Israeli minister was furious at film that ‘defamed the IDF’, but then it happened in real life
Now in Gaza, and in one fell swoop, reality turned out to be far more horrific than the fictional film script
By Netta Ahituv • Translated by Sol Salbe
In 2017, the Israeli film ‘Foxtrot’ caused a mini storm. The then Minister of Culture, Miri Regev, was angry about one scene appearing in it, which she contended “harms the good name of the IDF.” The scene in question takes place in the second act of the film’s three acts of tragedy. Yonatan, a young soldier, is stationed at some generic checkpoint, his job is to stop Palestinian vehicles and decide whether they can continue on their way or not. Of course, things go awry, one of the soldiers at the post shoots at four good looking young people sitting in a car, and the solution which one of the soldiers at the checkpoint comes up with, is a huge bulldozer, which buries the car with its passengers under the sand. Regev thought that this scene was exaggerated and argued that it “presents the world with an army that is immoral.”
It’s a wonderful film and the scene of the car being buried with its passengers in the sand is woven into it by a deft hand; it truly pierces the heart. It was painful to watch, despite its absurdity and surrealism. I thought at the time that had Regev had only bothered to watch the film, she would have understood that it was a fiction. And then came the other night with news of the discovery of bodies of the 15 missing search-and-rescue team members in Gaza. The evidence indicates that they were apparently killed by IDF soldiers. Some of the bodies were found gagged hand and foot and shot. Apparently after being shot, they were buried in the sand along with the five ambulances in which they were travelling, one fire truck and one UN rescue vehicle.
For five days, their fate was unknown, until the IDF acceded to the request of the United Nations and the Red Crescent and allowed rescue teams to search for their colleagues in the sand. The rescuers arrived at the spot that the IDF had pointed out (and even suggested that they come to the site with digging shovels, according to testimonies), and that’s where the horror was discovered under the sand.
In one fell swoop, reality turned out to be far more horrific than Shmulik Maoz’s script. Not four young people, but 15 rescue and medical personnel. Not one vehicle, but seven. Not an accidental shooting, but one carried out deliberately. Is this the good name of the IDF, which Regev was so determined to protect?
In the midst of storm that Regev caused at the time around Foxtrot (which also endangered the filmmakers, because they received death threats as a result), she said in a speech full of hatred and contempt for Israeli culture that the film “sets out to destroy the greatest celebration of the 20th century, the State of Israel.” I wonder what she thinks of the scene of the Gaza ambulances and the 15 first responders who were in them, who were allegedly buried in the sand by IDF soldiers, the details of which are revealed before our eyes and the eyes of the world. Is she still worried about the good name of the IDF, or is it actually part of the greatest celebration of the 20th century?
