In the Name of the Temple

Filmmaker Charles Enderlin, a Middle East correspondent for a French TV channel, looks at Israeli expansion into the West Bank, linking it to the rise of a fundamentalist and messianic arm of Judaism that rose in the wake of the Six-Day War in June 1967, when Israeli forces occupied the Temple Mount in Jerusalem—a holy site for both Muslims and Jews—for the first time in 2,000 years. Some religious leaders in Israel viewed the occupation as a divine sign, whipping up nationalism and fundamentalism to expand the Jewish state. That expansion would include extending and building new Jewish settlements in Palestinian territory in the West Bank, and called for construction of a new temple on the Temple Mount, destroying the mosque Haram esh-Sharif (as Temple Mount is known to Muslims) in the process. Enderlin attempts to stay above the fray as he details the war, occupation of the Temple Mount, post-war religious fervor, West Bank expansion, conciliatory work of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (and his eventual assassination by a right-wing zealot), and the efforts of those hoping to construct a new temple (as well as opponents). Combining archival and contemporary footage with interviews of Jewish and Islamic leaders (as well as people who fought in the war), this is a fascinating study, although perhaps a bit too short for the complicated subject. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Morehart)