Waiting to see if Bashir wins
Filed under: Art, General, History and Culture, Movies, Pop Culture, War
Anticipation is already building in Israel today, as people across the country wait to discover if the Israeli movie Waltz with Bashir will win an Oscar at tonight’s ceremony in Los Angeles.
Certainly things look pretty good for the critically acclaimed movie by Ari Folman. It’s already won a string of prestigious awards – from a Golden Globe to an award for the best documentary from the Writers Guild of America, and gambling Web sites are predicting that the Israeli contender for the best foreign film is the most likely of all the entries to win the award.
Critics have also indicated that the movie, which deals with Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, is their favorite for the prize as – aside from its moving and powerful story – it also breaks new cinematic ground. Critic David Carr, from The New York Times, urged readers to “Put a nickel on Bashir, and keep it there.”
We all love it here when an Israeli film (musician, artist, model etc. etc.) makes good. Last year hopes were high for Beaufort, another moving anti-war film also set in Lebanon, but it was pipped at the post.
For all the success of Folman’s movie, however, there are rumblings of discontent amongst certain sectors of society who feel this, the eighth Israeli Oscar contender, but the one most likely to win, is an anti-Israeli movie.
Folman’s effort to piece together his memories as a combat soldier of the Lebanon War, and particularly the massacre at the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camp in Beirut, are regarded as unjustly demonizing Israel.
Stung by the criticism, one of the film’s backers, the US Foundation for Jewish Culture and Makom, has put out a study guide explaining why the film isn’t unfair. The guide is based on Israel’s own investigation into Sabra and Shatilla, gives the history of the battle, and charts its aftermath.
But why does criticism of Israel’s actions or behavior in a war have to be anti-Israeli? Folman’s film, like Joseph Cedar’s Beaufort before it, is a profound attempt by a soldier to examine a very painful part of his own history and that of his country. It’s soul-searching at its deepest level. And what it reveals about Israel is that this soul searching, doubt and regret is a fundamental part of who we are.
In the media, particularly during the Gaza war, but in many wars and conflicts, Israel is often portrayed as a militaristic nation that doesn’t really give a damn about who gets hurt. Films like Beaufort, and Waltz with Bashir, may not be easy viewing, but they show a completely different truth.
Golden Globe for Waltz with Bashir
Bashir still dancing
IDF recruits antelope to guard northern border
It seems that every week that the Israeli army is recruiting another member of the animal kingdom. The first was of course, Oketz, the combat canine unit, actually predates the IDF and founded in 1939 as part of the Haganah, the paramilitary organization that was a precursor to the Jewish State’s current army. During the last Lebanon war, the IDF used Llamas to schlep heavy loads. Success? Depends are who you want to believe. Back in 2006 the World Tribune reported that they were becoming an integral part of special forces.
After extensive tests, the uncomplaining work-horse animals were found to easily out-perform donkeys. What’s more, they need refueling only every other day. Military sources said the Israel Army plans to use llamas for reconnaissance and combat missions in enemy territory, Middle East Newsline reported. They described the llama as ideal for special operations missions in Lebanon against the Iranian-sponsored Hizbullah. “The llama is a quiet and disciplined animal that can carry huge loads,” a military source said. “Vehicles make noise and need roads and fuel. We’ve tried donkeys and they are not suitable for such missions.”
Though this piece in Salon from 2008 tells a different, albeit somewhat funny (and kind of sad) story.
The commander, Tal, tells me that during the last Lebanon war the Israeli army tried using llamas to carry the heavy loads needed for combat. But the experiment failed. “They ran right off to the Hezbollah fighters with our stuff,” Tal says. “We had to shoot them to keep our things from falling into the hands of Hezbollah.”
The latest recruit is the antelope – Eland antelope to be exact. No, they won’t be spending their time escorting elite commandos but rather do what they do best – grazing. Military bases have been using them for years to clear away shrubbery efficiently. Now a group of them have been placed in between the security fence and the international border to clear foliage so that the IDF will have a better view of the Lebanese side of the border reports Ha’aretz.
