Tomorrow night HBO will air James Miller’s BBC/Channel 4 film ‘Death in Gaza.’ (see a trailer on the HBO site)
Miller died from a gunshot wound in Rafah while making the film. The information presented on Miller’s memorial site suggests that the IDF was responsible for the fatal shot, but there has been no official recognition of that (unlike the Tom Hurndall affair, where an IDF soldier has been charged).
The film profiles Palestinian children only. Phyllis Chesler says:
Presumably, Miller was going to interview Israeli children too but he never did. Miller’s widow, Sophy, has gone on record accusing the Israelis of purposely killing him on his last day of shooting in Gaza; if this was indeed his last day then perhaps Miller did not plan to interview any Israeli children after all.
Well, maybe he did…it was the last day of filming in Gaza, not the whole region. The Newark Star-Ledger says:
The Palestinean children — mostly young teenaged boys — seem alternately innocent and cynical. “Death in Gaza” sees life through their eyes. The picture is dark indeed.
These kids are fed political and religious hatred by their parents, their school system and especially by the militants, who redefine suicide as martyrdom, and offer poor, angry boys a way to feel active and defiant rather than imprisoned and helpless. These kids know Israelis only as distant, helmeted soldiers — or as faceless forces driving tanks and bulldozers — and despise them accordingly.
Newsday also has a review. Watch it and let us know your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
