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DocumentaryHistoryWar

The Gatekeepers

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In an unprecedented and candid series of interviews, six former heads of the Shin Bet — Israel's intelligence and security agency — speak about their role in Israel's decades-long counterterrorism campaign, discussing their controversial methods and whether the ends ultimately justify the means.

Release Date : 2012-07-09

Language :EnglishHebrew

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Les Films du PoissonCinephilARTE France CinémaRTBFNDRSociété Radio-CanadaDror Moreh ProductionsMac Guff Ligne

Production Country : BelgiumCanadaFranceGermanyIsrael

Alternative Titles :

Cast

Ami Ayalon

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Ami Ayalon

Gender : Male

Avraham Shalom

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Avraham Shalom

Gender : Male

Yaakov Peri

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Yaakov Peri

Gender : Male

Carmi Gillon

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Carmi Gillon

Gender : Male

Avi Dichter

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Avi Dichter

Gender : Male

Yuval Diskin

Character Name : Self

Original Name : Yuval Diskin

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2024-09-11

This is quite a fascinating documentary that follows the turbulence of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians from the Six-Day War through to the present day (2012). It's told using interviews from a succession of leaders of the secretive Shin Bet intelligence organisation peppered with some fairly potent archive across the timeframe. What makes this worth a watch, though, is that it doesn't shy away from offering contrasting - sometimes conflicting - opinions from senior players who were close to even more senior players as their nation struggled to remain independent amidst an Arab community that held wildly differing views on it's right to exist. There are periods of hope that quickly evaporate into more of desperation and violence and some of these contributors seem more prepared to accept that blame for these escalations does not necessarily lie on just one side of this lethal debate. It touches on the attempts at international interventions, the attempts at peace with the PLO and the Oslo Accord whilst demonstrating the resistance from within it's own borders to attempts at peaceful co-existence by the likes of the assassinated Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and US President Bill Clinton. It's also the lack of comment from those third parties that adds a bit of gravitas to this film. We've no chatter from the booths of the CIA to clutter it up with an Americanised view of these problems. This offers an intimate assessment from people who were, quite literally, on the ground making life or death decisions at the time. It questions the potential for peace in the future, of heavily arming and empowering teenage men straight out of school, and of a collective fortress mentality that is forced upon them by as many internal preoccupations as external threats. It doesn't make any effort to represent the opposing perspective, but has an uncharacteristic honesty and candour to it that you might not agree with, but is worth listening to.