Brightlyme i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

GazerRise Fantastic!

BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

ChanFamous I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.

peter henderson According to Wikipedia, "The Gatekeepers", director, Dror Moreh, wanted to understand how Israel's Shin Bet security agency worked. He contacted a former head of the Shin Bet (a "Gatekeeper,)" Ami Ayalon, who had since been elected to the Knesset for the Labor Party. Ayalon agreed to participate, and helped Moreh contact the other surviving former heads of the Shin BetMy Response to The Gatekeepers #1: Blame the politicians - not the spiesAvraham Shalom, one of the Gatekeepers after the 1967 war believed, like many, that the conquered territories would be returned to their former occupants. He says, "The problem is that the security agency executives are so busy conducting the activities of their organisations that they only get to think about these things when they are on holidays, or when they retire" (my paraphrase). The problems is that " There was no strategy, just tactics…As soon as we stopped dealing with the Palestinian state and started dealing with terrorism,… we forgot about the Palestinian issue"My Response to The Gatekeepers #2: Politicians pander to the prevailing popular opinion - in other words - what they think the people will vote for. Blame the people, not the politiciansI have a feeling that if Israelis took the words of their prophets more seriously they would have a nicer country to live in. Take the words of Jeremiah, for example…"If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly,  if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow… then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your ancestors for ever and ever.  But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless." (chapter 7:5-8)"All six former heads of Shin Bet argue – to varying degrees – that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian land is bad for the state of Israel." Carmi Gillon, head of Shin Bet from 1994 to 1996, suggests that the deceptive words of the extremists led to a serious attempt to blow up the Muslim Dome of the Rock mosque, which stands on the site of the old Temple of Solomon. Shin Bet operatives were able to interrupt it.He suggests that such an act would have united Muslims around the world, from Arabia to Indonesia, to take up arms against Israelis, and lay siege to Zion. Such an occurrence is referred to in Israel's prophetic scriptures as "the Great Tribulation".It takes a bit of background to get an understanding of what that involves.The biblical prophets sought to explain the destruction of Israel by the Assyrian and Babylonian empires as part of an atoning process that would remake the people of Israel in a way that was acceptable to Jahweh. It is likened to the way in which precious metals are refined by having the ore (dross, impurities) burnt off. The process is described in Deuteronomy chapters 28 to 30. That theme is taken up by the prophet Jeremiah in chapters 29 to 31, in which the supposedly new covenant he discusses seems to be identical with the one Jahweh negotiated with MosesBoth the Moses and Jeremiah covenants involve people adopting a righteous mindset - or to use the rather more poetic language employed in the bible - having the words of the Law "written upon their hearts". It is the same righteous mindset that Jahweh ascribed to Abraham in Genesis 26:5, "because Abraham obeyed me and did everything I required of him, keeping my commands, my decrees and my instructions." What the expression, "the Law written upon their hearts" actually means was summarised by Hillel as "the ethic of reciprocity", or "Golden Rule": "That which is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow. That is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn." (this is another quote from Wikipedia - go and read) The Israeli prophets are obsessed with the idea that this atonement, this refinement ,will take place in three stages. 1 the Great Tribulation of Israel 2 the Day of the Lord 3 the prosperity of the Messianic reign in Zion of David's sonThe Day of the Lord occurs when God intervenes in human history, delivering Jerusalem from the armies of the nations that have besieged it (the great tribulation), then places a descendant of King David on the throne in Jerusalem.The Roman expulsions of Jews from Israel (70 and 138 CE) occurred after Jewish extremists decided to speed up that process by getting involved in revolutionary politics. The book and film of Chaim Potok's, "The Chosen" depict this idea when the fictional, orthodox Rebbe Saunders launches into a tirade against the efforts of post World War II Zionists to re-create a state of Israel. I would paraphrase it as, "Hitler killed Jewish bodies - these Zionists will kill the Jewish soul", but you would probably be better advised to read the book or see the film.It seems that the extremists want to do it all again, but this time against the Muslims rather than the Romans. Carmi Gillon notes that these sentiments culminated in the assassination of prime minister Rabin, and emasculated the efforts of Israeli officials at peace talks from Oslo to the present day. All the Gatekeepers agree such talks must be continued in a serious manner.Spielberg's film, "Munich" highlighted the problem of Israeli born Jews leaving Israel.Maybe its time they stayed home and discovered for themselves what it means to have Moses' Law written upon their hearts. Not what some medieval commentator says. Not what some critical text analysis says. But what it means "not to do what is hateful to your fellow.". Then maybe they should get themselves elected.

MartinHafer "The Gatekeepers" is an amazing documentary--one that was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature (losing to the great film "Searching for Sugar Man"). It's very well made and amazingly insightful--and the film really came to me as a surprise.This film consists of interviews with several ex-commanders of the Shin Bet--the most top secret and toughest organization in Israel. Their mission is to stop terrorism and they are very, very good at it. However, in such a divided nation, they surely can't stop it all and the six ex-leaders all seem to agree that the mission can never fully be completed. However, what was pretty shocking was the finale, in which ALL of them (including the most die-hard and tough-minded) all seemed in agreement with what the organization SHOULD do but which isn't possible due to politics. I could easily say more, but don't want to ruin the film.What is really amazing about this is that in "The Gatekeepers" this previously ultra-secret organization is amazingly candid and approachable to the filmmakers--and I'd love to know HOW this occurred. All I know is that it's one-of-a-kind and fascinating throughout--and well worth seeing regardless of your political persuasion. Exceptional.

