''The Skies are Closer in Homesh'' (), also called ''Hitna'ari'' ()
is a 2004
documentary film
A documentary film (often described simply as a documentary) is a nonfiction Film, motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". The American author and ...
that follows a newlywed
Jewish
Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...
couple through their first few years of married life in the
Israeli settlement
Israeli settlements, also called Israeli colonies, are the civilian communities built by Israel throughout the Israeli-occupied territories. They are populated by Israeli citizens, almost exclusively of Israeli Jews, Jewish identity or ethni ...
of
Homesh
Homesh () was an Israeli settlement in the West Bank along Route 60, just south of the Palestinian towns of Silat ad-Dhahr and Fandaqumiya, illegally built over private Palestinian land. The settlement was under the administrative jurisdictio ...
in Samaria as they experience, and recover from, a terrorist attack.
It is based on the real-life experience of director Menora Hazani and her family who lived on the settlement.
Produced by Manora Hasani-Katzover, daughter of
Benny Katzover, co-founder of ultranationalist activist group
Gush Emunim
Gush Emunim (, lit. "Bloc of the Faithful") was an Israeli ultranationalist religious Zionist Orthodox Jewish right-wing fundamentalist activist movement committed to establishing Jewish settlements in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and the Golan ...
, it has been described as "clearly an almost didactic, right-wing film".
Description
The film is the second in a trilogy by Menora Hazani, a former resident of Homesh, presenting the point of view of Israeli settlers. She filmed the first of the trilogy, ''It Happened After the Spring'' (2001) before graduating from the
Ma'aleh School of Television, Film and the Arts
The Ma'aleh School of Television, Film and the Arts, situated in a preserved stone building in the neighborhood of Musrara, Jerusalem, Musrara, Jerusalem, was founded in 1989 by Ma'aleh Association, with the aim of addressing the desire on the pa ...
; ''The Skies are Closer in Homesh'' (2004) and ''Arise From the Dust'' (2005), recounting the
evacuation of the settlement, followed.
''The Skies are Closer in Homesh'' documents the early years of Hazani's marriage and the birth of her first child at Homesh.
[ Shortly after she moved to the isolated settlement, three residents were killed in terrorist attacks, and a month later, four members of the Gavish family were murdered. The film explores the plight of Israeli settlers in the ]West Bank
The West Bank is located on the western bank of the Jordan River and is the larger of the two Palestinian territories (the other being the Gaza Strip) that make up the State of Palestine. A landlocked territory near the coast of the Mediter ...
and their yearning for the Messianic redemption.
The documentary sympathetically portrays the deep, Jewish attachment to the soil of the Holy Land.
See also
Other documentaries about the Arab–Israeli conflict
The Arab–Israeli conflict is a geopolitical phenomenon involving military conflicts and a variety of disputes between Israel and many Arab world, Arab countries. It is largely rooted in the historically supportive stance of the Arab League ...
:
*''The Land of the Settlers
''The Land of the Settlers'' is a five-part documentary series created by Chaim Yavin, who was described by the Arab News as "the Israeli version of America's Walter Cronkite". With a handheld camera, Yavin traveled throughout his homeland of Isra ...
''
*''At the Green Line
''At the Green Line'' is a 2005 Israeli documentary made by Jesse Atlas that profiles several members of Courage to Refuse, a political group whose members refuse to serve in the Israeli military because of moral opposition to its policies. In ...
''
*''My Dearest Enemy
''My Dearest Enemy'' is an Israeli documentary that takes a behind-the-scenes look at Israel's secret diplomacy by sharing the highly anticipated meeting between Israeli Amnon Lipkin-Shahak and Palestinian Hani El Hassan—both powerful leaders in ...
''
*''All Hell Broke Loose
''All Hell Broke Loose'' is a 1995 Israeli documentary that follows the victims of a Hamas suicide bombing in Israel a year after the attack.
Summary
The documentary shares interviews with victims of a 1994 Hamas suicide-bomb that detonated at a b ...
''
*''Nadia's Friend
''Nadia's Friends'' is a documentary which follows filmmaker Chanoch Zeevi as he travels through Israel exploring how Zionism has evolved since he was a child. Zeevi attended elementary school in the religious Zionist village of Kfar Haroeh, whe ...
''
*'' The Temple Mount is Mine''
References
Sources
*
External links
Jewish film archive summaryThe Jewish ChannelNew Israeli Foundation for Cinema
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skies are Closer in Homesh, The
Documentary films about Jews and Judaism
Israeli documentary films
Documentary films about terrorism
2004 documentary films
2004 films
Documentary films about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict