Cheap In Search of Peace: Part One 1948 - 1967 (DVD) (Michael Douglas) (Richard Trank) Price

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Basic history with excellent achival footage
This DVD opens with the famous footage of Yassar Arafat and Yizchak Rabin shaking hands on the White House lawn after signing the Peace Accords under the guidance of President Clinton's administration. I felt a great deal of sadness as I watched this part, because that golden moment is long since past. We came so close to having peace back then! I cannot help but think that if Al Gore were president, he would have carried the peace process forward, instead of allowing it to break down into the chaos we have now... Be that as it may, this DVD is very thought provoking and, hopefully, will contribute to a better understanding of the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict.

The DVD chronicles the first two decades of Israel's existence, from just before its founding in 1947 to just after the Six Day War in 1967. The basic history is presented in a straight forward manner, without a lot of indepth discussion or debate. It's up to the viewer to draw their own conclusions. This makes it a good resource for history class, although, because it is almost two hours long, it would take two or three class periods. Thankfully, there is a chapter selection option so teachers can also use specific segments. (I love DVDs for this purpose -- winding and rewinding a VHS tape in class was a real drag.)

One of the best features is the huge amount of rare archival footage. Golda Meir is featured prominently as a fundraiser and a diplomat (she was not yet Prime Minister -- that comes later in the story.) Michael Douglas narrates in a quiet, almost contemplative voice, often tinged with a note of sadness, as he allows the images on the screen to speak for themselves. I was repeatedly struck by the way in which Jews and Palestinians are so often mirror images of each other. Palestinians fleeing the wars ended up in squalid refugee camps. Jews fleeing persecution in Arab countries lived in ramshackle tent cities. Jewish villages were massacred. Arab villages were massacred. In-fighting among various factions occurred on both sides.

But there was also hope for peace, and several moments when it might have happened, if things had gone differently. When King Abdullah of Jordan met with Golda Meir in 1948, he expressed a desire to live in peace with the new Jewish state, believing that "Providence" had brought the Jewish people back to their land. Unfortunately, Abdullah was assassinated before a peace treaty could happen. During the Six Day War in 1967, the Prime Minister of Israel offered peace to Jordan if Jordan would stay out of the war. King Hussein chose instead to attack Israel -- and lost control of the West Bank territories.

Not all of the film is about war and politics. We also see clips of some early Israeli theater companies, Leonard Bernstein conducting the orchestra, and hard-working Jewish farmers making the Negev desert bloom. The point is made, however, that Arab land was often seized under the pretense of "security" but really for its fertility or other non-military purposes. (When I was growing up I was told that Israel bought the kibbutz lands fairly, but have since learned this is not true.) Palestinians are interviewed to give their side of the story.

The DVD ends just after the West Bank occupation begins in 1967. That was a major turning point for Israel, which has, in turn, affected the last four decadesof her history. It was a good place to stop Part One of this documentary. Hopefully, there will be a Part Two that picks up the story from there.

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Great footage, facts
The most striking part of this documentary to me was the footage that they were able to get a hold of which was truly amazing. Even those who have seen numerous similar titles and shows I think will be impressed. It was well done and provided a good base in facts for the interested viewer who wants to understand the present conflict in the middle east. I felt that it didn't delve too deeply into understanding each side's motives, but I think the idea is just to display the facts and leave it to the viewer. Overall I recommend it to those who would like to learn more about the situation.