This documentary has one of those life-is-stranger-than-fiction premises. The son of one of the founders of the terrorist Hamas organization was successfully turned into an informant for the Israeli secret services, the Shin Bet. The story of Hassan Yousef would have remained one of the best guarded secrets of Israeli history had he not voluntarily exposed himself as a mole while living in the US after retiring as an Israeli asset. The story that gradually unfolds throughout the Green Prince is full of unexpected twists and intense political intrigue and family drama that one day needs to be turned into a full length feature film. But for now, we have this very competent documentary. Much of the film is a protracted interview with the Hasan with little camera movement, and simple lighting. This may sound like an overlong CNN special report, but the interview has such intensity, and Hassan narrates episodes of his life with such expressiveness and honesty, that the chronicle itself is gripping. It is interspersed with scenes that combine drone, night vision and CCTV like imagery, real news footage and some recreated acted moments, all heightening rather than replacing the narration. The storytelling and editing is tight and economical. Instead of taking a merely journalistic approach, it opts for a character study that slowly unfolds, turning a spy thriller plot into a story of betrayal and redemption that goes beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What the story does particularly well is show how gradually Hasan distanced himself from his father politically without ever disowning him. He simultaneously undermined him tactically and tried to avoid any threat to his life. At the same time, his "handler" Gonen Ben Yitzhak became a father- like figure. This bonding could be dismissed as no more than a predictable "Stockholm syndrome" denouement but for the fact that it was reciprocated by Gonen, who ultimately must also make a decision between advancing his career and protecting Hassan. The material never feels preachy or sanctimonious and it refuses to turn characters, even the Hamas founders, into cartoonish villains. A truly great documentarian like Werner Herzog or Joshua Oppenheimer might have taken a few more liberties with the material, and perhaps an even more cinematic approach, but this still deserves to be watched. In my case, the story lingered in my mind for many days after I had seen it.
18 Reviews
stranger than fiction
SnoopyStyle24 October 2015
Mosab Hassan Yousef is the eldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a leader of Hamas. He is caught running guns at 17 and imprisoned by the Israelis. He is shocked to find Hamas torturing people suspected of being informers. Israel's security service Shin Bet is able to recruit him and Gonen Ben Yitzhak becomes his handler.
I didn't know anything about this story before watching this movie. I honestly figured that this is a fictionalized account with actors for the first half hour. The style is very plain with Mosab and Gonen talking straight into the camera. The story is so compelling that it is utterly riveting. I do wonder why he did what he did. He gives explanations and hints but I'm not sure if there is something more.
I didn't know anything about this story before watching this movie. I honestly figured that this is a fictionalized account with actors for the first half hour. The style is very plain with Mosab and Gonen talking straight into the camera. The story is so compelling that it is utterly riveting. I do wonder why he did what he did. He gives explanations and hints but I'm not sure if there is something more.
Revealing Documentary of the son of 'Hamas' who spied for Israel,
t-dooley-69-38691627 August 2015
Mosab Hassan Yousef is a son of one of the founding fathers of the Palestinian group Hamas. He grew up in the shadow of Israel's occupation and the shadow of his fathers fight and rhetoric. He was the heir apparent and decided to take up the armed struggle. This got him arrested and in the grips of the Israelis.
He was then interrogated by the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Service) and they tried to turn him, he was still sent to prison. He then ended up working for the Shin Bet and this is his story. Now this is a basic documentary with interviews to camera from Mosab and Gonen Ben Yitzhak (his handler) for the most part. There is also use of archive footage to flesh out the tale and a bit of re-enactment too.
This is actually a very moving and extraordinary film in places with unexpected turns and reveals for both Israel and Palestine. This has the potential to be very divisive as it is a subject that burns close to a lot of people's hearts. That said it is better to discuss than to not and if this film encourages debate then I think that can only be a good thing - as indeed this documentary is too - recommended to those with an interest in modern and World history.
He was then interrogated by the Shin Bet (Israeli Security Service) and they tried to turn him, he was still sent to prison. He then ended up working for the Shin Bet and this is his story. Now this is a basic documentary with interviews to camera from Mosab and Gonen Ben Yitzhak (his handler) for the most part. There is also use of archive footage to flesh out the tale and a bit of re-enactment too.
