The Gatekeepers uses a simple device - interviews with six former heads of the Israeli internal security service (Shin Bet) - but manages to inform on domestic and international history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, offer general insight into leadership, and reflect on complex moral issues.
By focusing on the Shin Bet, which acts as "the unseen shield" protecting Israel from both Israeli and Palestinian attacks, director Dror Moreh is able to touch on some major incidents in the establishment of Israel as a regional power. The Six-Day War, occupation of Palestinian territories, Bus 300 affair (in which the Shin Bet executed Palestinian bus hijackers after they were captured), the Jewish Underground's plots, the Oslo Accords, the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, and the assassination of Hamas leaders are all covered and we see what these events mean to the Shin Bet, Israel, and the world. While I was familiar with some of this history, there are a fair amount of revelatory moments here and seeing the reaction of the heads of the Shin Bet makes for fascinating viewing. It's a sprawling, tragic story, but Moreh somehow makes it relatively simple to digest and understand.
Apart from its consideration of the current Israeli situation, The Gatekeepers reflects on broader moral issues. Framed through the interviews with these now-older men, the banality of evil has rarely been made more clear. They see what they're doing as a job and seem to have put thoughts about the morality of their actions to the side while achieving the goals of their office ("Forget About Morality" is one of the titles of the documentary's seven segments). Additionally, they highlight the depth of the quagmire that they're currently in as one former Shin Bet head suggests that this is not a simple equation that can be solved by Israel unilaterally stopping their attacks and vigilance. When you're in this deep and both sides have spilled this much blood, who has the will to sacrifice more without retaliating?
The inclusion of footage of Palestinians hurling rocks at the overwhelming Israeli forces suggests that perhaps the descendants of David have turned into the new Goliath.
The Shin Bet heads are quick to highlight that they're not alone in these tactics and suggest that the United States and other countries are also willing to employ similar methods.
Crew & Cast
Directed by Dror Moreh (Sharon)
The Gatekeepers
Ami Ayalon
Avi Dichter
Yuval Diskin
Carmi Gillon
Yaakov Peri
Avraham Shalom