Colliding Dreams

The Arab-Israeli conflict remains one of the most bitter in the world, with consequences spilling onto the larger, rocky Middle East stage. Even amongst Jews, particularly those in the so-called diaspora, a Jewish anti-Israel sentiment is often viewed as treasonous.

Into this boiling miasma comes "Colliding Dreams," a breath of fresh air and balanced history that brings at least a pause, a better understanding, if not solutions, to this rancorous, seemingly intractable problem. One reason why is because award-winning filmmakers Joseph Dorman and Oren Rudavsky give equal play to Palestinians, particularly moderate ones, and to their issues. These are voices often overlooked or unheard in debates.

Another reason is because Dorman and Rudavsky use the clever conceit of the history of Zionism to shed light on the current conflict. This perspective helps illuminate why the hatred exhibited by both sides runs so deep, and why any "discussion" is so passionate. It also helps clarify Jewish generational differences towards Israel.

Zionism, we learn, was born in the late 19th century out of a need for Jews to find a safe haven from the deadly pogroms of eastern Europe and mounting global anti-Semitism. A utopian dream, it would be founded on socialist, democratic principles and would allow Jewish life and culture to blossom in the modern world.

Despite the offer of a Jewish homeland in Uganda, the burgeoning movement felt that only Palestine would do. While historical reasons existed for that choice, the unfortunate reality was that many Arabs already lived there. For Jews to establish a claim, Arab land was bought, or else the occupants forced out. Hitler, and the horrors of his concentration camps, only heightened the necessity for a Jewish homeland.

"Colliding Dreams" focuses on key moments in Zionism's history: Early relations between the Jews and Palestinians; the 1948 War of Independence and the departure of more than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs who either fled or were expelled; the 1967 Six Day War; the West Bank Settlement Movement and the Peace Movement; and finally, the clashing forces among Jews and between Jews and Palestinians today.

Older Jews view Israel as sacrosanct -- a necessary homeland that the Jews miraculously turned into a democratic, productive, and technologically advanced country. It exemplified Zionists' early tenets: Democracy, education, and hard work by all. For the generations who survived the pogroms and concentration camps, Israel became a haven and democratic beacon in the unstable Middle East. That the tiny country could triumph over its hostile neighbors in not one, but two wars (the War of Independence and the Six Day War) proved its miraculous powers and might. Israel could do no wrong. After all, it was besieged by enemies on all sides.

But as the film so deftly shows through interviews with writers, politicians, activists and people on the street, as time and conflict wore on, the utopian democratic Zionism envisioned by Israel's founders morphed into a stubborn messianic Zionism that propelled armies and settlers into the West Bank and Gaza. New, deeper lines were drawn in the sand.

Zionism became a divine right, Israel a harsh occupier. This swing to the political right polarized the country as well Jews abroad. New generations that had never faced the camps, pogroms or rampant anti-Semitism of their ancestors had little loyalty to a country they felt was an illegal occupier of land to which they perhaps had no right to in the first place.

This recounting could of course be called simplistic. The Arab-Israeli conflict itself is so complex and layered that the powerful and gripping "Colliding Dreams" is sure to face controversy. But understanding the roots of Israel's birth and hearing the words of many of the players in this struggle is a step in the right direction. With any luck, at the very least it might lead to less heated discussions.