This is actually a very moving and extraordinary film in places with unexpected turns and reveals for both Israel and Palestine. This has the potential to be very divisive as it is a subject that burns close to a lot of people's hearts. That said it is better to discuss than to not and if this film encourages debate then I think that can only be a good thing - as indeed this documentary is too - recommended to those with an interest in modern and World history.
Story worthy of note, but wrongly presented
lucie-carpenter2614 February 2015
Mosab's story is a poignant one, and the documentary certainly does the relationship which developed between Mosab and Gonen justice, as do the actors who portray them in the interview scenes. However, the choice of episodic structuring regarding Mosab's story was not, in my opinion, justified, and it gave the plot a confused, hit-and-miss vibe. Some of the episodes were completely devoid of a key element which would justify their presence, and in the end it made the plot seem more piecemeal than it was. Naturally, when telling a true story, one cannot expect the same plot twists seen in Hollywood, but there are better ways to approach the construction of a real-life story than the one chosen in the making of this documentary.
It's worth watching, but more out of credit to Mosab than the documentary.
It's worth watching, but more out of credit to Mosab than the documentary.
Incredible story.
eshmana25 May 2019
A difficult, touching documentation of the experiences of two men living under very stressful circumstances. Other reviews criticise it for being one-sided, and it may well be if viewed from a wider perspective of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but taken at face value, the interaction between Mosab and Gonen, that develops into a trust beyond blood, is an uplifting story that needs to widely heard.
A solid documentary that, treated with care and sensitivity, could probably be turned into a powerful movie. This is a tale of hope.
Unconventional and thought provoking
rbstern9 April 2015
Warning: Spoilers
Some will see this film as one-sided view of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. I think that's the wrong way to view it.
This is the story of a relationship between two men who would normally be mortal enemies, like so many of their peers in their respective societies. Both men are intent on stopping needless killing. They chose very different paths to that end.
The insight this film provides is in describing the incredibly difficult tensions both men must deal with to carry out their missions. Mosab has to betray Hamas to redeem his sense of humanity, Gonen has to betray his own sense of humanity to get Mosab to perform, and eventually has to betray Shin Bet to save Mosab and redeem himself.
The most palpable feeling I had while watching this film was how isolated and alone Mosab must have felt, and probably still feels. He chose a very lonely path in life. A path I think very few human beings could handle, in terms of pressure and emotional pain. He's a truly unique person.
This is the story of a relationship between two men who would normally be mortal enemies, like so many of their peers in their respective societies. Both men are intent on stopping needless killing. They chose very different paths to that end.
The insight this film provides is in describing the incredibly difficult tensions both men must deal with to carry out their missions. Mosab has to betray Hamas to redeem his sense of humanity, Gonen has to betray his own sense of humanity to get Mosab to perform, and eventually has to betray Shin Bet to save Mosab and redeem himself.
The most palpable feeling I had while watching this film was how isolated and alone Mosab must have felt, and probably still feels. He chose a very lonely path in life. A path I think very few human beings could handle, in terms of pressure and emotional pain. He's a truly unique person.
A Touching Documentary
ilania_a7 August 2014
This was the opening film at the 34th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, and what a good choice it was! It is a documentary, of which there were quite a few in this edition of the festival, however, this was not a regular documentary - it left a very strong impact.
Before the film the Director, Nadav Schirman, came on stage and explained that this is a film about two people who have learnt to trust each other. Of course it is much more than that - it is an eye opener! But this is for each of us to reflect upon.
From the first shot of Mosab on screen looking straight at the audience with his piercing, expressive eyes I was mesmerized.
After the film, the two main personalities came on stage: Mosab Hassan Yousef, the author of the book "Son of Hamas" on which this film was based, and Gonen Ben Yitzhak, his spy handler.
The film moved back and forth in time, recounting the events of a ten-year period, since Mosab was seventeen. A time in which he was constantly in danger or in prison. After the film screening, Mosab Hassan Yousef explained that he was striving to avoid unnecessary killings saying: "We are all children of the Devine".
Before the film the Director, Nadav Schirman, came on stage and explained that this is a film about two people who have learnt to trust each other. Of course it is much more than that - it is an eye opener! But this is for each of us to reflect upon.
From the first shot of Mosab on screen looking straight at the audience with his piercing, expressive eyes I was mesmerized.
