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Summary: superb unbiased review! especially the 1973 yom kippur war
Review: A superb review. Do not bother reading some slanted pathetic attempts by some racial motivated arabs who claim that this review is biased. It truly is a crash course in this terrible conflict, teaches us bout the dictatorships in the middle east who attempt time and time again to destroy the only judeo-christian "blemish" in this pathetic part of the world. How these natiosn go to war against a tiny country, how they mistrust each other and plot over and over again against the jews, christians and themselves.
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Summary: Even-handed presentation of the clash of two rights
Review: After viewing the tape, you will have a better understanding of the conflict, but will have no idea what can be done to resolve it. This is simply a situation where two rights, as in right thing to happen, collide. After the horrific destruction of the holocaust, as much a continuation of persecution as an aberration, the Jewish people do have the right to a nation. Unfortunately, it was born out of the displacement of another people, who also have the right to a national identity.
After fifty years of struggle, there is some hope for resolution, and there is no more fitting scene than one of the last events on the tape. A terminally ill King Hussein of Jordan, bald and gaunt from chemotherapy, leaving his hospital bed and standing up to make a plea for peace and reconciliation between Arab and Jew, seems to sum up the history of the conflict.
One of the most amazing points was the story of a Jewish attack on an Arab village by a paramilitary organization in 1948. Despite the protests of the local Arabs that no rapes took place, the Arab information minister broadcast that Arab women had been raped by the Jewish fighters. These reports led to panic and many Arabs who otherwise would have stayed in their homes fled and became part of the continuing plight of refugees. That event is typical of what has occurred in the decades since 1948.
The most powerful scene in the film is when the PLO representatives and Israel finally sit down to talk peace. While you can question the wisdom of the actions, the Palestinians were historically accurate in their opening remarks. The Israelis had long held the position that they do not negotiate with terrorists. In one opening statement, a Palestinian representative holds up a picture of Israeli prime minister Shamir that was part of a British wanted poster. Shamir was one of several Jews wanted for terrorist acts against British rule. The looks on the faces of the Israeli delegation is unforgettable.
All sides of the conflict are presented in as even-handed a manner as possible. One side that is often overlooked is the conflicts between the Arabs and how Israel has acted to support Arabs. The prime example of this was when Syrian tanks crossed the border with Jordan in an attempt to overthrow King Hussein. While the Syrians claim that they were going to pull back anyway, it was the clear threat of Israel attacking Syria in support of Jordan that caused them to back down.
No one knows how the conflict between Israel and the Arabs will resolve itself. Great progress has been made with the signings of peace treaties between Israel and Egypt and Israel and Jordan. The final and most difficult obstacle remains the Palestinians and it most likely will take at least another fifty years before that is settled. This is an excellent documentary about that conflict, one that will educate you on many of the political and social forces that continue to drive it in so many directions.
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Summary: the fifty year war:israel and the arabs
Review: an absolutely remarkable documentary.....it allows the viewer to form his/her own opinions regarding the causes by showing the speeches and statements made during the 50 year and prior history of these people .......made by the leaders and representatives themselves ......recorded visually and verbally......during official speeches and interviews.....so that the viewer...and not a commentator......can decide what the causes of the ongoing war were and are......i highly plaudit the objectivity it affords the viewer..
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Summary: Excellent journalism for those looking to learn
Review: As a Lebanese-american, I grew up in the region during the 70s and 80s before I moved here. I was too young to understand the true conflicts in and around our country. This DVD helped bridge that gap for me and present me with a hsistorical view of how everything happened. Since I am highly doubtful of unbiased jouralism, I was suprised to see how good of a job PBS did here. They truly interviewed all the key figures and presented a factual approach to both sides of the story.
In my opinion, I think this is the best docuemntary about the middle-east, arab-israeli war, and the past 50 years. I think this is a great DVD for those looking to get caught up, to understand, or to learn.
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Summary: What about Rachel's Tomb?
Review: Basil claims that Israel burns down Muslim holy sites. He is just spouting hate and rhetoric, the same kind of language that is used to brainwash terrorists. Ask Basil why the Palestinians burned downed Rachel's Tomb? One of the holiest sites for Jews, Christians and Muslims.
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Summary: Excellent Documentary
Review: Documentary is excellent for everyone who want to know what had been happening in the middle east for past 50 years or so. I agree with one of the reviews made earlier that the beginning of the documentary is not what it should have been. It does not tell about the region under Ottoman rule and the British mandate after World War I. Furthermore, I was very shocked and in utter disbelief that there is no mentioning of massive airlift provided by the United States to Israel in the 1973 war that effectively saved Israel. No word at all. One must wonder why? Any way overall a very informative documentary.
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Summary: 50 Years War - Jews and Arabs
Review: Excellent documentary. Well researched and reported in an evan-handed manner. This movie should be required viewing for high school / college students.
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Summary: Great until the end...
Review: I echo all the positive reviews about this DVD. It would have been fascinating at twice the length (i.e., nearly 10 hours), and probably could have benefited from being longer, too. I hated to see it end ... knowing that the conflict is NOT at an end. Twenty-five years from now PBS will release an edition entitled "The 75 Years War" - fifty years from now an edition entitled "The 100 Years War" - etc. It is so sad and frustrating and alternately hopeful and hopeless. As I said, it is/was great ... until the end, when they had to include scenes of "President" Clinton. Yecch! Seeing his face again on my TV turned my stomach. His absence has been so nice these past 13 months. Oh, well ... I can always fast-forward through these scenes on the next viewing. By the way, I found this 2-DVD set USED for $5.99! What a deal. It's definitely worth paying full price for.
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Summary: Very Interesting! Well Done.
Review: I like the scene selection built into this documentary. You can use it to navigate to different significant events in the history of the two nations. I really enjoyed watching this. It explains allot behind what has lead up to the events that are all over the news today.
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Summary: Good Documentary, but it is very broad
Review: I really like the documentary, it had interview from almost very one involved in the Arab-Israeli wars, peace processes, etc. It really did cover a lot of information, but my only problem is that it covers too much and did not go into detail on many issues, I would have liked to seen more information about the wars that Israel and the Arabs went through with more original footage instead of just mostly interviews. In addition, more maps throughout the documentary to describe the situations of the wars and the settlements. I had some historical problems in the documentary, it makes it sound like there were no Jews in the then Palestine before 1948 which is very wrong, the majority were Arabs but there were a large number of Jews living in Palestine before 1948. All in all the documentary does cover a lot of information and is very unbiased.
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