jdesando "These are philosophical questions, not practical ones," Yaakov Peri If the Arab-Israeli conflict interests you, then take a close look at The Gatekeepers, a first-rate documentary about Shin Bet, the Israeli security agency primarily responsible for Israel's complicated relationship with Palestine, for both good and bad.Director Dror Moreh has the six former heads of the agency speak as candidly as is possible for men were cautious in the extreme about safety and negotiation, causing death, destruction, and reconstruction to people who just can't seem to settle their differences.As a one-time head avers in the quote above, for the leaders of the agency, founded in 1949 immediately after Israel declared its independence, the decisions of Shin Bet most often depended on the tactic rather than the strategy. Such a mode led to the Bus 300 affair in 1984 with Israeli operatives beating two Arab bus hijackers to death upon orders from Avaraham Shalom, head of the agency at that time. The decision, according to him, was a matter of not having to deal with the terrorists in arrest. And you thought drones were cold.Ruthless and efficient as Shin Bet is, it couldn't stop Israeli Prime Minister Yitzah Rabin's assassination in 1995, even when it knew the identity of the assassin beforehand. Yet the documentary's thrust, ruled as it is by seasoned intelligence officers who lack self-recrimination, is that the agency did what it had to do and was on the whole successful protecting Israel.As the film moves toward its end and the elderly leaders ruminate, one states he has moved toward the left in his old age, suggesting that decisions to accept collateral damage to civilians were necessary but regrettable. As I watch in fascination, I could only think how nice to be able to live with oneself and shift on the political spectrum with barely a scratch.The Gatekeepers, deservedly nominated for a 2012 Oscar, does what a good doc should do—lets the subjects talk for themselves and thereby cleanly exalt and exonerate themselves without directorial intrusion (except in the editing room, of course).Closer to the truth of the occupation's collateral damage, Shalom evaluates himself and his fellow leaders: "We have become cruel to ourselves but mainly to the occupation."

amit agarwal The Gatekeepers is an Oscar nominated and much awarded documentary that brings together six former heads of Shin Bet, Ami Ayalon, Avraham Shalom, Yaakov Peri, Carmi Gillon,Avi Dichter and Yuval Diskin for a free ranging discussion. Shin Bet, better known as Shabak, is responsible for internal security of Israel and its head is one of the top decision makers in the government on security matters.Only he is known to the public by name and the rest of its members are nameless faceless men and women.This documentary is inspired by Fog of War featuring Robert MacNamara, talking about his insights as US Secretary of Defense.I never thought that I would be captivated by six Israelis talking in Hebrew for 2 hours but all these six men talk with a candidness that is startling and completely engrossing.They sat at the decision making tables to which few journalists have access and knew how a continuous chain of Prime Ministers made the most difficult of decisions.They come across as hardened men whose sometimes brutal jobs gave them insights into the Palestinian problem that few have.For a layperson this documentary is an invaluable tool to gain an insight into the geopolitics of the Middle East and furthermore as a prism to look at the larger interconnected global picture.In one remarkable segment Amy Ayalon recounts how the psychology of suicide bombers was laid bare to him in a meeting with a Palestinian delegation in Paris.He was told the Palestinians were finally winning when in fact the Israelis were completely crushing them.He was told the more we suffer the more you will loose.It is a philosophy that makes the looser the winner by placing the burden of the losers suffering on the conscience of the winner. Suicide bombings of the 9/11 type only push bigger powers into a corner by making them react in a disproportionate manner, ultimately causing grief to themselves as we have seen in the aftermath of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.This documentary is a very apt companion piece to Zero Dark Thirty which was a remarkable film with documentary elements and this one is a documentary with dramatic elements, the most striking being its editing to string out a story for the layperson from free flowing discussion with security agency bosses.In its own way this documentary also examines the role of bureaucrats and technocrats in the shaping of world events a case in point being the Radcliffe line which divides India and Pakistan. It was drawn by a bureaucrat with little local knowledge and announced after 15th August,1947 to avoid a carnage, which happened anyway.This is also a commentary on democracy in an obtuse way, the varied actions of the different democratically elected Prime Ministers from Golda Meir to Netanyahu, all represent the will of the people only to an extent.The current government led by Netanyahu has been elected not on a Palestine denominated plank but an economic one. It also introduces us to the men who are the Jewish counterparts of Islamic fundamentalists, they too have long beards and wear skull caps under which hang coiffured religio-chic locks of hair.Now does the US immigration folks separate them for random checks?Probably not.Dror Moreh, the director. Another interesting thing is that while all of them had differing notions about their job while they were at it they seem to have converged onto the same point of view, namely the perusal of the two state solution combined with never ending dialogue and cessation of the settlement building activity that seems to have permanently deadlocked the peace process.In a way The Gatekeepers also makes one think about the Kashmir problem which has nuclear powers on both sides yet are as unequal in their overall power as Israel and Palestine.Perhaps India's politicians are as much to blame as the Israelis for refusing to turn the consensus solution into reality, namely turning the LOC into the international boundary.The current generation of young Indians are completely unaware of the historical context of that problem and the legitimate concerns of the actual people involved. That one mans terrorist is another mans freedom fighter, is something lost on most Indians, who only see Pakistan through the lens of propaganda.The important question in this film is not the elusive political solution but the motivations behind the decision of these six men to face the camera.That Amy Ayalon became a minister in the government and a prominent left wing politician and persuaded the others to participate, must have played a role. So the whole film acquires a political taint, in the process becoming a voice of the Israeli left wing.This is a compromise I can live with.As Obamas makes his maiden visit to Israel ( last time he skipped Israel while on his "apology tour"of the middle east) he has said, quite diplomatically, that he is more interested in listening to the parties than offering a solution. Perhaps as his inflight entertainment on Air Force One he could have benefited from watching The Gatekeepers.This film is not just for people who are stakeholders in the Middle East conflict, but an invaluable resource for everybody.But come to think of it we are all stakeholders in that centuries old conflict.Published on my blog mostlycinema.com