After the film, the two main personalities came on stage: Mosab Hassan Yousef, the author of the book "Son of Hamas" on which this film was based, and Gonen Ben Yitzhak, his spy handler.
The film moved back and forth in time, recounting the events of a ten-year period, since Mosab was seventeen. A time in which he was constantly in danger or in prison. After the film screening, Mosab Hassan Yousef explained that he was striving to avoid unnecessary killings saying: "We are all children of the Devine".
Wow, just incredible...
MrMcMurphy2 April 2015
I'm still in that post-amazement daze.
First, I almost never last two seconds on "story telling" documentaries (I need in-the-moment action and suspense). This still had action and suspense for two reasons:
1. The story was incredible.
2. There was plenty of original footage (I saw a review stating that this was just guys in a room talking, but that is untrue - lots of original footage).
You just can't believe that this really happened. Not with a person so high in the Hamas hierarchy.
And there was no boring build-up. I hate having to "invest" time, risking my time for an unknown pay-off. The story, editing, and people grabbed me from the beginning.
All I'm going to say is that you get the perspective of both the Hamas leader's son, and his "handler."
All you need is the capacity for reason, and at least a minimal awareness of the Israel-Palastine conflict; and you will probably enjoy this.
First, I almost never last two seconds on "story telling" documentaries (I need in-the-moment action and suspense). This still had action and suspense for two reasons:
1. The story was incredible.
2. There was plenty of original footage (I saw a review stating that this was just guys in a room talking, but that is untrue - lots of original footage).
You just can't believe that this really happened. Not with a person so high in the Hamas hierarchy.
And there was no boring build-up. I hate having to "invest" time, risking my time for an unknown pay-off. The story, editing, and people grabbed me from the beginning.
All I'm going to say is that you get the perspective of both the Hamas leader's son, and his "handler."
All you need is the capacity for reason, and at least a minimal awareness of the Israel-Palastine conflict; and you will probably enjoy this.
boring, amateurish disappointment
lesdroits15 September 2014
Saw this premier weekend in New York. Promised to be - and was promoted by NYTimes as being - fascinating "thriller". Was neither fascinating nor a thriller, but instead appeared a boring amateur production.
Unlike effective documentaries, there was no third party speaker or voice over putting things together in context but ONLY two talking heads (Mosad and his hander) which made up almost the entire movie, plus occasional shots of a map of the affected area, some short news clips showing Mosad's father speaking, a small bit of headline news, and then the same shot -- repeated over and over throughout the movie -- of a man, presumably Mosad, and a white car he gets into after walking along. So for the duration of the movie, it was basically just Mosad talking, then his former handler talking, Mosad, handler, Mosad, handler. And the discussion didn't really even make all that clear what should have been the pivotal point of the movie --what it was that "turned" Mosad. There was so little discussion on that point that, if you tended to nod off, as many were doing in the theater, you likely missed it. No Ken Burns here. Not even close. You come away from this non-gripping film understanding little more than you did from just reading a summary of the movie. New York Times reviewer--did you even watch it?
Unlike effective documentaries, there was no third party speaker or voice over putting things together in context but ONLY two talking heads (Mosad and his hander) which made up almost the entire movie, plus occasional shots of a map of the affected area, some short news clips showing Mosad's father speaking, a small bit of headline news, and then the same shot -- repeated over and over throughout the movie -- of a man, presumably Mosad, and a white car he gets into after walking along. So for the duration of the movie, it was basically just Mosad talking, then his former handler talking, Mosad, handler, Mosad, handler. And the discussion didn't really even make all that clear what should have been the pivotal point of the movie --what it was that "turned" Mosad. There was so little discussion on that point that, if you tended to nod off, as many were doing in the theater, you likely missed it. No Ken Burns here. Not even close. You come away from this non-gripping film understanding little more than you did from just reading a summary of the movie. New York Times reviewer--did you even watch it?
Good Start if you know nothing about the conflict.
doctordafe25 March 2015
This movie actually does a really good job of introducing a subject to the American general public to at least remember that Israel and Palestine exist. That the conflict is not just a forgettable world news story you hear in the background on television while getting something to eat and ignoring the information. It's not the movie version of a book or a non-biased documentary, but it's entertaining enough to keep unaware viewers watching and hopefully remembering, if not researching further. I think a huge key to the success of keeping people's attention was the wondering if it's a mockumentary or documentary aspect.
