Testimonies (1993)

This documentary comprises a series of interviews with Israeli soldiers who served in the Occupied Territories during the intifada and raises the moral dilemmas involved in warfare against a civilian population. The soldiers, of various ethnic, cultural and economic backgrounds, recount brutal incidents in which they beat, shot at and tortured the Palestinian population. Their reflections and ambivalence, sometimes to the point of extreme self-reproach, draw a bleak picture of Israel’s occupying practices vis-à-vis the Palestinians. This impression is accentuated by the black background against which the interviews are conducted, reminiscent of a prisoner’s cell. This is one of the most unsettling films made on this issue and it was never broadcast in Israel.