Toto, Hollywood in Toto
'The stories told in Disturbing the Peace are personal and hit you in both heart and mind.' Debra Bresnan, Hudson Valley One
'A paean to nonviolent civil resistance...It should make people all along the spectrum from right to left uncomfortable...An important film.' Aryeh Cohen, Jew School
'Unique and poignant...Emphasizes the power of embracing peace and reconciliation.' David J. Fowlie, Keeping It Reel
'Disturbing the Peace is the kind of movie we need at this moment.' Kenji Fujishima, Paste Magazine
'Transcends borders, races, religion, and any other labels that are used to divide and conquer...Inspiring.' Bradley Smith, Red Carpet Crash
'Reminds me that there are many conflicts happening the world and even in the darkest of circumstances, there is hope.' Melissa Hanson, Reel News Daily
'[A] substantive documentary about the mighty power of empathy, compassion, forgiveness, and nonviolence.' Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
Citation
Main credits
Apkon, Stephen (film producer)
Apkon, Stephen (film director)
Hale, Marcina (film producer)
Young, Andrew (film director)
Young, Andrew (director of photography)
Caruso, Rocco (film producer)
Derdikman, Ori (editor of moving image work)
Leyh, Blake (composer)
Other credits
Produced by Stephen Apkon, Marcina Hale; directed by Stephen Apkon, Andrew Young; consulting producer, Rocco Caruso; director of photography, Andrew Young; editor, Ori Derdikman; original score, Blake Leyh.
Distributor subjects
Activism; Anthropology; Diversity; Ethics; Ethnic Studies; International Studies; Jewish Studies; Middle Eastern Studies; Political Science; Psychology; Social Change; Social Movements; Sociology; War and PeaceKeywords
people born into conflict, sworn enemies, Palestinians and Israelis, unleashing human potential, creating new possibilities, transformational journeys, soldiers to peace activists, Combatants for Peace, Middle East, active participants, Beit Lahiya, Abbas, Zionists, Islamic Jihad, second Intifada, Shin Bet, Israeli occupation, Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigade, Sharon, Zionism, 1948 Al-Qbeibah, Al-Deisha refugee camp, Yom Mippur War, Golan Heights, growing up in a kibbutz, Silwan, Kiriyat Shmoneh, Yitzak Rabin, Sabra and Shatila, Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon, Sayeret Matkal, Occupied Territories, suicide bomber, Gaza, The Revolutionary University, Beit Jala, Theater of the Oppressed, Saeb Erekat, Tzipi Livni, Arafat, Separation Wall, John Kerry, Netanyahu, Operation Cast Lead; "Disturbing the Peace"; Bullfrog Films,doc; history; politics; sociss
00:00:36.928 --> 00:00:42.417
(PRAYER CALL IN ARABIC)
00:03:47.830 --> 00:03:53.900
- My story begins
with my grandfather,
00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:54.860
my father's father.
00:03:54.860 --> 00:03:57.210
He was born in Poland.
00:03:57.210 --> 00:04:00.860
He was the crazy
Zionist of the family.
00:04:00.860 --> 00:04:03.020
And that's the reason
he left Poland,
00:04:03.020 --> 00:04:05.810
in the mid-'30s of
the 20th century.
00:04:05.810 --> 00:04:07.163
(SHIP'S HORN BLOWING)
00:04:10.320 --> 00:04:14.489
He left his family and
immigrated to Palestine.
00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:23.000
All his brothers, and sisters,
and parents, and uncles,
00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:30.505
and cousins, and aunts, and
everybody -- no one survived.
00:04:39.890 --> 00:04:43.190
Zionism actually
saved my grandfather.
00:04:43.190 --> 00:04:46.626
And that's the reason
that we have a family now.
00:04:46.626 --> 00:04:48.084
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:05:07.629 --> 00:05:09.108
(CROWD APPLAUDING)
00:05:10.100 --> 00:05:15.110
- Israel is really the only
shelter in which Jewish people
00:05:15.110 --> 00:05:19.260
can live in security and
not to be slaughtered,
00:05:19.260 --> 00:05:22.520
not to be massacred
by the others.
00:05:30.206 --> 00:05:34.038
- On Saturday morning,
the first Egyptian planes
00:05:34.038 --> 00:05:36.894
bombed Tel Aviv.
00:05:36.894 --> 00:05:37.836
(EXPLOSIONS)
00:05:39.249 --> 00:05:43.020
Arabs are invading
the state of Israel.
00:05:43.020 --> 00:05:45.260
Jews are fighting
for the only thing
00:05:45.260 --> 00:05:47.038
that they have in
their possession.
00:07:47.968 --> 00:07:49.952
(AIR RAID SIRENS BLARING)
00:07:54.416 --> 00:07:58.130
- I was four years old when we
were attacked on Yom Kippur.
00:08:01.010 --> 00:08:03.650
I remember the sirens.
00:08:03.650 --> 00:08:06.650
I remember us running to
the shelter in Tel Aviv.
00:08:12.590 --> 00:08:15.830
My father was holding
a radio transistor,
00:08:15.830 --> 00:08:18.380
and put the antenna
out of the shelter
00:08:18.380 --> 00:08:20.870
in order to hear the
news and to update
00:08:20.870 --> 00:08:23.180
the people in the shelter
what was going on.
