Directed by Dror Moreh
Interviews don't come much more exclusive than this. Offered the unprecedented opportunity to speak with six former directors of the Shin Bet Israel's internal security service about their controversial activities, documentarian Dror Moreh elicits incredibly candid statements concerning the moral labyrinths they've navigated and occasionally lost themselves in. And while the attitudes and beliefs expressed by these men may not surprise you, the bluntness with which they're delivered ensures that they boast a devastating impact.
On the heels of the 6-Day War in 1967, the Shin Bet's primary objective became counterterrorism. Whereas monitoring Palestinian activity was initially attempted through open communication, the intelligence agency has since in the words of one of its former heads become cruel. A prime example of this would be 1984's Bus 300 incident that culminated with Shin Bet agents executing two hijackers rather than arresting them.
With the men who orchestrated such operations on hand to justify their actions, The Gatekeepers offers new insight into landmark events, including the 1995 assassination of progressive Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin by a Jewish extremist. Such interviews also reveal the frustration wrought from trying to employ logic to contend with religious fanaticism, arguable the most irrational of behaviours.
In a film stocked with harrowing archival footage and photographs, the most chilling images are the visages of these men who are now left to debate the value of their contributions and wonder whether Shin Bet will win every battle but lose the war. There's perhaps nothing more haunting than the sight of these men who've sworn to serve their country contemplating whether they've helped steer it down the wrong path. Curtis Woloschuk
