The film, which is based on Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz's book of the same name, premiered on October 19, 2008, at the 24th annual Haifa International Film Festival in Israel, and has since reached thousands of people across Israel, Europe, and North America.
What's it about?
The film presents Israel’s struggle to become a legitimate state of its own, with its right to self-govern, and to self-defense in a world that views Israel as a country against basic human rights and which approves apartied — the segregation of the Jewish and the Arabs in the Middle East.
A Misunderstood Country
Throughout the film, Dershowitz, as well as several historians, analysts, and legal experts argue the reverse opinion of Israel; that it is a misunderstood country, which does in fact possess all of the basic human rights, (such as freedom of the press, women’s rights, gay rights, etc.) which simply seeks to put an end to the terrorist attacks from bordering countries, and to peacefully co-exist.
The film delves into great detail about Israel’s history and their continuing battle with their neighbouring countries.The film suggests Gaza’s determination to refuse the existence of a self-governing Jewish state to co-exist with themselves and with other surrounding Arab countries.
It also suggests the world’s misinterpretation of the terrorist attacks on Israel due to a lack of media coverage. Many see the beginning of the attacks as the fault of Israel. The film tries to prove the beginning of the attacks are in fact not at the hands of Israel but at the hands Gaza.
Terrorist Attacks
Various terrorist attacks, which occurred in Israel by Palestinian terrorists, are showcased in the film with disturbing imagery. An example of which was an attempted attack on an Israeli high school. A terrorist, armed with an assault rifle, is shown pacing back and forth in front of the school, cleverly using the students in the building as a human shield against Israeli troops.
Day-To-Day Struggles
The reality of what Israeli’s are forced to deal with on a daily basis really hit home when watching this film. For example, due to the constant rocket attacks by Palestinian terrorists, the Israeli government built concrete structures, which are dispersed throughout Israeli cities for its people to hide in when the sounds of rockets are heard overhead. It only takes 40 seconds to launch and hit an area with an assault rocket. Israeli’s only have about 10 seconds to find a place to hide; therefore the concrete structures are an essential part of their everyday survival.
My Opinion
The Case for Israel shows a side of Israel some may not have known about. But it does seem biased on Israel’s side, since the entire film is based almost solely around the opinions of “America’s most public Jewish defender,” Alan Dershowitz. The bias seems valid though, because the sole purpose of the film is to show the world Israel’s side of the story. The film was well done, and I did leave the theatre with a better understanding of the history between Israel and Palestine, and of Israel's day-to-day struggles to survive.
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