00:08:23.180 --> 00:08:27.350
- (RADIO ANNOUNCER
SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
00:08:30.466 --> 00:08:33.819
- Then he left the shelter
and he went to join the war.
00:08:33.819 --> 00:08:37.679
- (RADIO ANNOUNCER
SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
00:08:43.971 --> 00:08:44.929
- It was a real threat.
00:08:44.929 --> 00:08:47.240
I mean it's very
concrete for a child.
00:08:47.240 --> 00:08:48.305
They want to kill us.
00:08:51.015 --> 00:08:55.326
- (ISRAELI MILITARY
RADIO CHATTER)
00:08:59.640 --> 00:09:03.820
- I grew up in a kibbutz
not very far from Tel Aviv.
00:09:03.820 --> 00:09:08.770
And my teen years, I
became more aware of what
00:09:08.770 --> 00:09:12.780
it means to be an Israeli.
00:09:12.780 --> 00:09:18.416
And I think that more than
anything, it was the army.
00:09:18.416 --> 00:09:22.740
War stories and war memories
were all around -- in school,
00:09:22.740 --> 00:09:23.820
in the ceremonies.
00:09:29.130 --> 00:09:32.430
My uncle died in the war.
00:09:32.430 --> 00:09:34.700
I never got to know him.
00:09:34.700 --> 00:09:38.330
But it was in the family.
00:09:38.330 --> 00:09:39.785
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:10:28.365 --> 00:10:30.810
- Let it be clear.
00:10:30.810 --> 00:10:38.750
No matter how long it
takes, no force on Earth
00:10:38.750 --> 00:10:44.830
can deprive my people of
their right to statehood.
00:10:48.670 --> 00:10:50.110
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:11:17.188 --> 00:11:19.076
(WOMAN CRYING OUT)
00:11:41.720 --> 00:11:43.160
(SOUND OF GUNFIRE)
00:11:44.120 --> 00:11:46.830
- Arab terrorists attacked
an Israeli town today
00:11:46.830 --> 00:11:48.920
for the fourth
time in two months.
00:11:48.920 --> 00:11:53.150
16 Israeli high school
students died and 70 more were
00:11:53.150 --> 00:11:56.020
wounded in a Palestine
terrorist operation.
00:11:58.395 --> 00:12:00.770
- The three Arab
terrorists had been
00:12:00.770 --> 00:12:02.900
hiding in the area
for several days,
00:12:02.900 --> 00:12:04.760
but nobody could
find them until they
00:12:04.760 --> 00:12:08.406
struck at a school full
of Israeli teenagers.
00:12:08.406 --> 00:12:11.190
Only the massacre of 18 Israelis
in the town of Kiriyat Shmoneh
00:12:11.190 --> 00:12:14.110
a month ago was worse,
but the death toll here
00:12:14.110 --> 00:12:18.665
may top that if some of the
wounded die of their injuries.
00:12:18.665 --> 00:12:22.900
- The terror is a
continuous activity
00:12:22.900 --> 00:12:27.390
and will require a continuous
response on our side too.
00:12:32.330 --> 00:12:35.106
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:13:11.888 --> 00:13:15.890
(MUSIC AND SINGING IN ARABIC)
00:14:00.376 --> 00:14:02.328
(WOMAN CRYING OUT)
00:14:46.380 --> 00:14:51.320
- I joined the army
when I was 18 years old.
00:14:51.320 --> 00:14:53.442
I went to a tank unit.
00:14:56.476 --> 00:15:00.490
-I was admitted into Sayeret
Matkal, the most prestigious
00:15:00.490 --> 00:15:04.090
unit in the Israeli army.
00:15:04.090 --> 00:15:06.250
I was extremely proud.
00:15:06.250 --> 00:15:07.546
I knew my father was proud.
00:15:20.660 --> 00:15:22.760
-When we had finished
basic training,
00:15:22.760 --> 00:15:26.240
I was sent to the West Bank.
00:15:26.240 --> 00:15:29.000
All the Occupied Territories
were under curfew.
00:15:29.000 --> 00:15:32.140
So obviously at night, nobody
is allowed to be outside.
00:15:38.640 --> 00:15:40.090
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:16:25.988 --> 00:16:27.952
(SINGLE GUNSHOT)
00:17:01.191 --> 00:17:02.690
- In Israel, there
were more clashes
00:17:02.690 --> 00:17:05.150
during the night in the Occupied
Territories between troops
00:17:05.150 --> 00:17:07.245
and Palestinian demonstrators.
00:17:07.245 --> 00:17:08.964
(DEMONSTRATORS SHOUTING)
00:18:21.060 --> 00:18:24.090
- There were hundreds of
people demonstrating, shouting,
00:18:24.090 --> 00:18:25.070
throwing stones.
00:18:25.070 --> 00:18:29.030
Rivers of hatred and
hostility and violence.
00:18:29.030 --> 00:18:32.480
And I felt that I
have to defend myself.
00:18:35.950 --> 00:18:41.635
And I really didn't understand
-- why do they hate us so much?