I will say the 100 minutes of movie gave me a better overview of how this conflict was related to myself versus the countless hours of world news I did watch, while living in San Diego, that was difficult to discern bickering opinion from what was actually happening and why it should be important to me.
For all of you disappointed academics out there, just remember, baby steps; getting people to remember is the first step to future awareness.
I will say the 100 minutes of movie gave me a better overview of how this conflict was related to myself versus the countless hours of world news I did watch, while living in San Diego, that was difficult to discern bickering opinion from what was actually happening and why it should be important to me.
For all of you disappointed academics out there, just remember, baby steps; getting people to remember is the first step to future awareness.
Bonding between an informant and his handler
Red-12521 July 2015
The Green Prince (2014) is an Israeli film written and directed by Nadav Schirman. It's a documentary that features Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas leader, and Gonen Ben Yitzhak, who was an agent with Shin Bet, the Israeli secret service.
Intelligence agents will use any means at their disposal to get an opponent to cross the line and turn against his or her own people. That's the situation portrayed in this documentary. A Shin Bet agent was able to convince a young Palestinian to work for Shin Bet against his Palestinian friends and family.
The young man--Mosab Hassan Yousef--tells us how, when he was in prison, Hamas leaders tortured their own people with unimaginable cruelty. This experience was the turning point. It was after this that he became an informant for the Israelis.
We who are watching the film can see that there's more to this story than Mosab tell us. However, it's possible that he himself doesn't see the big picture.
Mosab clearly bonded with his handler, Gonen Ben Yitzhak. Still, it's obvious that the bonding worked in both directions. Gonen grew to respect--and possibly love--Mosab. Ultimately, their bond is put to the test.
This is a grim, difficult film about a grim, difficult situation. However, the topic is so important, and the psychological complexities are so profound, that it's worth accepting the difficulty and seeing the movie. We saw it at the Rochester JCC Hart Theatre, as part of the outstanding Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. It will work just as well on a small screen.
Intelligence agents will use any means at their disposal to get an opponent to cross the line and turn against his or her own people. That's the situation portrayed in this documentary. A Shin Bet agent was able to convince a young Palestinian to work for Shin Bet against his Palestinian friends and family.
The young man--Mosab Hassan Yousef--tells us how, when he was in prison, Hamas leaders tortured their own people with unimaginable cruelty. This experience was the turning point. It was after this that he became an informant for the Israelis.
We who are watching the film can see that there's more to this story than Mosab tell us. However, it's possible that he himself doesn't see the big picture.
Mosab clearly bonded with his handler, Gonen Ben Yitzhak. Still, it's obvious that the bonding worked in both directions. Gonen grew to respect--and possibly love--Mosab. Ultimately, their bond is put to the test.
This is a grim, difficult film about a grim, difficult situation. However, the topic is so important, and the psychological complexities are so profound, that it's worth accepting the difficulty and seeing the movie. We saw it at the Rochester JCC Hart Theatre, as part of the outstanding Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. It will work just as well on a small screen.
Very Interesting and Educational
Xenia_Dau17 November 2014
I'm not going to write too much as I'm not experienced in reviewing and am simply studying film and happened to attend a Documentary Festival to view this documentary without knowing the context of it. I personally found this documentary to be very educational and interesting, the story being told by the real subjects, not actors, as many people think, really makes a difference. It was highly informative but has been described as one sided by many viewers, I suppose you could say so but as John Battsek stated in an interview 'You cannot satisfy both sides'. After watching this documentary there was a debate about it between a Palestinian and an expert in Palestinian politics and history, they described this documentary as 'Israeli Propaganda', however I feel that their reasons for this were more personal than simply critiquing the film. I found it enticing and was drawn into the story with its original footage and narration. It didn't focus on anything but the Hamas movement and the involvement of the Shin Bet, things like the lack of information on certain events such as assassinations etc. but that was not meant to be the focus of this documentary and therefore I find the little information given justified.
It's really good
kdupes-11 May 2023
I don't know how I found this, or why I watched it, but I'm glad I did.
> It's a true story, and it's got mystery, betrayal of many kinds, and in the last place you'd expect, it has love and admiration. It shocked and surprised me in many ways. If given the chance, Hollywood writers couldn't have written a better story than this true one.
