To Die in Jerusalem (2007) User Reviews

A sad story and a UN failure

[cherrodc · 6/10 · 1 November 2007]

This was a hard story to watch. Having been in Israel and having seen the devastation of a suicide bomber as well as the stoning of Palastinian children first-hand I can say that this movie is a emotional testament to the failure of the UN in this instance. The story seemed, to me, to have a more Israeli slant. There was much talk from the Israeli mother about peace but you couldn't help but see the point of the Palastinian mother when she asks what happened when the British tried to occupy America or in all of history when anyone has attempted to occupy another country. This movie glosses over the reasons for the Israeli/Palestinian conflict as well as the fact that America has not only given aid to Israel for decades but more aid than to any other country. It never mentions the fact that the US has just started, as of 2002, to give aid to the Palestinian cause and not in the amount given to Israel. I understand that they were attempting to put a human face on the subject but they must have forgotten that humans are largely governed by emotion and emotion is often NOT the solution to a problem. I think that they would have done well to put in some historical and financial facts about the situation. Without these facts it may seem more than a bit biased to someone who is not familiar with the history of the Israeli/Palistinian conflict.

It seems so simple; why can't two mothers just agree that violence doesn't solve anything?

[ShulemDeen · 7/10 · 19 November 2007]

**** Contains spoilers ****

This is a very powerful documentary. In the end the reasons for this ongoing conflict become clear: yes, Palestinians are living in misery under occupation, but their lust for armed resistance and revenge keeps them from allowing the situation to improve. The Israeli mother tried to make a very simple point: "we, the mothers should feel each other's pain, and work for ways to make the pain stop for future generations." She wasn't trying to justify the occupation, or Israel's transgressions. For all we know, she might be just as opposed to occupation as the Palestinian mother. But whatever their political agreements or disagreements may be, she wanted to get the Palestinian mother to agree to one thing: violence must end. And the Palestinian mother was unwilling to meet her on that, still claiming to the very end that it is worth keeping up the violence as long as the Palestinians' demands aren't satisfied.

It becomes clear that to the Palestinians, for all their (rightful) indignation towards Israeli oppression, alleviating their misery is not a high priority. For they could achieve that fairly easily by working honestly towards the solution of two countries living side by side in peace. But that is not their objective. Or, in their words, it is a "humiliating peace" (as if that's an excuse for killing). They want back the lands and fields tilled by their grandparents and great-grandparents. As if that will guarantee the good life. That is mere sentimentalist drivel. Life can be pleasant even if it isn't tilling your grandfather's fields and harvesting the same olive trees. In the end, what the Palestinians want is violence in the hope that would redeem their honor in this decade-long struggle. And that's all it's about at its core.

Fails to see...

[ManhattanBeachGal · 7/10 · 5 September 2009]

I have sympathy to both Mothers. However this Documentary fails to see both points of view. Being an American we're so privileged, and we fail to see how much suffering is going on, yet we're generally surprised that other Countries don't like us. I don't want to get into the details of how we have trained the Taliban to defeat the Russians (and wonder why Russia doesn't really care for us), we provided weapons to Saddam, we have done a lot of things... and I don't want to get into that. I'm still proud to be an American. I still believe it's the greatest Country, we have so much freedom, we should never take it for granted, but we also shouldn't be surprised that some Countries have a deep hate for us.

The Palestinian people are suffering, they live in really bad conditions, they have no hope, they have no strong military... so for them they feel the only way to defend their rights is by suicide bombings. I don't condone it at all, but this Documentary failed to show the Palestinian's side. We are disliked in Palestine because we support Israel, and that will never change. I do hope that Israel makes a better attempt at solving these problems, and finding some way to compromise. I don't want to be pessimistic, but part of me thinks it will never happen because these problems have been there for so long that it does feel hopeless. If you have no hope in your life, you generally like you have no voice, and perhaps this is their small way of saying "we will not sit here, and take this occupation".

