The Gatekeepers (***1/4)

Shin Bet is the Israeli internal security agency. Its members are unknown to the public save for its directors. Director Dror Moreh has gotten not just one, but all six of the living former heads of the agency, to speak on camera about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Primarily, the documentary proceeds in chronological order, noting several of the turning points and highlights of Israeli security operations, including both successes and failures, notably the assassination (by an Israeli right winger) of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. The visuals include historic footage, footage illustrating several operations in the Israeli occupied territories, and the men themselves, which is helpful, since the film switches back and forth among the six men.

The film details several periods of relations with the Palestians, and the changing approach of the agency over the last 30 years or so. (Some knowledge about the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict is helpful.) Ultimately, however, the film is about the limits of intelligence operations. These men don’t all agree with each other about tactics. They certainly aren’t sympathetic to terrorists—early 1980s director Avraham Shalom unapologetically recalls ordering the killing of two captured bus bombers, for which he was forced to resign. Morality? There is no morality when it comes to terrorists, he says. It’s only a question of tactics. Yet, as another of the men puts it, “When you resign you become a bit of a leftist.”

This film does not present the Palestinian perspective, except as it plays into the thinking of Israelis. It is only these six men (and the interviewer) who speak on camera. Yet the message is that an approach based on distrust and hatred will be bad for both sides. As this appears to be the current approach, the film is somewhat depressing. The conclusion is short, and it’s not clear the security men have any policies in mind to change the mindset on either side. Still, the perspective is valuable.


IMDb link

viewed 3/6/13 at Ritz 5 and reviewed 3/6/13