Hebron, Palestine has been the center of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank since 1967. A place of cultural, religious, and symbolic importance, the area that is known as H2 was seen as a key area by Zionist forces during the Six Day War. The Cave of the Patriarchs, the mythological resting place of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, lies at the end of a kilometer stretch of road that has long been heavily patrolled and controlled by Israeli military forces. Both the Islamic and Jewish faiths hold the site as sacred.
In 1929, there was an infamous pogrom against the city’s Jewish population living near the Cave of the Patriarchs. In the years following the Six Day War, a small number of Israeli settlers occupied the historically Jewish houses near the Cave of the Patriarchs, and with them came heavily armed Israeli soldiers. The tensions in the H2 area of Hebron have remained high as the Israeli army and security forces seem to use the road to the Cave of the Patriarchs and the surrounding neighborhoods as a test lab for their newest and some of their cruelest occupation methods.
H2: The Occupation Lab is an ambitious film. It sets out to give a full perspective on the complex situation that is Israel’s occupation of Palestine. Beyond that, it seeks to remain unbiased, allowing Israeli settlers, government officials, security forces Palestinian locals, activists, and militants to speak their minds openly and freely. These personal interviews are interspersed with footage taken from the H2 zone through time.
H2: The Occupation Lab exists to hand the viewer as much information as it can about the conflict in Hebron. It is up to the viewer to weigh that information themselves. It is not for the faint of heart, however, as brutality in many forms is shown prominently throughout the film. This excellent documentary will be of special interest to those teaching college-level courses studying the conflict in Palestine or Israeli history. Highly Recommended.
Where does this title belong on public library shelves?
H2 belongs on war, Palestinian/Israeli, and activist documentary shelves.
What type of college instructor could use this documentary?
Anyone looking for a succinct breakdown of the occupation of Palestine since 1967 will want to use this documentary in the classroom.