The upstairs meeting room of the Cherry Tree was crowded for a screening of The Gatekeepers last Wednesday.
Six formers heads of Shin Beit, Israel’s security service reminisced about their careers fighting terrorism and organising assassinations while reflecting that while collective punishment and administrative detention of Palestinians may “win the war but lose the peace.” They reflected that many of their actions were undoubtedly immoral but argued that preserving the state of Israel justified them. There was more than a hint that their work had had a detrimental effect on their personality but they were too strong minded to allow this to worry them for long.
A tough film to watch but the chiefs introspection and doubts that peace could be achieved through violence allowed a glimmer of hope to break through.