A documentary about the problems in Modern Day Jerusalem

runtime 1:42:10, click play to start

The film, the first in a series called “Battle for the Holy Land”, is presented by former Liberal Democrat leader Lord Ashdown.

In Jerusalem, Paddy Ashdown hears an Israeli describe the massacre of Jews by Arabs at Gush Etzion in 1948. Then he hears a Palestinian describe the massacre of Arabs by Jews at Deir Yassin, a village near Jerusalem which no longer appears on the map.

A Palestinian resident of Jerusalem describes how she lost her home when the Israeli army destroyed the Moroccan Quarter of the Old City in one of its first acts of conquest in 1967. An Israeli resident of Jerusalem describes how, when the Arab Legion captured the Jewish Quarter in 1948, its 1,500 surviving Jewish residents were forced to leave before the Jordanians systematically destroyed the quarter.

Is there any common ground to be found between these peoples?

Part II: Love Thy Neighbor

runtime 48:09, click play to start

In the early months of 1967 tension rose between Israel and its neighbours. On 5 June, Israel launched a pre-emptive strike against Egypt’s air force, and Syria and Jordan were immediately drawn into the conflict. Within six days the Israeli army had conquered the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsula, the Golan Heights and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. Israel ended up controlling more than three times the amount of land it had started with.

In this documentary, Rod Liddle embarks on a journey to find out whether, after 40 years of illegal occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, Israel can still claim to be a liberal democracy.

For more information see
www.channel4.com