“They eat huge quantities of weeds, they are the D9 of weeds,” Ilan said, referring to the massive bulldozers the IDF uses to clear enemy territory. “They clean problematic areas, open trails and a view and prevent fires.”
I think the Navy should recruit sharks with laser beams attached to their heads.
Waltz with Bashir gets Oscar nod and Beirut screening
Filed under: A New Reality, Art, coexistence, History and Culture, Movies, Pop Culture, War
In the same week that saw Waltz with Bashir finally secure a place on the short list of movies nominated for the Best Foreign Film Academy Award, the movie was finally shown to the public in Beirut, where much of it takes place. Waltz with Bashir is officially banned by Lebanon, but through a loophole, a Lebanese multimedia war archive organization called UNAM was able to show the movie to a modest crowd of 90 at a “private party,” a piece in Variety reports.
Already a bona fide marvel for the innovative manner in which it melds documentary footage with animated dreamscapes, Ari Folman’s tour de force garnered acclaim on the international festival circuit before winning a Golden Globe earlier this month.
As of late last week, Bashir is one of five finalists for that Oscar, nominated alongside offerings from Austria, Germany, France and Japan, with the winner to be announced at the award ceremony on February 22. Following Beaufort‘s nomination a year ago, Bashir making the short list of Foreign Language Oscar nominees means that two Israeli movies focusing on the IDF’s role in Lebanon have received Oscar nods in as many years.
Folman himself is generally skeptical that Bashir is in a position to make a difference in the world, telling the international press on numerous occasions that he sees war as an unfortunate fixture. On the other hand, now that his movie has screened in Beirut, he has modified his stance. “In principle I don’t believe movies can change the world, but I’m a great believer in their ability to form small bridges,” Folman told Haaretz in the context of that newspaper’s coverage of the Beirut screening.
Small bridges of coexistence and peace indeed. The movie has already been shown in Ramallah and may soon receive a modest theatrical release in the gulf states, according to the Haaretz article, and last Saturday’s screening in a Beirut suburb was not simple to arrange either. The UMAM organization’s leadership is proud to have accomplished what it has with the Israeli movie:
“The subject of this film is a crucial moment in the history of Lebanon, for the history of Israel, for the history of the Palestinians, and for the history of Palestinian life in Lebanon,” UMAM founder Monika Borgmann told Haaretz.
“At some point every state must deal with its violent past and the sooner it does so the better. That’s why I think this movie should be shown,” she said.
“Yesterday, my phone didn’t stop ringing…everyone wants a copy of the film,” she said. “I think it comes out on DVD in March. The next day, it’s going to be pirated all over Lebanon.”
Israel Strikes Natural Gas, Leaving Lots of Environmental Questions
Amidst all its struggles to develop clean and cleaner technologies (and a war with Gaza), it seem that Israelis got a huge gift this week: Israelis were celebrating this week over the discovery of a massive 3 trillion cubic feet natural gas pocket found buried 1.5 km below the sea floor, some 90 km off the coastal city Haifa.
I’d spoke this week with a rep from one of the major stakeholders, Shaya Segal from Delek Drilling, who confirms the find, but who, like the local analysts were saying, says that it will take about 2.5 weeks to know what the discovery can mean. (Here’s the story on ISRAEL21c).
I’ve read reports that taking the natural gas stock from the pocket called Tamar, after the granddaughter of a geologist working at the site, will cost somewhere around $1 billion. But that the value of it amounts to about $15 billion.
If Israelis can pull the gas from the seafloor, with the help of a major Houston-based stockholder Noble Energy, then they could, say reports, be energy dependent for 15 years. That means buying less fuel resources, a dream for Israelis.
But natural gas, a fossil fuel, is not exactly a clean fuel.
The find does question however, the direction of Israel’s future and the development of clean technologies. I imagine the discovery is exciting for Shay Agassi at Better Place, who I’ve personally criticized. His plan to use electric cars in Israel was a good idea on paper, but up until now, it looked as though Israel’s power plants would continue to be fueled by very polluting coal sources.