A recent news article below...

http://www.imemc.org/article/61581 U.S. regrets Israeli plan to approve more settlement in the occupied West Bank author Saturday September 05, 2009 00:19author by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC & Agencies Report this post to the editors

The White House declared on Friday that it regrets a decision by the Israeli government, headed by Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, to resume settlement activities in the occupied Palestinian territories.

The White House said that this decision contradicts with Israel's own statements regarding its commitment to the Road Map peace plan.

It added that the Obama administration cannot accept the Israeli claims of the legitimacy of settlement construction and expansion, and urged Israel to stop its settlement activities, especially since this issue obstructs the efforts to create a momentum to restart the stalled peace process.

The statements came after a senior Israeli government official declared that Netanyahu is planning to approve hundreds of houses for Jewish settlers in West Bank settlements before he declares a temporary settlement freeze.

U.S. envoy, George Mitchell, will be visiting the Middle East next week for talks with Israeli officials. He is slated to arrive in Israel on Thursday for a two-day visit in which he would reiterate the demands of the U.S. administration.

Mitchell said that the U.S. commitment to Israel's security never changed and will remain strong, and added that his country believes that this security can best be achieved through dialogue and comprehensive peace in the Middle East, including the establishment a Palestinian State living in peace next to Israel.

The United States is holding comprehensive talks with Arab countries, Israel and the Palestinian Authority of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Illegal Israeli settlement activities are not the only cause for the stalled peace talks, but at least they are the highlighted issue at the moment. Israel still refuses any withdrawal from occupied East Jerusalem, refuses Palestinian sovereignty, refuses talks on borders, the refugees, natural resources and other and other fundamental issues that could contribute to a comprehensive peace deal.

There will never be western sympathy for the Palestinian way....

[eric_ruj · 20 November 2007]

The Palestinian and Israeli conflict has been waging my entire life and like most, I don't see an end in sight. After watching this documentary, I'm sad to say it only cemented my belief of this even more. I don't know what I was looking for, something positive I guess. Some mothers intuition that could make progress for a peaceful solution to an evidentially never ending ridiculous loss of life. A documented look into both sides, to look into the eyes of not only hatred but also despair of loss and see some reflection of humanity. There was just two bullheaded opinions, not much more. I live in a country that is consistently at the center of controversy and outrage (some unwarranted, most not). Having been lucky enough to see a lot of the world first hand, it saddens me that this is true, I'd love to see a change in the world for the better, but until we, as human beings, can come to the agreement that no Muslim, or Christian, or Jewish God would ever want anyone of his creations killed in his name, then I'm afraid we will live in this fearful state for a long time... As for personal questions, I'd love to ask the two mothers in this documentary: 1. The Israeli mother, You talk of peace, but in the 4 years since your daughters death, what have you done to voice a easement in the sanctions against the Palestinians? 2. To the Palestinian mother, you keep referring to your personal living conditions, a movement you lost a daughter for. Is it worth her life? I'd live in a box, for my child, to keep her safe. And lastly, they mentioned where there is occupation, there is resistance. Then she listed a list of recent countries struggles for independence. Only the Palestinians and Israeli seem to target civilian casualties. Why not suicide bomb military targets, why a shopping mall? And let's not forget, the greatest fight for independence was a peaceful one. Gandhi led the Indian people in peaceful protest against the British and the WORLD listened and love him for it...

Why there will never be peace

[cagri-1 · 9/10 · 4 November 2007]

The meeting that happens between the two mothers shows why there will never be peace in Israel. Abigail, the Jewish mother, shows the typical Western behavior that somehow her pain is greater because she is what she is a "civilized" person. She blames Ayat's mother for not knowing her daughter for being simply a hate-monger. And there are interesting cultural differences. The fact that Ayat's mother comes to the meeting with her husband vs. Rachel coming alone. In the end it seems that the Jewish mother is still looking for an apology for something Ayat's mother cannot apologize. Why not? Because the reality is that without the resistance the whole world would be asleep day in and day out and Israel would go on torturing the Palestinians and keep expanding their settlements into Palestinian territories. If she apologizes Ayat's life means nothing. She says it best: "Where the is occupation, there is resistance." That is something the "civilized" West failed to see in the last 400 years. As long as Israelis do not recognize the humanity of the Palestinians and the inhumanity of their treatment of these people nothing will be solved.

