BETHLEHEM EXPOSES HOW ISRAEL COPES WITH TERRORISM
Israelis have found a way to prevent and punish terrorists by cultivating “assets,” that is, Palestinian informants. In Bethlehem, agent Razi (played by Tsahi Halevi) befriends Sanfur (played by Shadi Mar’i), who is in his early teens and wants his father, Abu (Tarik Kopty), out of detention. Razi offers to release his father if Sanlfur will provide information about certain persons on the West Bank. He gives Sanfur a cellphone and clothes, treating him like father and son. One day a bomb goes off in Israel. Sanfur’s brother (Hisham Suliman), who is on the payroll of Hamas, is implicated but goes into hiding, so Razi must find a way to capture that brother. Sanfur, however, wants to protect his brother and seeks revenge, so he seeks to join a Bedouin gang for that purpose. The film is a window into conflicts involving the Palestinian Authority, Hamas, the Bedouins, and Palestinian terrorists as well as between Razi’s method and those of Mossad higher-ups. Bethlehem, directed by Yuval Adler, has been nominated by the Political Film Society for best film exposé of 2014 for portraying those conflicts. Although the film does not raise the issue why Israelis and Palestinians might be able to live together in peace, what becomes clear is that they are locked into a conflictual mode, and only transformational leadership on both sides could supply the key. Such transformation occurred in South Africa but is lacking in this situation. MH