00:18:41.635 --> 00:18:44.175
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:19:42.530 --> 00:19:47.660
- If we won't keep them here,
quiet under our domination,
00:19:47.660 --> 00:19:50.862
they will be in Tel
Aviv slaughtering us.
00:19:50.862 --> 00:19:52.806
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:20:04.470 --> 00:20:05.928
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:21:28.406 --> 00:21:29.882
(RADAR BEEPING)
00:21:30.620 --> 00:21:34.802
(ISRAELI MILITARY RADIO CHATTER)
00:22:08.283 --> 00:22:09.762
(BOMB EXPLODING)
00:23:27.511 --> 00:23:31.440
(SOUND OF EXPLOSION
AND CROWD SCREAMING)
00:23:31.440 --> 00:23:32.580
- Terror on Jaffa Street.
00:23:32.580 --> 00:23:35.520
A suicide bomber, disguised
as an Orthodox Jew,
00:23:35.520 --> 00:23:39.660
stepped onto City Bus number 14,
right next to the main market.
00:23:39.660 --> 00:23:43.620
- A suicide bombing in Israel
outside a crowded beach
00:23:43.620 --> 00:23:45.720
discotheque near Tel Aviv.
00:23:45.720 --> 00:23:47.970
- One of the worst
suicide bombings yet,
00:23:47.970 --> 00:23:50.760
tonight at a resort
hotel in northern Israel.
00:23:50.760 --> 00:23:53.914
A murderous day, with more
than 20 people dead tonight...
00:23:53.914 --> 00:23:56.080
- 26 people were killed and
more than 200 injured...
00:23:56.080 --> 00:23:58.920
- The death toll is at least
19, and could go higher...
00:23:58.920 --> 00:24:02.400
- Among the victims...
00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:04.830
- The police are saying those
are not final numbers...
00:24:04.830 --> 00:24:05.890
- ...mostly young people.
00:24:05.890 --> 00:24:07.229
And the counting continues.
00:24:07.229 --> 00:24:08.520
- This is not the final number.
00:24:08.520 --> 00:24:11.220
- At least 15 dead,
at least 35 injured...
00:24:11.220 --> 00:24:14.370
- This suicide attack tonight is
the third within the past week
00:24:14.370 --> 00:24:14.870
here.
00:24:14.870 --> 00:24:17.214
It comes after several
Palestinians...
00:24:42.442 --> 00:24:44.394
(MISSILES FIRING AND EXPLOSIONS)
00:26:36.860 --> 00:26:38.100
(DOG BARKING)
00:26:38.100 --> 00:26:39.555
(SOUND OF DOOR BREAKING)
00:27:39.530 --> 00:27:42.380
- One night, we were
doing this patrol.
00:27:42.380 --> 00:27:43.770
(MOLOTOV COCKTAIL EXPLODING)
00:27:43.770 --> 00:27:47.860
All of a sudden, we got a
Molotov cocktail on our jeep.
00:27:47.860 --> 00:27:50.150
After a few days
we got information
00:27:50.150 --> 00:27:52.970
on who threw the
Molotov cocktail on us,
00:27:52.970 --> 00:27:55.201
and we got an order
to arrest the guy.
00:27:58.190 --> 00:28:00.500
We were all with
guns and very alert.
00:28:00.500 --> 00:28:03.550
Where is the wanted man?
00:28:03.550 --> 00:28:05.450
It's very quiet, but very tense.
00:28:08.590 --> 00:28:12.010
Then, all of a sudden, the guy
from Intelligence pulled a guy.
00:28:12.010 --> 00:28:15.780
And in front of me, I see a
nine or a 10-years-old boy.
00:28:15.780 --> 00:28:19.134
He's still half asleep.
00:28:19.134 --> 00:28:22.566
Then he said, "It's him."
00:28:25.500 --> 00:28:28.736
It was a little boy.
00:28:28.736 --> 00:28:31.181
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:28:45.362 --> 00:28:46.829
- (SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
00:32:31.970 --> 00:32:37.400
- One day at a checkpoint I see
a taxi filled with children,
00:32:37.400 --> 00:32:39.290
and the driver is
explaining to us
00:32:39.290 --> 00:32:41.180
that these are sick children.
00:32:41.180 --> 00:32:45.197
He asked us to let
them go to hospital.
00:32:45.197 --> 00:32:46.780
And I said, "No,
these are the orders.
00:32:46.780 --> 00:32:47.738
You don't have permits.
00:32:47.738 --> 00:32:50.570
You have to arrange
that, and then..."
00:32:50.570 --> 00:32:52.720
And he's like,
you know, his look
00:32:52.720 --> 00:32:54.770
was he was about to kill me.
00:32:54.770 --> 00:32:58.830
And at that moment, I got
a phone call from my wife.
00:32:58.830 --> 00:33:03.420
And she's telling me, "I know
that you are in reserve duty.
00:33:03.420 --> 00:33:04.584
But I have a problem.
00:33:04.584 --> 00:33:06.750
I cannot pick up our daughter
from the kindergarten.
00:33:06.750 --> 00:33:09.083
Can you talk to your mother,
that she will pick her up?"
