First off, I wanted to point out that it was very hard to follow this movie, for many reasons. The version I watched did not have subtitles or overdubbing, yet basically all of the talking, except the intermittent narrator, was done in other languages. If you are going to make a one-sided movie to tell one side of a conflict, at least tell let us hear about it. I found myself looking at pictures for 2-minute intervals between a 10 second narration or two quick lines of text. Maybe it was just the copy I saw, but it didn't really help it's case.
Second off, the movie was incredibly one-sided. I know, I know, it's a propaganda film, so it will be, but this was very over the top. I didn't see any Arabs cutting off heads, or detonating suicide bombs at markets and schools, or gassing thousands of Kurds.
What many people fail to realize, is that Israel wasn't just created out of nothing. Much of the original area that was "granted" to Israel in 1947 (And previously, in 1917) had been bought by the Jews from the Ottoman empire which ruled the area for hundreds of years. During the first World War, the Jews and Arabs were somewhat of allies against the Turks due to being discriminated against.
The Arabs tried to force the Jews out of the lands they had paid for, when the Ottoman empire collapsed. The Arabs are the ones who refused to live with the Jews. The day after Israel declared independence, the armies of five Arab countries invaded (Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon). During this time, Jews were discriminated against in Arab countries, having property stolen and denied citizenship.
In the mid-50s, Egypt closed the Suez canal to Israeli shipping, until Israel attacked the Sinai Peninsula. Israel withdrew after Egypt agreed to lift the anti-Jewish ban.
Again in 1967 the allied Arab states sought to destroy Israel, expelling UN peacekeepers and initiating a six-day war that left Israel in control of Gaza, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, and east Jerusalem. Even after giving control of the Gaza Strip back, the Arabs launched attacks, killed and kidnapped Israeli soldiers, and have done everything in their power to cause violence.
As is often the case, there are two sides to every story, and this film does a very poor job of telling either side of any of the conflicts it portrays.
Second off, the movie was incredibly one-sided. I know, I know, it's a propaganda film, so it will be, but this was very over the top. I didn't see any Arabs cutting off heads, or detonating suicide bombs at markets and schools, or gassing thousands of Kurds.
What many people fail to realize, is that Israel wasn't just created out of nothing. Much of the original area that was "granted" to Israel in 1947 (And previously, in 1917) had been bought by the Jews from the Ottoman empire which ruled the area for hundreds of years. During the first World War, the Jews and Arabs were somewhat of allies against the Turks due to being discriminated against.
The Arabs tried to force the Jews out of the lands they had paid for, when the Ottoman empire collapsed. The Arabs are the ones who refused to live with the Jews. The day after Israel declared independence, the armies of five Arab countries invaded (Iraq, Syria, Egypt, Jordan, and Lebanon). During this time, Jews were discriminated against in Arab countries, having property stolen and denied citizenship.
In the mid-50s, Egypt closed the Suez canal to Israeli shipping, until Israel attacked the Sinai Peninsula. Israel withdrew after Egypt agreed to lift the anti-Jewish ban.
Again in 1967 the allied Arab states sought to destroy Israel, expelling UN peacekeepers and initiating a six-day war that left Israel in control of Gaza, the West Bank, the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights, and east Jerusalem. Even after giving control of the Gaza Strip back, the Arabs launched attacks, killed and kidnapped Israeli soldiers, and have done everything in their power to cause violence.
As is often the case, there are two sides to every story, and this film does a very poor job of telling either side of any of the conflicts it portrays.