Meanwhile, according to the Jerusalem Post, just when Israelis and Gazans were hoping for quiet, after a ceasefire earlier in the week, we learn that Lebanon is claiming that part of the Tamar natural gas reserve is in Lebanese territorial waters:
“The Lebanese government might warn Noble Energy Inc., a US corporation which is part of the consortium that discovered the Tamar 1 gas reserve off the shores of Haifa, that the reserve may be in part in Lebanese territorial waters, according to Al Liwaa, a Lebanese paper.
“In a meeting of the Energy, Infrastructure and Public Works Committee in the Lebanese Parliament, Chairman Muhammad Kabbani said Israeli media reports on the recently discovered natural gas reserve raise the possibility that the reserve extends to Lebanon’s territorial waters. “We should take every legal measure possible in order to preserve Lebanon’s right,” the paper quoted Kabbani as saying.”
What’s certain, is that it’s never boring over in these parts of the world.
For more on the story unfolding in Israel, read an earlier piece by Green Prophet’s Maurice on the natural gas found off the coast of Gaza. Or Daniel’s post: Israel’s Natural Gas May Lead To Cleaner Air, But Not Energy Independence.
A new front in Lebanon?
I must admit, when I went to buy milk this morning and saw the TV in our tiny village makolet (corner shop), tuned to the news and a picture of the Lebanon and Israeli border, I felt a deep sense of foreboding.
I think it’s what we’ve all been frightened of. That the battle in the south, will lead to a new front in the north. As we are all aware, those four or five Katuysha missiles fired at Nahariya this morning, wounding two people, could be a one-off protest, or they could be the opening salvo of a much worse conflict.
A katyusha attack on Israel.
I’m one of those people living in the center of the country who have managed to be untouched by either the last Lebanon war, when missiles rained down on the north, or the Gaza crisis, when missiles rain down on the south. It doesn’t mean that it isn’t hard, however.
This morning I felt it acutely – a kind of moral and emotional exhaustion at the thought of what has been, and what is still to come – with Hizbullah, if not now (with elections in Lebanon in May), then later; and with Iran, looming.
I’m not alone. This morning Larry Rich, the director of development and PR at Emek Medical Center (EMC) in Afula, sent out one of his periodic postings. Every month or so, Rich sends out a report from his hospital, and I always read them with interest. Sometimes it’s about something he overhead, or witnessed at the hospital, often its heart-warming tales about Israeli Arabs and Jews who find that in the face of illness and sometimes death, they share an awful lot more in common than they thought.
This morning, Rich – like me – was in somber mood.
“Two hours ago four Katyusha missiles slammed into the northern Galilee, having been fired from southern Lebanon. It seems that the Iranian forces of darkness are eager to continue their relentless provocation of little Israel. Nobody knows, as these words are being written, just how far this latest act of unprovoked aggression will escalate.”
He goes on to report that EMC is now on high alert.
“An urgent meeting of our emergency preparedness staff led by CEO Dr. Orna Blondheim (still grieving from the tragic death of her nephew, Dagan Vertman, cut down in Gaza) took place as the debris in the Galilee was being cleared. Having unfortunate knowledge stemming from previous wars, EMC is preparing for the worst while hoping that sanity will prevail.
We have opened our bomb shelters and already designated a large shelter adjacent to several empty rooms that will be used (should we need it) by the children of our staff while they are working.The rooms will be for games & activities while in the event of a missile assault, the children will be only steps away from a large bomb shelter. Our emergency medical supply stores are fully stocked and ready. Our physicians and nurses carry on with their healing, hoping that they will not be, once again, launched into harm’s way.
Adrenalin is rushing, anxiety sets in and we resign ourselves to an indefinite fate.”
A few days ago, the husband of a friend of mine volunteered for the reserves. He’s in his ’40s, and the father of four children. He was sent to the Lebanon border, where troops have been on alert since the start of the conflict with Gaza. “At least he’s miles from the fighting,” she told me then. I saw her briefly this morning. She looked worried.
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