00:33:09.083 --> 00:33:11.450
And I say, "Yes, of course.
00:33:11.450 --> 00:33:12.340
What a question!
00:33:12.340 --> 00:33:13.710
Yes, I'm doing that."
00:33:13.710 --> 00:33:17.400
And I hung up, and I called
my mother and I arranged that.
00:33:20.220 --> 00:33:23.850
At the same time, my sight is
on the cab with the children.
00:33:26.840 --> 00:33:29.570
And I feel that
something is extremely
00:33:29.570 --> 00:33:31.870
wrong in the situation.
00:33:37.650 --> 00:33:41.130
I realize that there is a split
here between me as a father,
00:33:41.130 --> 00:33:43.950
responsible and worried
for my daughter,
00:33:43.950 --> 00:33:49.110
and me as a soldier
looking at these children.
00:33:49.110 --> 00:33:51.290
I'm not able to really see them.
00:33:51.290 --> 00:33:53.730
That they are exactly in the
same situation right now.
00:33:53.730 --> 00:33:58.513
They need responsible adults
that will take care of them.
00:34:02.220 --> 00:34:05.560
I knew that this split I
cannot live with anymore.
00:34:10.500 --> 00:34:12.480
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:35:37.224 --> 00:35:39.192
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:35:50.530 --> 00:35:54.460
- My sister asked me to join
her in the Occupied Territories,
00:35:54.460 --> 00:35:57.940
where Palestinians had
been evicted by the army.
00:35:57.940 --> 00:36:01.080
We're going to
bring them blankets.
00:36:01.080 --> 00:36:03.750
For the first time,
I was as a civilian
00:36:03.750 --> 00:36:08.460
in the Occupied Territories,
among these radical lefties.
00:36:08.460 --> 00:36:12.030
And on the other side
were the soldiers,
00:36:12.030 --> 00:36:13.620
with whom I identified more.
00:36:16.600 --> 00:36:20.980
When the army declared this
area a closed military zone,
00:36:20.980 --> 00:36:24.070
my instinct was, OK,
we have to go home.
00:36:24.070 --> 00:36:26.050
The army said we
have to go home.
00:36:26.050 --> 00:36:27.560
So let's go home.
00:36:27.560 --> 00:36:30.662
But these people,
they wouldn't go home.
00:36:30.662 --> 00:36:31.870
They said, "Look, we're here.
00:36:31.870 --> 00:36:35.170
We brought blankets to people
who are now out in the cold
00:36:35.170 --> 00:36:38.190
because you demolished
their houses.
00:36:38.190 --> 00:36:40.938
And we're going to get there."
00:36:40.938 --> 00:36:44.104
And I realized, it's my army.
00:36:44.104 --> 00:36:45.072
It's me.
00:36:48.950 --> 00:36:51.020
One of them was
thrown on the floor
00:36:51.020 --> 00:36:53.300
and they beat the
shit out of him.
00:36:53.300 --> 00:36:54.960
And he just shouted, "Go on!
00:36:54.960 --> 00:36:55.460
Go on!
00:36:55.460 --> 00:36:56.540
March on!"
00:36:56.540 --> 00:36:58.090
And everybody just
marching forward.
00:37:00.892 --> 00:37:02.555
I was so impressed.
00:37:02.555 --> 00:37:05.360
I felt military takes courage.
00:37:09.180 --> 00:37:13.710
Sometimes civilian
courage is so much more.
00:37:24.570 --> 00:37:28.840
This is when I said I'm
not going to be part of it.
00:37:48.130 --> 00:37:50.790
- We found out that there are
many officers and competent
00:37:50.790 --> 00:37:55.390
soldiers that are feeling it's
time to take responsibility --
00:37:55.390 --> 00:37:57.980
not to be part of the
Israeli mainstream,
00:37:57.980 --> 00:38:00.430
but to transform it.
00:38:00.430 --> 00:38:03.144
- We had a few meetings, in
which we drafted that letter
00:38:03.144 --> 00:38:04.060
to the Prime Minister.
00:38:04.060 --> 00:38:07.570
It was Ariel Sharon at the time.
00:38:07.570 --> 00:38:10.060
- We declared that we
are willing to fight
00:38:10.060 --> 00:38:13.680
for any cause that is serving
the security of Israel.
00:38:13.680 --> 00:38:16.690
But the Occupation is
not such an action,
00:38:16.690 --> 00:38:19.010
and we are not willing
to serve it anymore.
00:38:19.010 --> 00:38:21.160
- We're not against
serving in the army.
00:38:21.160 --> 00:38:26.890
We are against turning the army
into a mechanism of oppression.
00:38:26.890 --> 00:38:32.740
- We are not willing to expel,
humiliate, and starve 3 and 1/2
00:38:32.740 --> 00:38:34.130
million people.
00:38:34.130 --> 00:38:37.075
- And then it all blew up
in the eight o'clock news.
00:38:37.075 --> 00:38:41.700
- (NEWS ANCHORS
SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
00:38:51.050 --> 00:38:54.760
- They are objectors
without any conscience.
00:38:54.760 --> 00:38:57.160
And they are an embarrassment
to the state of Israel
00:38:57.160 --> 00:38:58.310
and to Jewish people.