> All I can say is, that if you think this isn't the type of doc you usually like, or dismiss it for any other reason, don't. It's not something I normally watch and would dismiss it without another thought, but I didn't for some weird reason and I'm so glad I did. Just watch it.
> It's a true story, and it's got mystery, betrayal of many kinds, and in the last place you'd expect, it has love and admiration. It shocked and surprised me in many ways. If given the chance, Hollywood writers couldn't have written a better story than this true one.
> All I can say is, that if you think this isn't the type of doc you usually like, or dismiss it for any other reason, don't. It's not something I normally watch and would dismiss it without another thought, but I didn't for some weird reason and I'm so glad I did. Just watch it.
poorly executed
jamesrichy196127 November 2014
80% of the scenes in this movie are just straight on facial shots of two people telling a story. That is not interesting or creative film making. The rest looks like stock news footage. No interviews with other people, the affected families, people on the street - nothing. A film maker should bring a story to life, give it context, and make it exciting to watch. Having a camera on someone's face and getting them to talk for 90 minutes is not film making. If this was produced by a film student, I would give them an F. Too bad. It's an interesting idea, but told in the most dull, boring way imaginable. This is definitely one of the worst films I have seen in the last 5 years. It is so bad, it is almost unbelievable.
Spellbinding...
civlee6 June 2015
Love the simple format.
Appreciated the pace and lack of manipulation.
Amazing story of courage, honesty, love, betrayal and sacrifice.
Feel inspired by the courage of the characters. Although loyalty and doing the right thing is often portrayed in movies/stories, seldom do you see it in real life as this story so clearly illustrates.
One can hope that it could inspire people to have the courage to think for themselves and question governmental, religious or business activities that don't follow the golden rule.
Thank you to all who participated in bringing this story to light. It's not often we see the real sacrifices people around the world are making to make the world a better and safer place.
Appreciated the pace and lack of manipulation.
Amazing story of courage, honesty, love, betrayal and sacrifice.
Feel inspired by the courage of the characters. Although loyalty and doing the right thing is often portrayed in movies/stories, seldom do you see it in real life as this story so clearly illustrates.
One can hope that it could inspire people to have the courage to think for themselves and question governmental, religious or business activities that don't follow the golden rule.
Thank you to all who participated in bringing this story to light. It's not often we see the real sacrifices people around the world are making to make the world a better and safer place.
although based on Hosab's experience, film remains one sided
jakob139 November 2014
Warning: Spoilers
As violence in Jerusalem increases, you may want to see a 2014 Sundance prizewinning documentary that the Village Cinema is holding over for another week: Nadav Schirman's Green Prince, an intriguing, edge-of-the-seat thriller, based on Mosab Hassan Yousef's Son of Hamas: a gripping account of terror, political intrigue and unthinkable choices. El Emir Akhdah is the story of the oldest son of founding Hamas member Sheikh Hassan Yousef, arrested by Israel's Shin Bet in 1999 during the Second Intifida. The secret service, not believing its good luck, managed to induce the 17-year-old to become a "sleeper agent." During 10 years, he proved very effective "mole;" as his father's eldest son he assisted his father in his political activities; and had entrée to Hamas highest leadership circles. From his privileged status, he kept a certain pulse of what seems a war without a solution between Israel and a Palestinian political entity.
Shin Bet ennobled him with the sobriquet El Emir Akhdah or Green Prince. Truly, for them, he was a sparkling jewel in the dark art of spying. And as such, over time, they schooled in the craft of intelligence, thereby turning him into a finely honed instrument at the service of Israel's intelligence agency.
In the world of Palestinian and Israeli cinema, the Green Prince is not the first film that deals with turning Palestinians into collaborators.
