Many of us in Israel live in a state of shock at the savagery: veteran director Amos Gitai returns to Gaza
The writer-director once called Israel’s ‘one-man New Wave’ is in Venice with The Road to Jericho, a new and poetic attempt to highlight the plight of those in the occupied West Bank
TL;DR
- The 'school of tires' in Khan al-Ahmar, an illegal structure in the occupied West Bank, is a symbol of resistance threatened with demolition.
- Veteran Israeli director Amos Gitai's documentary 'The Road to Jericho' uses this school as a focal point to explore the recent history of the occupied West Bank.
- Gitai believes international pressure has protected the school and that it serves as a test of the international community's commitment to human rights.
- The film combines footage of the school with historical clips, including those of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres, referencing the failed Oslo accords.
- Gitai cites Rabin's assassination in 1995 as a turning point that 'decapitated' efforts for dialogue and peace.
- He describes the current situation in Israel as the 'worst time' he has known, marked by shock and a rise in violence from extreme-right settlers and Hamas.
- Gitai considers his filmmaking a 'civic gesture' aimed at preserving memory and spreading ideas, rather than directly changing reality.
- He draws a parallel between current global conflicts and Europe's history after World War II, advocating for sustained hope and ideas as drivers of change.