00:38:58.310 --> 00:39:01.730
- (CONVERSING IN HEBREW)
00:39:39.440 --> 00:39:40.916
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:40:51.164 --> 00:40:52.661
(ULULATION)
00:41:34.052 --> 00:41:35.531
(PHONE RINGING)
00:41:37.020 --> 00:41:39.815
- One day one of the
people in the refusal group
00:41:39.815 --> 00:41:41.190
called me, saying,
"Look, there's
00:41:41.190 --> 00:41:43.200
a bunch of Palestinians
in Beit Jala.
00:41:43.200 --> 00:41:45.960
They heard about the
whole refusal movement
00:41:45.960 --> 00:41:49.522
and they are interested
in meeting us."
00:41:51.300 --> 00:41:52.940
And I said, "Where?"
00:41:52.940 --> 00:41:53.680
(LAUGHING)
00:41:53.680 --> 00:41:55.260
They said, "In Beit Jala.
00:41:55.260 --> 00:41:56.180
It's near Jerusalem."
00:41:56.180 --> 00:41:57.503
(LAUGHING)
00:41:59.890 --> 00:42:02.560
And I was thinking, ah,
that place is probably
00:42:02.560 --> 00:42:04.590
full of Arabs, right?
00:42:04.590 --> 00:42:07.100
- We are refusing to serve
in the Occupied Territories,
00:42:07.100 --> 00:42:10.350
but when somebody is organizing
a meeting with Palestinians
00:42:10.350 --> 00:42:13.535
that's the first thing that
comes to my mind, that...
00:42:13.535 --> 00:42:20.400
who is going to be
responsible for our security?
00:42:20.400 --> 00:42:22.640
And the next thing
that comes to my mind
00:42:22.640 --> 00:42:23.640
is that I need a weapon.
00:42:34.956 --> 00:42:36.940
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:42:51.120 --> 00:42:53.120
- We get there and
this one Palestinian
00:42:53.120 --> 00:42:55.950
is saying, "Look, there's going
to be a wedding here soon.
00:42:55.950 --> 00:42:58.550
So just cross over
to the other side
00:42:58.550 --> 00:43:01.362
and there are cars
waiting for you."
00:43:06.600 --> 00:43:11.990
If they want to kidnap us and
hold us hostages or kill us,
00:43:11.990 --> 00:43:13.030
they can just do it.
00:43:13.030 --> 00:43:15.530
We don't really know
who these people are.
00:43:31.233 --> 00:43:32.880
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:43:44.190 --> 00:43:47.850
- I'm looking at those whose
role was to fall when I shoot.
00:43:47.850 --> 00:43:53.897
The enemy, they felt that they
could kill me without blinking.
00:43:53.897 --> 00:43:56.681
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:44:23.640 --> 00:44:25.870
- The first step for
healing, and the first step
00:44:25.870 --> 00:44:28.065
to build trust, is to confess.
00:44:31.719 --> 00:44:34.930
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:44:40.470 --> 00:44:42.290
- Would I say the
name of the village
00:44:42.290 --> 00:44:45.440
where I demolished a house?
00:44:45.440 --> 00:44:48.080
Somebody here in the room
might be from that village
00:44:48.080 --> 00:44:52.340
and then he or she will say,
"You've demolished my sister's
00:44:52.340 --> 00:44:55.370
house" or "I was living there."
00:44:55.370 --> 00:44:58.704
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:45:25.610 --> 00:45:30.360
- We find that we actually
have something in common --
00:45:30.360 --> 00:45:36.500
that willingness to kill
people you don't know.
00:45:36.500 --> 00:45:38.460
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:45:55.370 --> 00:45:57.210
- It was destabilizing.
00:45:57.210 --> 00:46:01.080
It got me thinking about so many
different things, things that I
00:46:01.080 --> 00:46:02.980
never really thought about.
00:46:05.730 --> 00:46:10.680
I started to think about
everything from the other side.
00:46:10.680 --> 00:46:15.812
All these heroic operations I
read about when I was a child
00:46:15.812 --> 00:46:21.056
-- how did they seem
from the other side?
00:46:21.056 --> 00:46:22.790
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:46:49.670 --> 00:46:53.960
- It is indispensable
for a fighting system
00:46:53.960 --> 00:46:57.780
to deny the humanity
of the other side.
00:46:57.780 --> 00:47:00.050
Otherwise, how can you
possibly kill somebody?
00:47:00.050 --> 00:47:03.490
He has family, you know?
00:47:03.490 --> 00:47:08.290
He has hopes, he has
fears, he has dreams.
00:47:11.182 --> 00:47:14.040
No, he has to remain
this somewhat vague...
00:47:14.040 --> 00:47:16.980
he has to remain a target.
00:47:16.980 --> 00:47:20.804
Not a person, not a human being.
00:47:20.804 --> 00:47:22.610
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
00:47:42.495 --> 00:47:44.980
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:48:05.875 --> 00:48:08.714
- I want, ah, I want
better politics.
