Editor's note: About 15 years ago, the famous documentary Luis Thiru went to the occupied West Bank region to obtain a documentary. This week, it returns to the BBC Luis Thirox: settlers, Which is released within a few days. Writing exclusively for the deadline, Theroux explains how he followed the “perpetrator of the crime” approach in DOC, discusses the complexities of covering the region and argues why “the world showed enough his ability to withstand what is happening in the West Bank.” It also praises the Oscar winner No other land The questions are why the image was accused of anti -Semitism.
Late last year, I spent three weeks traveling up and down on the occupied West Bank – the region on the eastern edge of Israel, which was nearly 60 years under the Israeli military occupation. There you were documenting the world of the Israeli nationalists who settled there, illegally under international law. My goal was to closely monitor them, try to understand their mentality and actions, and get to know the impact of their presence on the lives of millions of Palestinians who live in the region.
I made a documentary in the West Bank once before, in 2010. At that time, I am surprised by the way a group of people managed to pursue an expansionist ethnic vision publicly while enjoying the benefits of a separate and distinguished legal system for those around them and protection by the Israeli army.
This program, entitled The Zionists extremistsI went out on the BBC in 2011. I went to other stories. But in late 2023, in the wake of the deadly attacks on October 7 and the devastating war that followed, it began to read articles in New Yorker, the New York Times Elsewhere, it indicates that with the attention of the world in Gaza, the settlers community has opened its activities. There were reports that settlers, who were issued by thousands of offensive weapons by the government, were spreading, harassing the emotional Palestinians, burning their stores and homes.
Filmed in two blocks. Its headquarters in Jerusalem, and work with a team with years of experience covering the region's policy, met and conducted an interview with settlers and their leaders – including women known as “Araba” movement of settlers, Daniela Weiss. I have made several visits to settlements, including one called Evyatar, which was authorized by the Israeli government just a few months ago (still illegal under international law). Our first legs occurred during the olive harvest, at a time when tensions rise, with the army – for alleged security reasons – preventing the Palestinians from reaching the trees that they say are harvest for years. I photographed interactions between the army, olive ccantages, and peace activists (many of them Israelis) who work with Palestinian farmers. I also visited the old written city of Hebron, where the settlers illegally moved in 1968 and now live in a military occupation area.
Photography of this type carries risks. Some of them are my body. Others are a reputation. Stories about Israel and the Palestinians are very disputed. You will not satisfy everyone. In general, I am trying not to excessive work on how to receive my report. I trust my weird. I accept that I just contribute to the widespread coverage. Others are good. Not to mention that I am not a typical journalist and certainly not a reporter for current affairs. I have my own way to treat my season, driven by my personal curiosity. What I can offer is my opinion.
I have a style and approach, which, for good or sick, I made my country. You can call it a “perpetrator of the crime”. I try to hear from those who are at the heart of a story, widely, seen as “wrong”. Of course, the broadcast time to these people can lead to “platform” charges. I understand the charge. My decision in the film means that the potential millions will be exposed to the opinions of people who may be racists, fundamentalists, or fanatics.
But making a documentary is not just the issue of delivering someone loudspeakers and saying “you have”. It is the process of asking the correct questions, challenge, and context. Do the press. I think, if it is done in a way that is considered and forensic medicine, this approach allows viewers to reach the most powerful situations and ideologies as without means. The settlers ’view-their beliefs, is anti-democracy and publicly, as it is sometimes-see what it is.
There are also risks associated with interest in the forms of exclusion nationalism when people who, in this case, are part of a group of minorities with a long blood -contaminated history of permanent persecution. It has made many films documenting anti -Semitism, including the movie that is seen in the era of social media. It was one of the most disturbing aspects in the scene of the new media that led to a vast and medal attack of anti -Semitic content.
But it must go without saying that extremists and ideology are present in all societies. No one should get a pass. And when they are supported by those in power, this is a dangerous mix. It will also be a mistake to allow a degree of religious nationalist settlers and their right -wing political supporters in the government to share the Jewish identity and write legitimate criticism of their beliefs and actions as an expression of intolerance.
There is no other land: “The exceptional film industry can be attacked.”
(LR) Basra and Yuval Abraham in “No Land”
Yabaya Media/Dogwoof/Evertt Collection
However, I accept that some may see the documentary as hostile to Israel. While making my movie, I had a good luck to watch the wonderful documentary No other land. To know that, while picking a series of awards including Oscar, it was accused of anti -Semitism was a warning lesson that even the most exceptional film industry could be attacked. In their case, some of them were financially: one of the participating managers, Hamdan Bali, was a victim of the violence of the mob's settler, claiming in response to the success of the documentary.
One of the reasons for the desire to return, regardless of the changes in the same region, was the feeling that the broader world was increasingly looking to what was happening in Israel and the occupied territories in search of evidence in the form of their future. Some global populist leaders view the ideology of the settlers' community as a preliminary model of a kind of nationalism they want to practice. They consider Israeli settlers the summit of the spear for what they send as a global war against Islam. The opinions expressed by some in the film are part of a broader and more powerful strain than democratic thinking than thinking that pushing back against the concepts of civil rights and the rule of law. Thus, there is a renewed link to understand what is happening in the West Bank.
I was recently asked how I thought the story would change in the future. I thought about how I changed since my last visit, 15 years ago. I realized that the difference was mainly a degree of grades – more harassment, more displacement, more death. It is difficult to say with confidence that the situation is likely to improve. It is a frustrating thought. It was the first French, not Rochevocold, who said: “We all have enough power to bear the misfortunes of others.” The world has shown its ability to bear what is happening in the West Bank.
