7 movies and series explaining Israel-Palestine conflict
Movies to understand Israeli-Palestinian conflict (Entebbe movie)
The war that erupted between Israel and Hamas militants has become the most extensive clash in decades. It's important not to forget that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has deep historical roots and is one of the most enduring conflicts of our time.
RBC-Ukraine (Styler project) has gathered the best movies and series that shed light on the conflict and help understand its underlying causes.
To prepare this story, Kinorium and Wikipedia were used as sources.
Golda, 2023
Directed by Guy Nattiv, the film tells the story of the year 1973, during the Yom Kippur War. Egypt, Syria, and Jordan attacked Israel, hoping to regain their lost territories.
The resolution of this conflict fell to Golda Meir, the first female Prime Minister of Israel.
The Spy, 2019
A miniseries directed by Gideon Raff, The Spy narrates the story of Israeli spy Eli Cohen, who lived in Damascus in the 1960s. Through his remarkable ability to change his identity quickly, he infiltrated the circles close to the Syrian government.
For several years, he actively spied for Israel until he was exposed in 1965.
Entebbe, 2018
Directed by José Padilha, this film recounts the events of 1976 when four terrorists hijacked a plane traveling from Tel Aviv to Paris and forced it to land at Entebbe Airport in Uganda.
This incident left 248 passengers in captivity, and the armed terrorists set conditions - to release Palestinian criminals from Israeli prisons, or innocent people would die.
To save the passengers, authorities had to take incredibly risky measures.
Imperfect Spies, 2017
In this Netflix documentary series, former members of one of the world's most renowned and effective intelligence agencies, Mossad (Israel's external intelligence service), share their experiences and operations.
Fauda, 2015
In Arabic, Fauda means Chaos. This Netflix series presents the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from two perspectives.
On one side, viewers learn about the story of Doron, the commander of a secret Israeli unit operating in Palestinian territories, hunting down Hamas activist Abu Ahmed.
On the other side, it tells the tragic story of Abu Ahmed and his family, as well as the reasons for their growing hatred towards Israel.
Lebanon, 2009
Directed by Samuel Maoz, Lebanon depicts the events of June 1982 and the First Lebanon War.
The plot revolves around a single tank and a squad of paratroopers sent on a mission to find an enemy town. What seems like a straightforward task turns into a true nightmare as the tank's crew desperately tries not to lose themselves in the chaos of war.
Munich, 2005
Directed by Steven Spielberg, Munich tells the story of September 1972 when the Palestinian terrorist organization Black September conducted a horrifying operation by killing Israeli athletes at the Munich Olympics.
Negotiations with the terrorists lasted nearly a day, but the proposal to storm the compound was rejected since all events were being broadcast live.
West Germany's interior minister promised to release the terrorists with hostages and give them a plane, while the police prepared a trap at the airfield...As a result, all hostages, five terrorists, a pilot, and a police officer were killed.
BONUS: Tehran, 2020
Directed by Daniel Syrkin, Tehran portrays the dramatic lives of individuals and the work of intelligence agencies against the backdrop of the modern Israeli-Iranian conflict.
The main character, Tamar Rabinyan, is a young Jewish woman born in Iran. After her parents fled the Islamist regime, she grew up in Israel and became a computer hacker and Mossad agent.
She secretly infiltrates Tehran to destroy a nuclear reactor, but her mission fails, and she finds herself trapped.
