Israeli soldiers are recruited at age 18 and, only months later, are already overseeing Palestinian civil life. Former soldiers describe their time in Hebron, the most troubled city in the West Bank.
In “Mission: Hebron,” writer/director Rona Segal interviews young members of the IDF. Broken into chapters, the subjects explain different military terminologies and strategies carried out by the Israeli Army. Interviews are crosscut with riveting archival footage as the soldiers describe their firsthand experiences colonizing Palestinians in the ancient town of Hebron. Hebron is historically significant for Judeo-Christians and Muslims due to the Cave of the Patriarchs, and other holy sites.
First, Segal gives a succinct history of Hebron, detailing how each decade brought an increase in violence and hate. Most notably, in 1994, when Jaruch Goldstein, a devotee of the radical extremist Kach movement formed under Rabbi Meir Kahane, entered the Caves of the Patriarchs wielding an assault rifle. After indiscriminately opening fire and reloading, Goldstein killed 29 Palestinians and wounded 125 others while they prayed in the Ibrahimi Mosque before he was overpowered and beaten to death. This incident compelled a response from the Palestinian militant group Hamas who began carrying out their first bombings within the Israeli settlements.
The featured IDF interviewees are forthcoming and describe their only mission as “protecting Jews in Hebron.” This mission’s goal naturally opens a paradox where Palestinians are viewed unequally by their Jewish colonizers. Disturbingly, the subjects describe “a sterile route” otherwise a region around the settlements free of Palestinians. Using racial profiling, the soldiers stop and frisk anyone who seems suspicious and their checkpoints clog up traffic for hours.
One interview, in particular, was quite revealing: An IDF soldier who attended high school in the U.S. recalled stopping an American visiting her cousins in the Palestinian Territories. After exchanging courteous words with the girl, the soldier said “I wouldn’t be able to carry out any of my missions if all the Palestinians had American accents.” There’s been such dehumanizing propaganda of Palestinians that if they’re forced to see their humanity it has an effect on them. Every Palestinian is considered to be a suspected terrorist. Their orders also state not to intervene if an Israeli is attacking a Palestinian. In most settlements, Palestinians are unauthorized to transfer building materials since the Israelis are trying to drive them out and not let them build.
While it would have been great to hear Palestinian voices, these honest interviews say a lot about an uncomplicated situation. Although it’s a short documentary, it’s very relevant to the current events in Gaza and the West Bank. Today, Israel plans to double their population in Hebron with zero concessions being given to the Palestinian people. While many people decry, falsely equate Zionism with antisemitism, what protection do the occupied people have?
“Mission: Hebron” recently had its North American premiere at the 2021 AFI Docs Film Festival
