Israel
is the only state in the Middle East that grants freedom of religion, equal
rights under law to women and gays and lesbians, and maintains strong
environmental protection laws. Ironically, former soldiers have often led this
progressive state as its Prime Minister. Yet, in the tradition of Nixon going
to China, it was Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin who negotiated some of the
region’s most significant peace treaties. Former Ambassador Yehuda Avner served
them both. His history of Israel’s highest political office continues to serve
as the roadmap of Richard Trank’s The
Prime Ministers: Soldiers and Peacemakers (trailer here), which opens this
Friday in New York.
Throughout
the follow-up to The Prime Ministers: the Pioneers, Trank continues to draw on Avner’s insider knowledge, but he
starts with a telling incident that predated the diplomat’s government service.
In the so-called Altalena Affair, Rabin-led Haganah-IDF forces and Begin’s
Irgun found themselves clashing in a very public and embarrassing manner.
However, they would soon settle into political roles as leaders of the majority
Labor government and the Likud minority, respectively.
As
trusted aide to Golda Meir and Levi Eshkol, the British-born Avner’s services
were retained by the newly elected Rabin, who was determined to forge stronger
ties with the United States, but dealing with Kissinger was a complicated task.
Yet, they made headway, including a grand state dinner at the Ford White House,
which supplies one of the best anecdotes of the doc duology.
The
surprise election of Menachem Begin, the first transfer of power in Israel’s
history, coupled with the less surprising election of Jimmy Carter ushered in
an even trickier era. It was not a good personality match, but Begin was more
committed to the peace process than most political commentators realized.
Despite the naïve bungling of the Carter Administration (Avner duly provides more
than enough examples), Sadat was also ready to deal. While most viewers have
seen the familiar Camp David video, the archival footage of Sadat’s earlier
visit to Israel really puts the Accords in a whole new context.
Indeed,
providing fuller, richer historical background and context is exactly the
mission of Trank and Moriah Films. You can trust them to give the entire story
of Israel’s triumphs, as well as its failures (such as the shelling of the
Altalena). There is a great deal of important history in both Prime Ministers that will give students
and concerned citizens a better understanding of Israeli and Middle Eastern
history.
The
late Avner was also a wonderfully eloquent and engaging guide through Israel’s momentous
Twentieth Century history. He is so lively and forceful in the film, it is hard
to believe he is no longer with us. At least he left quite a testament. Like
the previous installment, Soldiers and
Peacemakers is also unusually well crafted by documentary standards,
featuring a classy symphonic score composed by Emmy winner Lee Holdridge and
the dramatic narration of Michael Douglas and Christoph Waltz, giving voice to
Rabin and Begin, respectively.