00:48:08.714 --> 00:48:10.145
(LAUGHTER)
00:48:15.880 --> 00:48:20.910
- Each time we are creating this
alternative to the reality --
00:48:20.910 --> 00:48:23.940
which is an Israeli and
Palestinian communicating,
00:48:23.940 --> 00:48:27.780
taking an action together
-- it's a revolution.
00:48:27.780 --> 00:48:30.360
Not less than that.
00:48:30.360 --> 00:48:34.020
- (CONVERSING IN
HEBREW AND ARABIC)
00:49:14.490 --> 00:49:18.210
- One of the most significant
things in Combatants for Peace
00:49:18.210 --> 00:49:25.010
is that we exemplify our
possibility to change.
00:49:25.010 --> 00:49:30.970
And as long as we understand
and respect what we were before,
00:49:30.970 --> 00:49:34.498
we can walk together that
path towards a better future.
00:49:34.498 --> 00:49:37.566
(CONVERSING IN
HEBREW AND ARABIC)
00:49:37.566 --> 00:49:39.454
(CLAPPING)
00:50:01.150 --> 00:50:05.500
- We use theater in order to
rehearse the transformation
00:50:05.500 --> 00:50:08.090
of the reality.
00:50:08.090 --> 00:50:11.450
The reality wants
to separate us apart
00:50:11.450 --> 00:50:13.970
and to keep the
hostility, and the hatred,
00:50:13.970 --> 00:50:17.390
and the approach
that each side is
00:50:17.390 --> 00:50:20.630
the victim and the other
side is the perpetrator.
00:50:20.630 --> 00:50:23.180
- (CONVERSING IN
HEBREW AND ARABIC)
00:51:16.876 --> 00:51:19.371
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:51:39.000 --> 00:51:40.920
- Thanks to intensive
shuttle diplomacy,
00:51:40.920 --> 00:51:44.190
Middle East peace talks between
Israelis and Palestinians are
00:51:44.190 --> 00:51:46.860
restarting after a
three-year stalemate.
00:51:46.860 --> 00:51:49.960
- Palestinians have
suffered enough.
00:51:49.960 --> 00:51:53.540
And no one benefits more from
the success of this endeavor
00:51:53.540 --> 00:51:54.530
more than Palestinians.
00:51:54.530 --> 00:51:58.190
- In these negotiations,
it's not our intention
00:51:58.190 --> 00:52:03.810
to argue about the past, but
to create solutions and make
00:52:03.810 --> 00:52:06.498
decisions for the future.
00:52:06.498 --> 00:52:08.490
(MUSIC PLAYING)
00:52:18.450 --> 00:52:21.910
- Our plan is a
nonviolent demonstration.
00:52:21.910 --> 00:52:24.205
We don't know, of course,
what the army is going to do.
00:52:26.940 --> 00:52:30.030
- I don't want to give the
army time to prepare itself.
00:52:30.030 --> 00:52:33.120
-If the soldiers
stop us, we stop.
00:52:33.120 --> 00:52:34.170
We don't confront them.
00:52:34.170 --> 00:52:36.260
- And if there's a
really serious problem,
00:52:36.260 --> 00:52:38.900
you leave the puppets and
you go somewhere safe.
00:52:38.900 --> 00:52:43.050
- The meaning is, I am
walking for my freedom.
00:52:43.050 --> 00:52:45.930
Until I getting
the wall from here,
00:52:45.930 --> 00:52:48.350
it's begin my unfreedom,
not my freedom.
00:52:52.180 --> 00:52:55.320
- What is unique in
nonviolence is that the way
00:52:55.320 --> 00:52:57.270
is as important as the goal.
00:55:20.366 --> 00:55:21.344
(LAUGHING)
00:59:32.704 --> 00:59:34.672
(MUSIC PLAYING)
01:00:58.180 --> 01:01:02.365
- I look at these
walls and I'm thinking,
01:01:02.365 --> 01:01:05.320
these walls perpetuate
the fears that
01:01:05.320 --> 01:01:06.710
generated them to begin with.
01:01:10.305 --> 01:01:14.070
The thing that separates
us is a metaphor as well.
01:01:14.070 --> 01:01:17.790
It's a symbol of our
will to be together.
01:01:17.790 --> 01:01:21.478
And we are going to use it.
01:01:21.478 --> 01:01:23.968
(MUSIC PLAYING)
01:01:56.338 --> 01:01:57.832
- (SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
01:02:21.192 --> 01:02:23.164
(DEMOSTRATORS WHISTLING)
01:03:59.780 --> 01:04:01.160
(EXPLOSION)
01:04:41.972 --> 01:04:43.430
- All of a sudden
they seemed to me
01:04:43.430 --> 01:04:47.690
like prisoners that are
trapped in this space,
01:04:47.690 --> 01:04:50.810
forced to play their
role, and imprisoned
01:04:50.810 --> 01:04:53.024
in violence and hatred.
01:04:53.024 --> 01:04:56.695
- (SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
01:05:01.206 --> 01:05:05.360
- You always keep the door open
to that there is an alternative
01:05:05.360 --> 01:05:07.040
to what you're doing now.
01:05:07.040 --> 01:05:10.910
We believe in transformation.
01:05:10.910 --> 01:05:14.690
And we believe the
transformation can occur even
01:05:14.690 --> 01:05:18.830
in these radical or extreme
situations of violence.