Although in a very limited run, 2014 saw Hany Abu-Assad's Omar and Yuval Adler's Jerusalem. One is a realistic view of "how a highly aware Palestinian defines himself," according to Omar's co-author Ali Waked, that endows its protagonist Arab or Jew with a human face under an regime of occupation approaching a half-century. The other is a stock action film, less complex that ably serves Israeli interests. Given the subject matter, the more sophisticated Green Prince, too, serves Israeli propaganda purposes. Shirman's documentary has the feel of a representation as though Hosab and his Shin Bet handler Gonan Ben Yitzhak were appearing on a stage, but with the flexibility and liberty of the camera that breathes fuller life to Hosab's odyssey. The closer he becomes to Ben Yitzhak, the younger Yousef bonds psychologically with his handler—otherwise known as Stockholm Syndrome—of what he sees as the barbarity and futility of Hamas' armed resistance. Unsurprisingly, this management of a "turncoat" transforms a friendship, seemingly based on shared experience if not exactly belief, contrary to his Shin Bet training and unwritten code. Strategically, Schirman juxtaposes scene of talking heads with Shin Bet archival material of secret drone shots of Hosab's movements that render more immediate the covert hold the secret service had on him.
This language of hidden images brings to mind Dror Moreh fascinating documentary detailing the highly sophisticated surveillance network that the Shin Bet has perfected to track its own Arab citizens as well as Palestinian Arabs in the Palestinian territories that it has occupied for almost a half-century. And yet, despite Israel's vast spy and military enterprise to achieve its goals of defeating Hamas, Shin Bet was caught by surprise by the unexpected outbreak of the first Intifida, as though the work of 40 odd years of population control had become a soured dream. As the Green Prince, Omar and Jerusalem end in one tragedy or another: the cooperation wittingly or not with "an enemy of one's country" ends in death or exile. After 10 years of unflinching service to his Shin Bet masters El Emir Akhdah wanted out, but the secret service was unwilling to release him. Whilst on a visit to the US, he applied for political asylum; Israel informed Homeland Security that he was a son of a noted Hamas terrorist. Having confessed to his father that he intended to defect, the US government was on the point of deported him to Jordan which would mean certain death. The ties of friendship that held Ben Yitzhak to Hoseb fostered a generosity of spirit and humanity by what should have been seen as a relation between "occupier" and "occupied," was in reality a fondness and an expression of good will. So, unwillingly to see his friend "betrayed" after loyal service to Israel, Ben Yitzhak "outed" himself as a Shin Bet agent, flew to the US and testified to Hosab's decade service as a deep under cover agent.
In spite of the excellence of Schirman's film, it is a-historic, since it provides no context for why the Second Intifada occurred. And the germ of that uprising lay in the Temple Mont that prime minister Ariel Sharon chose to visit as an expression of Jewish Israeli right to seemingly pray in Islam's third holiest site, Dome of the Rock or Al Aksaa Mosque.
Today, right-wing Jewish fanatics insist on praying in the Mosque. Once again, it seems as though we are witnessing a replay of Sharon's provocative visit to the Temple Mont. Should we expect a Third Intifada, so quick on Israel's war in June 2014 against Hamas in Gaza—a war that ended, as it usually does in terrible civilian deaths and a political stalemate.
In the end Green Prince, no matter how polished a film it is, remains one sided and a distortion of the lethal reality in Israel and its occupation of the Palestinians and their territory.
Shin Bet ennobled him with the sobriquet El Emir Akhdah or Green Prince. Truly, for them, he was a sparkling jewel in the dark art of spying. And as such, over time, they schooled in the craft of intelligence, thereby turning him into a finely honed instrument at the service of Israel's intelligence agency.
In the world of Palestinian and Israeli cinema, the Green Prince is not the first film that deals with turning Palestinians into collaborators.
Although in a very limited run, 2014 saw Hany Abu-Assad's Omar and Yuval Adler's Jerusalem. One is a realistic view of "how a highly aware Palestinian defines himself," according to Omar's co-author Ali Waked, that endows its protagonist Arab or Jew with a human face under an regime of occupation approaching a half-century. The other is a stock action film, less complex that ably serves Israeli interests. Given the subject matter, the more sophisticated Green Prince, too, serves Israeli propaganda purposes. Shirman's documentary has the feel of a representation as though Hosab and his Shin Bet handler Gonan Ben Yitzhak were appearing on a stage, but with the flexibility and liberty of the camera that breathes fuller life to Hosab's odyssey. The closer he becomes to Ben Yitzhak, the younger Yousef bonds psychologically with his handler—otherwise known as Stockholm Syndrome—of what he sees as the barbarity and futility of Hamas' armed resistance. Unsurprisingly, this management of a "turncoat" transforms a friendship, seemingly based on shared experience if not exactly belief, contrary to his Shin Bet training and unwritten code. Strategically, Schirman juxtaposes scene of talking heads with Shin Bet archival material of secret drone shots of Hosab's movements that render more immediate the covert hold the secret service had on him.