Reflections on an excellent film.

[alya-alhamad · 10/10 · 13 June 2008]

This film was an excellent documentary. To me, the film was about spreading awareness and provoking dialogue by allowing the audience to feel the situation from a very personal perspective of both sides of the problem. It is a very difficult task to attempt to portray this issue in an objective light, but what I felt was unique and valuable about this particular documentary is that you truly feel the filmmaker's compassion towards the Palestinian situation, despite the fact that the filmmaker is from Israel, as well as the way she takes you through the turmoil the suicide-bomber's victim's family experiences, like never seen before. Controversially, the film portrays how both sides are victims in this tragic event, and how important it is to recognize this. The film conveys how divided and separate these two nations are, and how little the two sides see eye-to-eye because of this lack of tolerant dialogue between them. The divide is also characterized by power between the oppressed and the non-oppressed, where the former rarely have the power to communicate their situation. Having said this, the film is an example of what I believe our future with regards to this cause needs; empathy from both sides, where power is more equally distributed in the form of expression. This film proves to be an example of the way these barriers should be broken down, where the strength behind the filmmaker's position of being Israeli was used to allow a woman from the Palestinian cause to have a voice, and how the only way we can actually find a path towards peace is to listen. This film truly moved me and allowed me to relate to both sides in ways I have never before. It unravelled the complexities behind the circumstance and how the simplest way to bridge a gap between differences can start through tolerating one another's dialogue, but how this can also be the toughest thing to undergo. I can only hope that this film reaches as many people as possible because it was such an honest account of two very tragic points of views, that was delivered so well in such a unique way, that I hope will bring about empathetic discussions and attention to this issue.

A tough subject for any balanced treatment

[ghigau · 4/10 · 4 November 2007]

The filming crew did not have good access to the occupied territories, so filming of the Israeli side dominated. I was struck by the nearly completely opposite points of view of the mothers. The Israeli mother lost a child who had the possibility of a life of tremendous happiness. The Palestinian mother lost a child who had only the possibility of a life of privation and despair. With such completely different viewpoints, any meeting had no real chance of any meeting of the minds. The word "peace" did not have the same meaning to each of them. Peace to the Palestinian was freedom. Peace to the Israeli was security. With such an abyss, is this sort of film really worth much? I finished with the feeling that I had watched pointless propaganda -- both sides were unconvincing.

A sad exhibition of intolerance.

[casperthegoth-1 · 2/10 · 11 March 2008]

It's rare that I feel a need to write a review on this site, but this film is very deserving because of how poorly it was created, and how bias its product was.

I felt a distinct attempt on the part of the film-makers to display the Palestinian family as boorish and untrustworthy. We hear them discuss the sadness that they feel from oppression, yet the film is shot and arranged in a way that we feel the politically oppressed population is the Jewish Israeli population. We see no evidence that parallels the position of the Palestinian teenager. We only hear from other Palestinians in prison. I understand restrictions are in place, but the political nature of the restrictions are designed to prevent peace.

I came out of the film feeling that the mother of the victim was selfish in her mourning and completely closed minded due to her side of the fence, so to speak. She continued to be unwilling to see the hurt of the bomber's parents, and her angry and closed-minded words caused the final meeting to spiral out of control. It is more realistic, in my mind, to see the Israeli mindset to be a root of the problem; ignored pleas for understanding and freedom, ignored requests for acknowledgment for the process by which the Jewish population acquired the land.

