A Film for a Cracked Israel Offers Ominous Lessons from Antiquity


JERUSALEM – A passionate political thriller sparked heated debate on the screen in Israel this summer and forged a particularly resonant bond with Israel’s unstable new government.

Right-wing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett urged lawmakers to watch the film during the recent stormy session of parliament. The new chairman, Isaac Herzog, the former leader of the centre-left Labor Party, said he would screen it for every child in the country if he could.

The epic, animated drama “Legend of Destruction” is widely used as a cautionary tale for a largely polarized society. The impact of the film is even more surprising, considering it depicts the disastrous events that took place in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago.

At that time, the initial Jewish revolt against the Romans turned into a bloody civil war between rival Jewish factions, resulting in the looting and destruction of the Second Temple by the Romans and the re-conquest of the holy city.

The bitter civil war changed the course of Judaism and gave birth to the Talmudic notion that the fall of Jerusalem was caused by internal conflicts and the Hebrew term “sinat chinam”, often translated as groundless hatred.

A striking and disturbing portrayal of the existential danger posed by such a deadly conflict, the film sparks deep search among its audience and calls on the country’s new leader to heed his lessons.

After years of toxic political rhetoric and division, Mr. Bennett declared national unity as a mission of the diverse coalition. came to power in June it consists of parties from the centre, the right and the left, and for the first time a small Arab party.

And he uses the temple analogy to warn the ill-wishers led by his notorious predecessor, Benjamin Netanyahu, to soften his efforts to ruthlessly and delegitimize his new government.

“You are not against the government,” Mr. Bennett said before advising opposition lawmakers to watch the film. “You are positioning yourself against the state, against the good of the nation.”

The film begins in 66 AD, with the Jewish atoning atonement on Yom Kippur prostrating in the courtyards of the temple. Four years later the temple lies in smoldering ruins. Exhausted by infighting, the Romans retake the city to find the starving and devastated Jewish population after rival warlords burn each other’s grain stores.

The pervasive sense of apocalypse appeals to Israelis’ fears at a time when internal strife seems more threatening than external enemies. Ideology gave way to identity politics and social divisions. The country is torn apart by religious-secular tensions; ethnic frictions between Jews and Arabs and Jews of Middle Eastern and European descent; and in recent years, A growing gap between supporters and opponents of Mr. Netanyahu.

Israeli leaders have increasingly drawn lessons from Jewish history, noting that Jews had two previous periods of dominion over the land in antiquity, but both lasted only 70 or 80 years. 1948 left 70 years behind.

“This is the third example of having a Jewish state on the land of Israel,” Mr. Bennett said in a recent report. interview. “We’ve screwed up twice before – and primarily because of internal polarization.”

Even before seeing the movie introduction speech In June – almost inaudible with constant giggles – it was reminiscent of the “burning home” arguments of the past.

And in his speech to mark Israel’s 73rd Independence Day, Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Aviv Kochavi referred to the disastrous lack of solidarity in the past. “As Titus’ troops gathered outside Jerusalem,” he said, referring to the forces led by the future Roman emperor, “Jewish warriors refused to unite at home, and when factionalism prevailed over patriotism, the Romans prevailed over the Jews.”

Years later, the July release of “Legend of Destruction” couldn’t be more timely. Its director, Gidi Dar, began work on it as the Arab Spring turned into winter and the civil war tore neighboring Syria. As it progressed, it became more and more relevant to Israel, he said.

one in May deadly mafia violence flash The specter of civil war arose between Arabs and Jews. In June, after four inconclusive elections in two years, Mr. Bennett formed his fragile coalition, still in its first 100 days, led by a very thin majority.

“You improve, then you crash,” said Mr. Dar. “The dangerous moment is now. We are there.”

Mr. Dar, a secular Israeli, believes the country is in a spiritual crisis and lacks vision and purpose.

Referring to what he calls “super-violent rhetoric” in politics, society and the internet, “The point is to raise the alarm before it happens, not after it happens. It’s like our ancestors have been telling us, ‘Look what happened to us’ for thousands of years. Do not be indifferent.’”

The film uses an innovative technique consisting of 1,500 images. Top Israeli actors retell their roles against a haunting soundtrack of imaginary temple music. Without taking sides, it tells the story of the civil war through the eyes of a young Zealot, largely motivated by disgust for social injustice and corruption rather than religious fanaticism.

Israelis left and right praised the film as an argument for a new atmosphere of tolerance. But not everyone agrees with this message.

At least one ex-far-right lawmaker objected to the self-destruct narrative, arguing that the Romans, not the Jews, were to blame. Others were skeptical that the film would have a lasting impact.

Tehilla Shwartz Altshuler, an expert on democracy in the information age at the Israel Democracy Institute, a research group in Jerusalem, said ideological disagreements are nothing new to Israelis. But now, he said, the disagreement has turned into hatred, fueled by social media. “You can force every young person in Israel to watch this movie, but every one will see their current ideas and beliefs strengthened in the movie.”

Mr. Netanyahu’s allies continued to accuse Mr. Bennett’s government of being fraudulent, relying on “stolen” votes from the right and “supporters of terrorism”, meaning Arab lawmakers.

And after a Palestinian militant fatally shot an Israeli soldier on the Gaza border last month, Netanyahu’s supporters sought to capitalize on the incident by portraying the military commanders as weak and restrained, and Mr. Bennett drenched in soldier’s blood.

The public assault on the military’s legitimacy prompted the Chief of Staff, General Kochavi, to a special statement “A society that does not take care of its soldiers and commanders will see that when they make a mistake, there is no one left to fight for them.”

Before Yom Kippur fell on Thursday, some Israelis saw their government as a final experiment on whether left and right, Jews and Arabs could work together.

Micah Goodman, a philosopher and popular writer consulted by Mr. Bennett, said failure “would be a disaster”.

He said that thinking of internal division as an existential threat is new to Israelis and is likely fueled by the global problem of growing polarization as well as a new sensitivity to Jewish history.

He said the problem was what he called “the demonization of government trying to end demonization.”



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