This language of hidden images brings to mind Dror Moreh fascinating documentary detailing the highly sophisticated surveillance network that the Shin Bet has perfected to track its own Arab citizens as well as Palestinian Arabs in the Palestinian territories that it has occupied for almost a half-century. And yet, despite Israel's vast spy and military enterprise to achieve its goals of defeating Hamas, Shin Bet was caught by surprise by the unexpected outbreak of the first Intifida, as though the work of 40 odd years of population control had become a soured dream. As the Green Prince, Omar and Jerusalem end in one tragedy or another: the cooperation wittingly or not with "an enemy of one's country" ends in death or exile. After 10 years of unflinching service to his Shin Bet masters El Emir Akhdah wanted out, but the secret service was unwilling to release him. Whilst on a visit to the US, he applied for political asylum; Israel informed Homeland Security that he was a son of a noted Hamas terrorist. Having confessed to his father that he intended to defect, the US government was on the point of deported him to Jordan which would mean certain death. The ties of friendship that held Ben Yitzhak to Hoseb fostered a generosity of spirit and humanity by what should have been seen as a relation between "occupier" and "occupied," was in reality a fondness and an expression of good will. So, unwillingly to see his friend "betrayed" after loyal service to Israel, Ben Yitzhak "outed" himself as a Shin Bet agent, flew to the US and testified to Hosab's decade service as a deep under cover agent.
In spite of the excellence of Schirman's film, it is a-historic, since it provides no context for why the Second Intifada occurred. And the germ of that uprising lay in the Temple Mont that prime minister Ariel Sharon chose to visit as an expression of Jewish Israeli right to seemingly pray in Islam's third holiest site, Dome of the Rock or Al Aksaa Mosque.
Today, right-wing Jewish fanatics insist on praying in the Mosque. Once again, it seems as though we are witnessing a replay of Sharon's provocative visit to the Temple Mont. Should we expect a Third Intifada, so quick on Israel's war in June 2014 against Hamas in Gaza—a war that ended, as it usually does in terrible civilian deaths and a political stalemate.
In the end Green Prince, no matter how polished a film it is, remains one sided and a distortion of the lethal reality in Israel and its occupation of the Palestinians and their territory.
Non-partisan glimpse of tragic vendetta
amsciforum30 October 2014
This is the story of the son of an influential Hamas zealot, turned into an Israeli informant from the age of 17, and his Israeli handler, a Shin Beth agent. Both are surrounded by brutality -- Hamas's ruthless violence, and Shin Beth's likewise ruthless violence -- the informant struggling with conflicts of loyalty and shame, but the handler conflicted too, for a genuine personal bond of trust, affection and loyalty had also emerged between the two of them. Despite the fact that the portrayal is scripted, it has the ring of sincerity and it gives a non-partisan sense of the tragic vendetta in which they are both engulfed.
Largely unsatisfied by this documentary...
hind-86-2776629 October 2014
I had very high expectations. I mean, what a story? The son of a Hamas leader turned informant was openly talking about his involvement with the Shin Bet! Waw. Unfortunately, The Green Prince didn't deliver. Instead of understanding the psychology of an informant, the reasons for turning against his family so easily, we are left with a recounting of events, that is incomplete in providing us with a full picture of such a political and personal move. Mosab, the informant, gives the impression to be highly disturbed, in need of attention and recognition, and ready to grab any opportunity that would give him such comfort. The way the character was presented offered no depth, or thought-provoking arguments. The handler, Gonen, is the hero, the one who went against the shin-bet, or what he called "his family" to save the Palestinian, his "friend". No further explanation as to why he felt the urge to go against the rules for the informant, and the film-makers were largely satisfied with the "it was my duty" answer, instead of digging further into his personality.
Not a complete fail, but feels like a partial recounting of events, that does not offer any emotional or contextual depth which would have made it one of the year's most astounding story told.
Not a complete fail, but feels like a partial recounting of events, that does not offer any emotional or contextual depth which would have made it one of the year's most astounding story told.
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