Israel: A Nation Is Born
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Abba EbanDirector: *
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; Spanish (Subtitled); Russian (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Black & White, Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 360 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-06-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Homevision
Movie Reviews of Israel: A Nation Is Born
Movie Review: An inspiring series
Summary: 5 Stars
This six-part series does a great job of telling the story of the rebirth of the State of Israel. There are interviews with and footage of so many historical and political figures, such as Golda Meir, David Ben Gurion, Yitzchak Rabin, Moshe Dayan, Anwar Sadat, King Hussein, Harry Truman, Abba Eban (the narrator), and Jimmy Carter. There are also interviews with Arabs living in Israel, among them Hanan Ashwari, whom I admire on one hand for her feminist work (esp. since it's not often you see such a prominent feminist in the Arab world) but also feel misgivings about because she's said a lot of anti-Israel things, as though Israel is almost 100% wrong and her own people are almost 100% right, with no gray area or just owning up to some of the basic historical facts presented in this series, instead of painting Israel as an evil monster that can do no right. It really disturbed me to see a poster of Arafat, the father of modern-day terrorism, on the wall behind her. The historical facts as presented here show the nation's miraculous rebirth, the struggle it had on its way to being reborn, all of the wars Israel has had waged against it over the years just to defend its existence (the first of which was waged against it when it had barely declared its independence), the anti-Israel bias demonstrated by the UN while at the same time turning a blind eye to terrorism and wars waged against it at every turn, the years when it has experienced peace and calm instead of constant terrorist attacks or preparations for war, what a good job it did of taking in so many immigrants (from Ethiopia, the former Soviet Union, Europe, Northern Africa, Yemen, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, and those who voluntarily came from Western nations as opposed to immigrating because they had no other choice), what really caused the refugee crisis among the Arabs who fled Israel in the wake of the War of Independence, political developments, and, yes, the fact that it has made some mistakes over the years. But even though the government has made some mistakes, as all governments have, it doesn't change the fact that in 70 years, it went from a sparsely-populated near-wasteland to a thriving modern nation with a huge population, many new citizens taken in and made a part of society, and saw the rebirth of Hebrew, the only language to date which has come back from the dead. I don't see how it could be called one-sided, since the historical facts and evidence support these things so strongly, contrary to the lies spun by the anti-Israel lobby. Sometimes there is only one right side. They even, as aforementioned, had a number of interviews with people who have a different perspective on things.
However, I do agree that for the uninitiated, it might seem a bit overwhelming, since it does kind of start in media res. Someone not incredibly familiar with Israeli history might indeed want a lot more background information to put it all in perspective and understand the meaning of these names, organizations, and Hebrew and Arabic terms. It might have been better had it begun in the wake of WWI instead of on the eve of WWII, since the events that happened in the interwar years were so instrumental in shaping the course of Israeli history and its struggle for rebirth. It isn't fair to assume that just because you're already intimately familiar with this material, all other viewers are too. One also wishes there were a fourth disc in the series, to cover everything that has happened since 1997, the final year covered. Still, all in all, there's a lot of great material here and it should leave the viewer wanting more, inspired to read more and to find more documentaries like this one.
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