I have given this a two because of these selfish weaknesses of the mother, which normally would be admirable in a documentary, however in the light of the lack of impartiality, it all seems exploitative. Also for the poor edits, lack of background in the actual instance, and finally the lack of proper representation of the Palestinian side. Ultimately, it is a poor documentary and a poor film. I acknowledge this is partially the result of the political situation, but am obliged to note the flaws in direction regardless of the heart-wrenching and sad subject matter.

Fascinating viewing

[elevensbest · 17 March 2011]

This is a documentary, people! This means that the filmmaker is not to be blamed/credited for the enlightened/unenlightened beliefs/behaviors of the subjects depicted in the film. I praise the director for the creativity, guts and follow-through necessary to produce a film exploring the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of two mothers--one whose daughter died at the hands of a suicide bomber and the other the mother of the bomber. Bravo! This is the very definition of documentary film-making: something that throws a light on the inner- workings of humanity. Through what, I'm sure, were very trying circumstances, the filmmaker gives both women full range of expression. You may, like myself, find contempt for this party or that, but this movie stays neutral and lets the cards fall where they may. I will keep my opinions of both the Palestinian and Israeli mothers to myself, and simply dare others to seek out this heart-wrenching film at their library, video store or on-line, for some compelling viewing that I guarantee will not leave their consciousness' unscathed.

Deliberately Misleading

[TheMotive · 2/10 · 12 March 2010]

It's pretty clear that the director and production crew set out to paint a less than flattering picture of the Palestinian girl and her family. The film and it's website tries to imply that Ayat has a secret reason for blowing herself and Rachel up- a boyfriend problem- perhaps pregnancy. Neatly glossed over is the fact that Ayat had herself just witnessed the death of a close friend at the hands of the Israelis'-just outside her home. Gosh,so why on earth would a young, pretty, intelligent girl with plans for college go and do such a thing? Could it be that the hormonal, emotional teenager was traumatized by seeing seeing someone she loved die before her very eyes? This detail merits all of 5 seconds in the movie. Another neatly sidestepped detail is that Avigail Levy, Rachels' mother, could have prevented the destruction of the building the Akhras family lived in(along with 22 other families). One distinctly gets the impression that she's offering this as a "concession" - should Mrs. Akhras agree to speak with her."why should I?" she says.(since the movie was made the home has been destroyed- apparently the interview didn't result in what she wanted- so bring on the bulldozers)Mrs Levy claimed that she "wanted the movie to be cathartic as well as a symbol of hope, a chance to transcend entrenched hatreds"- instead she uses it as an excuse to harangue Ayats mother, while dangling the house as a carrot.Moreover although the two women live only 4 miles apart, she is so out of touch with the realities of the occupation for her Palestinian neighbors, that she really thinks that Mrs. Akhras can just drop over for a cup of coffee?Please.And she forgoes the one chance she had to meet Mrs. Akhras in person and see what kind of life she lives.(the Akras family originally came from Jaffa, but now live crammed into a refugee camp only 4 miles from where the Levys live in comparative luxury.Any sympathy I would have had for the obviously well to do Mrs. Levy is dissolved by her air of self-righteous bitchiness.By contrast, Ayats mother comes off as kind,forthright and loving- in spite of the best efforts by the post production crew to paint her and her family as monsters. Heck even the music and sound design was one sided- I guess the muezzin sings ALL day every day 4 miles from the Levy family home, always in a sharply contrasting key from the sappy new-age music that scores this drab excuse for a documentary.Also there is the small matter of translations - Mrs. Levy DIRECTLY addresses the camera in English when she has something worked out to say ahead of time, Hebrew when she doesn't. Mrs.Akhras spoke only Arabic which received sometimes a TRANSLATION, sometimes TRANSLITERATION, always awkward, and very suspect for a supposedly objective movie.They also "sweated" her under the lights, while Mrs. Levy sat in (air conditioned) comfort.Rotten editing for Mrs. Akhras' segments too. I gave it a 2 because I liked Ayats mother and father, who seemed like good decent people. Shame on HBO, producers and director, for releasing such a stink-bomb.