Search - In Search of Peace: Part One 1948 - 1967 on DVD

Great footage, facts

11/09/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"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."

A moving documentary

Anyechka | Rensselaer, NY United States | 11/24/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This documentary is a must-have for anyone interested in Israeli history and the Arab-Israeli conflict. It covers the years 1948 to 1967 in excellent detail, covering a plethora of different topics. Instead of just hearing about wars, casualties, and truces, we also learn about Shula Cohen, a Jerusalem-born woman who relocated to Lebanon to get married and spent many years sending people, primarily children (among them three of her own), into safety in Israel, eventually getting arrested for her actions; the kibbutzniks who transformed the land and promulgated principles of equality and idealism; the people who worked so hard to make the arid Negev Desert bloom; Israel's theatre industry and how it changed over the years as the face of Israel changed from Russian immigrants to native-born people whose ethnic background was not Eastern European; the roughly 800,000 Mizrachim who had to flee to Israel from their ancestral homelands in the Mideast and North Africa; and the role American politicians and citizens have played over the years in helping Israel to survive.

A lot of stuff happened between 1948 and 1967, but somehow the most important events and personalities are able to be squeezed in without being shortchanged. It starts with the rebirth of Israel and the War of Independence that was immediately forced on the infant state, covers the 1956 war with Egypt, the Six-Day War of 1967, and the years of peace in between those events. However, to some viewers, it might feel as though it starts in media res, since a discussion of Israeli-Arab relations pre-1948 is vital to understanding more recent developments and why both sides feel the way they do. One gets a fuller picture if one knows, say, about their relationship during WWI, when the Ottoman Turks controlled the land, or about the anti-Jewish riots in Hebron in 1929. And although this is a very moving documentary, making one feel an incredible amount of pride that such a small nation, one that hadn't had a standing army in nearly 2,000 years, was able to not only declare its independence but to continually defeat much larger armies trying to destroy it, there's also a balanced view of the other side. One can't help but feel badly for the Arab refugees who were displaced in 1948, sent down the river by their own people and treated like garbage everywhere but Israel and Jordan, and one would be inhuman to deny them their equally valid feelings of sorrow instead of pride at the recreation of Israel or the reunification of Jerusalem. The Arabs interviewed in this documentary also seem like thoughtful articulate people; they're not the raving propagandists and anti-Semites that one might be accustomed to expect when talking to the other side. The soundtrack is also beautiful and moving.

Extras are the trailer, biographies of director/screenwriter Richard Trank, co-producer and co-writer Rabbi Marvin Hier, and conducter and composer Lee Holdridge, and a brief photo gallery. Overall, it's yet another triumph from Koch Lorber Films, which never disappoints with its quality documentaries."

Thrilling!

D. Cohen | Geneva | 07/24/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Thrilling, most informative and even handed reporting on all the issues. A must for all persons interested to understand the Israeli-Arab conflict."

The best ,,,,,unclear.

A.K | 05/17/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was born and lived in Israel for many years. Spent alot of time learning the history of Israel. This DVD has some good footage, and appears to really try and explaine things. However it is very unclear, from the other reviews you can see the horrible foggy messages which were picked up. The rabbi here said if al gore would of been it would of been different and that arafat and rabin were close to peace. This is the stupidest idea the dvd gave. Arafat never wanted peace, only to drag it on and gain more power. It obviously sent the wrong message. The dvd is not all bad, there are very bias dvd's out there.

If you are familiar with the true history of israel than getting this dvd for the footage is good. If you are purchasing it for educational reasons, I think you should reconsider."