A View From Within: Amos Gitai's The House and A Field Diary

Abstract

To its many supporters, one of Israel's great strengths has been its ability to steer a political course based on humanistic ideas and nationalistic contingencies. Within perennial tensions created by these twin forces, has managed to project image of a haven under constant threat and, by implication, in need of perpetual protection from real and potential adversaries. Yet growth of state of from a seemingly modest homeland for dispossessed to a regional superpower has generated a tradition of often anguished debate about viability and consequences of pursuing a policy of peace and security, based on oppression of another people. In recent years these peripheral protests have become increasingly vocal, and voices from the other Israel have questioned uneasy alliance between humanistic ideals and tough militarism. Though less known than some of other participants in this debate, Israeli film-maker Amos Gitai has confronted dilemmas facing in two recent films, The House (1979) and A Field Diary (1983). Ironically, neither film has been seen by audiences for whom it was intended. The House, an 18-minute documentary, was initially produced for Israeli television and, despite its ambiguous, bittersweet tone, never shown in Israel; A Field Diary was filmed entirely in occupied West