01:05:18.830 --> 01:05:20.139
Because it happened to us.
01:05:23.133 --> 01:05:26.610
- (CONVERSING IN ARABIC)
01:05:59.280 --> 01:06:00.765
(SOUND OF PRAYER CALL)
01:06:08.190 --> 01:06:10.665
(MUSIC PLAYING)
01:08:37.479 --> 01:08:42.235
- Dear friends,
Palestinian and Israeli.
01:08:42.235 --> 01:08:47.630
If change is impossible,
consider our experience
01:08:47.630 --> 01:08:49.450
in South Africa.
01:08:49.450 --> 01:08:54.342
Our peaceful transformation
did not fall out of the sky.
01:08:54.342 --> 01:09:00.170
Our peace was the choice of
so-called ordinary people,
01:09:00.170 --> 01:09:03.470
people just like you and me.
01:09:03.470 --> 01:09:08.290
You, and you, and you, and me.
01:09:08.290 --> 01:09:16.680
Do remember, we are members of
one family, the human family,
01:09:16.680 --> 01:09:21.205
God's family -- all of us.
01:09:21.205 --> 01:09:23.145
(AUDIENCE APPLAUDING)
01:09:30.420 --> 01:09:33.740
- There are limits to the
amount of time and effort
01:09:33.740 --> 01:09:38.310
that the United States can
spend if the parties themselves
01:09:38.310 --> 01:09:40.680
are unwilling to take
constructive steps in order
01:09:40.680 --> 01:09:42.038
to be able to move forward.
01:09:50.006 --> 01:09:53.950
- Either he makes an agreement
with his coalition of settlers,
01:09:53.950 --> 01:09:55.120
or with us.
01:09:55.120 --> 01:09:58.890
- Abbas has to decide whether
he wants a pact with Hamas,
01:09:58.890 --> 01:10:00.735
or peace with Israel.
01:10:00.735 --> 01:10:01.610
- He can't have both.
01:10:01.610 --> 01:10:04.480
He cannot continue with
this behavior of settlement
01:10:04.480 --> 01:10:06.600
activities and then continue
to speak about peace.
01:10:06.600 --> 01:10:09.333
- He cannot speak out of
both sides of his mouth.
01:10:09.333 --> 01:10:13.261
He cannot embrace Hamas and
say that he wants peace...
01:10:18.270 --> 01:10:20.610
- It's like a script.
01:10:20.610 --> 01:10:23.400
You see the declarations
on both sides.
01:10:23.400 --> 01:10:27.538
You know what is
going to happen next.
01:10:27.538 --> 01:10:29.160
And it's heartbreaking.
01:10:36.270 --> 01:10:39.360
- (SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
01:11:05.800 --> 01:11:08.240
- Here we go again.
01:11:08.240 --> 01:11:09.000
Another round.
01:11:13.680 --> 01:11:17.890
And a whole new
reservoir of people
01:11:17.890 --> 01:11:21.100
whose life is going to be
ruined, and many of them
01:11:21.100 --> 01:11:24.758
are going to participate in
the next round of events.
01:11:24.758 --> 01:11:27.722
(AIR RAID SIRENS BLARING)
01:11:27.722 --> 01:11:29.698
(BOMBS EXPLODING)
01:11:55.880 --> 01:12:01.314
- (SOUNDS FROM PALESTINIAN
AND ISRAELI NEWS REPORTS)
01:12:35.990 --> 01:12:38.120
- What you can tell the people?
01:12:38.120 --> 01:12:39.680
The Jewish and the
Palestinian, where
01:12:39.680 --> 01:12:41.220
they can make together peace?
01:12:41.220 --> 01:12:43.150
Or they can sit,
or they can talk.
01:12:43.150 --> 01:12:47.160
With nonviolence, we can resist.
01:12:47.160 --> 01:12:48.545
Who can believe you?
01:12:52.660 --> 01:12:53.770
And what will happen?
01:12:53.770 --> 01:12:55.666
Israel will say, "I win."
01:12:55.666 --> 01:12:58.070
Then Hamas will say, "I win."
01:12:58.070 --> 01:13:00.770
But 1,000 people
are being killed,
01:13:00.770 --> 01:13:04.960
and 10,000 people
are in hospitals.
01:13:04.960 --> 01:13:07.281
And I'm sure that it
will not stop here.
01:13:14.600 --> 01:13:18.080
- All that we've done
is drowned by a wave
01:13:18.080 --> 01:13:23.070
that is a thousand
times bigger than us.
01:13:23.070 --> 01:13:27.180
Soon it's going to be a
challenge just to keep
01:13:27.180 --> 01:13:32.130
standing, with every single
person around us advising us
01:13:32.130 --> 01:13:36.870
not to talk -- not when
people are getting killed.
01:13:36.870 --> 01:13:39.495
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
01:13:53.490 --> 01:13:56.640
- The first tendency is to quit,
to put the blanket on my head
01:13:56.640 --> 01:14:00.410
and to wait that
it will be over.
01:14:00.410 --> 01:14:02.720
And then something happens,
and I get a phone call
01:14:02.720 --> 01:14:04.965
from a Palestinian friend.
