Recent events in Israel and Palestine have left many people confused about what is causing the conflict and who is at fault. Our award-winning documentary, Seeing Through the Wall, offers a rare opportunity for the global community to meet Israelis and Palestinians on a personal level and gain new insight about why the conflict – decade after decade – remains unresolved.
Much of the available education about the current crisis can be confusing because it focuses on too many areas. Unlike many social advocacy and social justice documentaries about this subject, Seeing through the Wall is not a history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since 1948 – with all its moral complexities and tragic suffering on both sides – but a look at the present everyday life of Palestinians.
The documentary charts the twelve-day journey of Rabbi Dov Taylor and a group of Americans as they toured the provinces of Israel and Palestine in the spring of 2016. Their intention was to listen and to learn. They sought a grass-roots education in understanding the politics behind the crisis and the impact of religion in the search for peace.
On their journey, they met with Israelis and Palestinians, including activists from both sides who are working for peace. They witnessed what life is like for Palestinians in the Occupied Territories, and learned about the situation of Palestinians who are citizens of Israel. When asked why he organized the tour, Rabbi Dov Taylor put it this way:
“I wanted Americans, and American Jews in particular, to have the opportunity to meet and get to know some Palestinians as human beings, just like themselves, with the same hopes and dreams.”
But these hopes and dreams were shattered during an eleven-day war in May of 2021 that affected 2 million Palestinians. Israeli bombers carried out 1,450 airstrikes and turned the territory of Gaza into rubble, killing 248 people (including 66 children) and leaving thousands homeless. This is what psychiatrist Yasser Abu Jamei, Director of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program reported:
“I am writing this letter looking at my terrified 6-year-old son, who keeps putting his hands over his ears trying to block the sounds of Israel’s bombardment, and my two daughters, aged 13 and 10, and my wife. These faces show the anxiety of not knowing where they can be safe now. My two older sons, 16 and 15, sit stunned and silent and I know they are reliving the memories of the previous three offensives on the Gaza Strip and the family members we lost. These are the feelings that every family in the Gaza Strip are living through…” You can read the rest of Dr. Jamei’s letter Here
During this eleven-day war, Hamas, a Palestinian militant group that rules Gaza, launched 4,300 rockets toward Israel. Some of these rockets misfired or fell within Gaza itself. The Israeli Government reported that Israel’s anti-missile defense system intercepted 90% of the rockets. But some found their targets, killing 10 Israelis. Of course, Israel has the right to defend itself from rocket attacks, but if we want to truly understand the current situation, we must look more deeply.
To find out more, you can purchase the film Seeing through the Wall in our store, it cost less than a coffee.
Witness the evictions that have been happening in Sheikh Jarrah.
