Less than a month Israel will be celebrating one of the greatest military victories of all time – in the six day war for the reunification of Jerusalem. It is a military conflict from 5 to 10 June 1967, which broke out between Israel on one side and Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq and Algeria on the other. Many believe the victory of Israel a supernatural victory of God. Documentary Studio CBN made the film “In our hands: the battle for Jerusalem.”
Erin Zimmermann – writer and Director of the film “In our hands: the battle for Jerusalem.” Filmed it documentary drama tells the story of Israel’s victory in the city during the six day war in 1967, based on the evidence of the paratroopers.
MHN: You recreate the real picture of the past?
Erin Zimmerman: Yes. The people who control Arsenal hill was very open and allowed us to film on location two and a half nights. We had snipers who were shooting from the bunkers, the soldiers crawling on the ground on the hill through the barbed wire, they even showed us a real bunker. The war sort of ended when the Israelites got to the top of the hill, found the command post of the Jordanians and with the help of 10 kilograms of TNT blew it up. They showed us all this and said: “you Can use this bunker to show the explosion.” We were delighted – it is wonderful! You know, if he experienced a real explosion, it can survive and staged.
MHN: Based solely on the facts, the film also displayed such important moments as the conversation between the commander Mota Gur with the soldiers on the mount of olives.
We worked on another documentary drama about the hopes for the formation of Israel, and thought, what is the next Chapter in this story? And appealed to 1967. It’s such a great story, so we decided not to do a documentary, but to find someone who really experienced it.
I tried to use primary sources, diaries, people, transcripts of meetings of the government. I used personal interviews – all of the dialogue in the movie is taken from historical documents.
MHN: as a result of the war, Israel increased three times after the defeat of the United armies of Syria, Egypt and Jordan, capturing the Golan heights, the Sinai desert, Judea and Samaria and the unification of the coveted Jerusalem.
A rendering of the whole war would have taken a lot of time, so we decided to talk only about the battle for Jerusalem, and then about a group of men from the 55th brigade of paratroopers. I liked them very much, because it was not part of the regular army. They were reservists, older, some were husbands and fathers, businessmen – and they entered the city of Jerusalem.
MAN: the Shooting had any impact on the actors, because it’s not just a story. Their fathers, grandfathers have described it. What have been the reaction?
Many told me stories of their families. The guys said: “my grandfather survived the Holocaust. In the case of Sean Friedman, who played Mota Gur, his grandfather was the one who fought for Jerusalem in 1948 and participated in the attack.
MHN: Little woman who came in and gave the flag, she wanted this flag hung on the West wall.
I asked paratrooper Jorma], who was also in this story, if he saw this family again. And he answered: “Yes.” And told me that a few months after the war, he was approached by an elderly woman.
She survived, though her thrown out of his home in 1948. She survived, hoping to see Jerusalem United.
MHN: the Period of work on the film took about a year. Was there anything that you discovered something new that you did not know before?
I was very interested in the fact I met paratroopers. When they arrived in the city, we were heroes. People came out thinking that this is a temporary silence, because the Jordanian bombing continued. Despite this women came out of their homes with food.
MHN: How did it affect you personally?
If we consider the film, I learned how beautiful when all work together, and what I was capable of many people, ranging from training soldiers, make-up, explosions. What conclusion I draw from the fact of war? There are two things that you can do in life. You can practice and plan, plan and plan to work hard or write something to see the result. Or you may be in a situation in which the Marines when you are preparing for one, and the situation is unfolding quite differently. If you can adapt to it?
MHN: What do you want to convey to the audience his film?
Two things. I tried to make it as politically directed, to make it interesting to a large audience. First, I wanted the audience to see the sacrifice these people, and secondly, to return to 20 years ago, in 1948, to the moment when it was destroyed the Jewish quarter and the Jordanians carried out ethnic cleansing of the Jews in the Old city of Jerusalem. After that, the Jordanian officer said: “for the First time in a thousand years in the Jewish quarter, not a single Jew. The return of the Jews here impossible.” Then we moved to 19 years and showed how the Jews made it impossible.
MAN: AND what the Israelis think about the movie?
I hope they’ll like it. I want the people began to be proud of their heritage.
MHN: After the bloodshed, and all that occurred here historically, the Israelis will never give their city.
Yes, I think so. I mean what I said Moshe Dayan, when he came to the East wall: “We came into the city to never leave”.
CBN will show this documentary film in the U.S. theaters nationwide on may 23. If you, your group, Church or synagogue want to get more information, go to inourhands1967.com.