01:14:04.965 --> 01:14:07.412
And only from that,
I get the energy.
01:14:07.412 --> 01:14:11.550
- (CONVERSING IN
ARABIC AND HEBREW)
01:15:55.950 --> 01:15:57.938
(MUSIC PLAYING)
01:17:50.850 --> 01:17:53.550
- We are patriots, but
patriotism does not
01:17:53.550 --> 01:17:58.205
mean that we stand for
everything our government does.
01:17:58.205 --> 01:17:59.400
On the contrary.
01:17:59.400 --> 01:18:02.380
I'm critical because I
want to stay here in Israel
01:18:02.380 --> 01:18:03.977
and raise my children here.
01:18:15.224 --> 01:18:16.691
- (SPEAKING IN HEBREW)
01:18:24.589 --> 01:18:26.068
(CROWD CHEERING)
01:19:00.360 --> 01:19:03.790
(CROWD APPLAUDING)
01:20:01.640 --> 01:20:04.420
- We see it as a
long distance run.
01:20:04.420 --> 01:20:07.860
And we will continue
to go on with it.
01:20:17.820 --> 01:20:19.340
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
01:20:43.120 --> 01:20:47.503
- I think that we are an example
of how these two people can
01:20:47.503 --> 01:20:49.868
live together, can
create together,
01:20:49.868 --> 01:20:53.180
can disagree together.
01:20:53.180 --> 01:20:56.460
We are proof that it's do-able.
01:20:56.460 --> 01:20:59.925
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
01:21:22.080 --> 01:21:25.890
- Because it is
people who make wars,
01:21:25.890 --> 01:21:28.290
it is people who can
stop wars from happening.
01:21:28.290 --> 01:21:30.030
It's not the weather.
01:21:30.030 --> 01:21:31.620
We make it happen.
01:21:31.620 --> 01:21:35.783
And it is us that
can put an end to it.
01:21:40.573 --> 01:21:44.452
- (SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
01:22:20.268 --> 01:22:40.490
(MUSIC - KID BEYOND,
"I SHALL BE FREE")
01:22:40.490 --> 01:22:46.298
- One day I went walking
down a lonesome road.
01:22:46.298 --> 01:22:52.804
And I came upon a stranger
in some funky clothes.
01:22:52.804 --> 01:22:55.730
He said he was a soldier.
01:22:55.730 --> 01:22:58.822
I said, where's your gun?
01:22:58.822 --> 01:23:04.570
He said, I don't got no
weapon and I don't need one.
01:23:04.570 --> 01:23:10.644
I don't need no weapon
because I don't fight no war.
01:23:10.644 --> 01:23:16.820
I said, well, then Mr.
Soldier, what you fighting for?
01:23:16.820 --> 01:23:20.010
Well, he didn't say nothing.
01:23:20.010 --> 01:23:23.160
He just smiled at me.
01:23:23.160 --> 01:23:28.650
And then I heard him
whisper, you shall be free.
01:23:51.080 --> 01:23:53.821
Well excuse me, mister.
01:23:53.821 --> 01:23:57.270
Are you saying I ain't free?
01:23:57.270 --> 01:24:02.890
Well, I don't see no
shackles or no chains on me.
01:24:02.890 --> 01:24:09.500
He said, we're chained to our
hatred and shackled by greed,
01:24:09.500 --> 01:24:15.000
too blind to see the
wonder and the mystery.
01:24:15.000 --> 01:24:18.374
We got to love one another.
01:24:18.374 --> 01:24:21.338
Give our love so strong.
01:24:21.338 --> 01:24:27.760
Love your brother man deeper
when he treats you wrong.
01:24:27.760 --> 01:24:31.440
And when you love
without limits,
01:24:31.440 --> 01:24:36.644
unconditionally, when
you love without fear,
01:24:36.644 --> 01:24:40.796
then you shall be free.
01:24:40.796 --> 01:24:50.656
Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm, mhmm.
01:24:50.656 --> 01:24:59.530
Mhmm, mhmm, mhmm, mhmm, mhmm.
01:25:04.460 --> 01:25:11.970
So I pried my heart
open, as wide as the sea.
01:25:11.970 --> 01:25:16.830
And the strangest
sensations came over me.
01:25:16.830 --> 01:25:23.090
I could see the clouds
dancing, felt a raindrop sting.
01:25:23.090 --> 01:25:28.896
I could hear the tiny
beating of a butterfly wing.
01:25:28.896 --> 01:25:32.588
And as I sat in
the middle, I felt
01:25:32.588 --> 01:25:40.901
this love unfold, a love too
big for this body to hold.
01:25:40.901 --> 01:25:47.747
That day I became a
warrior, with no enemy.
01:25:47.747 --> 01:25:53.570
Now, I am that funky
soldier and I shall be free.
01:26:03.339 --> 01:26:10.794
I shall, I shall be free.
01:26:15.267 --> 01:26:24.770
I shall, I shall be free.
Distributor: Bullfrog Films
Length: 86 minutes
Date: 2017
Genre: Expository
Language: English / English subtitles
Grade: 9 - 12, College Adults
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
Interactive Transcript: Available
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