Customer Reviews

To Die In Jerusalem

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A true documentary, no hidden agenda. A great insight into the daily struggles of both sides of the Palestinian-Isreali conflict. I would recommend it for everyone.

Heart wrenching , but thought provoking documentary.It shows a side of the middle east conflict from a mother's perspective. I highly recommend this video.

This is why I can't support the Israelis or Palestinians. I learned of this tragedy when I first saw the infamous Newsweek cover photo of the girls. I thought, "My God, they could be twins!" I showed it to Arab friends (none of whom are Palestinian, I admit) and Israeli friends (not particularly religious) and asked them if it was really true how (at times) you can't tell the difference between an Israeli and an Arab (I'd always heard that from my father). They said yes, sometimes it can cause a problem.

I've read so many books on varying standpoints (left, right, center, and straight up bare bones population/religion/ethnicity stats) on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that I just get frustrated! Two girls under the age of 18 are dead because of this insanity! These people need to pull their heads out of the sand and realize that the Knesset and Ramallah don't give a damn about them! Money, power, and death is orgiastic to politicians and the wealthy- yes there are rich Palestinians living inside and out of the PA.

Did the Holocaust happen? Without a doubt! But I don't see Israel standing up for the Darfurians or standing up for the million-plus Armenian Christians who were slaughtered by the Turks in 1917 (BTW the beloved Moshe Dayan was born in the Ottoman Empire- dhimmi!). Israelis start cleaning your ears! As for the Palestinians, wake up! The revered Yasser Arafat and his FATAH party were pretty well-off were they not? And isn't his upper class-borne Palestinian Christian widow, Suha, known for her lavish lifestyle and the fact that she refused to live in the PA?

Does that disgusting wall make life better for anybody? Will getting land and villages back make the Palestinians truly happy? Do Israelis want to live under the gun? But it's making certain people rich, while everybody else suffers. I think this film does an excellent job is demonstrating the cultural barrier between the two societies. Avigail's family were very Westernized, in fact they had time here in the U.S. But she can't understand why Um can't speak to her without her husband Abu being present. On the other hand, Ayat's best friend Haifa did say that some of their school friends didn't celebrate her as a martyr, they were slandering her. And Shadi (Ayat's fiancee- that's right FIANCEE- Rachel didn't want to date because it would interfere with school and the only way a Muslim girl could have a boyfriend was to submit to a typically arranged marriage) claimed he would've stopped her had he known of her intentions.

I see how beautiful Jerusalem is, but none of that crosses over into the Dehesheh refugee camp where Ayat was from. I feel sympathetic to both families, and especially to the Palestinian Christian minister (and I hope he's alright- thank you Hamas) who played mediator trying to help Avigail understand the intricacies of the Arab-Islamic culture. But with the recent attacks in Gaza (and the crap in Lebanon), I don't think there's much hope for peace talks.

Great documentary, but embarassing to buy a DVD from Amazon. I used to be a big DVD buyer there, but like with this latest one, I invited a lot of friends to see it. 3/4 toward the end of the movie, the DVD froze and stopped playing. We never saw the end of it. My DVD player is not the problem, as other DVD's played well and it's a great unit. The DVD is of a bad quality, and I am tired of trying to find a receipt to return the DVD.. so be warned!

This film truly depicts the deeply rooted Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Never have I seen a documentary so tastefully done with such a sensitive issue. It will move you, and open your eyes to the destruction and devastation cultural differences can inflict.

I don't believe, one bit, Ayat/s (the Palestine girl's) trubute to "Allah". Ayat had too many secrets from those who were the most close to her. I believe the real reason she was suicidal was also a desperate secret. To be sure, there are many forbidden, passionate and secret love affairs among the youths of the two ferocious warring factions. It is always par for the course, when there is any possibility, even though, most of those liasons are inherently doomed. Those love affairs can most likely be a death sentence for Muslim women from even their own families. Perhaps the fact that the two girls were very physically similar was not merely an unfortunate coincidence either. Could the choice have been between dying in contempt and rejection of family (dishonor) and dying in a blaze of honor, glory and revenge? Was Ayat pregnant by someone other than the espoused? I admit this is just my very discerning, womanly intuition speaking to me, but truth is often stranger than fiction. I will suffice to conclude that perhaps the most effective oppressors to the Palestine women are their own fanatical menfolk. What are better indoctrinators and brainwashers than our mates and parents? Pray for the peace of Israel.