1
00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:03,840
They stand there, barking.
26 dogs.
2
00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:07,800
I see their mean faces.
They've come to kill.
3
00:03:08,280 --> 00:03:10,880
And they tell my boss Bertold:
4
00:03:11,240 --> 00:03:16,080
"Give us Boaz Rein, or we'll eat
your customers. In 1 minute!"
5
00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,360
26 dogs?
- Exactly.
6
00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:22,520
How do you know
there are 26 and not 30?
7
00:03:23,160 --> 00:03:24,720
I'm coming to that.
8
00:03:29,800 --> 00:03:31,400
Well?
- Well what?
9
00:03:31,760 --> 00:03:36,120
Do you check it out?
What do you think happens?
10
00:03:37,480 --> 00:03:40,680
I wake up!
- At that point every time?
11
00:03:41,040 --> 00:03:43,080
Exactly.
It always stops there.
12
00:03:43,400 --> 00:03:45,880
Since when?
- Two and a half years.
13
00:03:46,240 --> 00:03:48,800
And you call me now, at this hour?
- Asshole!
14
00:03:49,160 --> 00:03:51,680
Don't call me an asshole.
15
00:03:53,600 --> 00:03:55,840
This dream is coming from somewhere.
16
00:03:56,200 --> 00:04:00,720
I haven't told you everything.
- Like what?
17
00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:02,440
You know, in Lebanon...
18
00:04:02,800 --> 00:04:04,200
What about Lebanon?
19
00:04:04,560 --> 00:04:07,720
At the start of the war,
we went into Lebanese villages
20
00:04:08,090 --> 00:04:11,440
to search for wanted Palestinians.
21
00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:13,640
Yeah, and?
22
00:04:28,640 --> 00:04:34,280
When someone enters a village,
the dogs smell and bark to alert.
23
00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:40,160
Everyone wakes up,
and the fugitives take off.
24
00:04:40,920 --> 00:04:45,440
Someone had to liquidate them.
Otherwise our men would have died.
25
00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:47,640
But why you?
26
00:04:48,000 --> 00:04:51,640
They knew I couldn't shoot a person.
They told me:
27
00:04:52,000 --> 00:04:55,320
"Go ahead and shoot the dogs!"
28
00:05:11,480 --> 00:05:15,000
26 dogs,
I remember every single one.
29
00:05:15,360 --> 00:05:20,920
Every face, every wound,
the look in their eyes... 26 dogs.
30
00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,160
How long before they started
appearing in your dreams?
31
00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:25,640
20 years.
32
00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:29,120
Have you tried anything?
- Like what?
33
00:05:29,480 --> 00:05:33,160
Therapy, a psychiatrist,
Shiatsu, anything...
34
00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,920
No, nothing. I called you.
35
00:05:36,280 --> 00:05:37,800
I'm just a filmmaker!
36
00:05:38,160 --> 00:05:40,120
Can't films be therapeutic?
37
00:05:40,600 --> 00:05:43,720
You've dealt with all the issues
in your films, right?
38
00:05:44,200 --> 00:05:46,480
But nothing like this.
39
00:05:46,840 --> 00:05:48,600
No flashbacks from Lebanon?
40
00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:53,000
No. Not really.
41
00:05:53,360 --> 00:05:54,400
Are you sure?
42
00:05:56,640 --> 00:05:57,840
No.
43
00:05:58,200 --> 00:05:59,800
Beirut, Sabra and Shatila?
- What about that?
44
00:06:00,160 --> 00:06:03,000
You were only 100 yards away
from the massacre!
45
00:06:03,360 --> 00:06:06,840
More like 200 or 300 yards.
46
00:06:07,200 --> 00:06:10,600
The truth is
that's not stored in my system.
47
00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:14,200
No flashbacks or dreams?
You never think about it?
48
00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:18,320
No.
49
00:06:23,760 --> 00:06:25,520
You'll be okay, huh?
50
00:06:26,200 --> 00:06:28,200
You think so?
- Sure.
51
00:06:28,560 --> 00:06:31,720
You 're sure?
- Yes. I'll think of something.
52
00:06:32,320 --> 00:06:34,520
Sure?
- Sure.
53
00:07:13,720 --> 00:07:14,480
The meeting with Boaz
took place in winter, 2006.
54
00:07:14,515 --> 00:07:18,760
That night,
for the first time in 20 years,
55
00:07:19,120 --> 00:07:21,440
I had a flashback
of the war in Lebanon.
56
00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:26,240
Not just Lebanon, West Beirut.
Not just Beirut,
57
00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:30,920
but the massacre
at the Sabra and Shatila refugee camps.
58
00:08:54,200 --> 00:08:56,920
What's wrong?
It's 6:30 in the morning!
59
00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:02,960
We all have friends
who are lawyers, doctors, therapists...
60
00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:06,640
Sometimes that friendship costs them.
61
00:09:07,000 --> 00:09:10,720
But you wouldn't
wake your lawyer friend at 6:30!
62
00:09:11,080 --> 00:09:13,840
My lawyer is 10 times cheaper than you!
63
00:09:14,480 --> 00:09:16,280
I just don't understand.
64
00:09:16,640 --> 00:09:23,000
Why Boaz's dream with the dogs?
65
00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:28,640
Why that to jog my memory?
It has nothing to do with me.
66
00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:33,760
Memory is fascinating.
Take this psychological experiment...
67
00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:42,920
A group of people were shown
10 various childhood images.
68
00:09:43,760 --> 00:09:47,040
Nine were really from their childhood
and one was fake:
69
00:09:47,400 --> 00:09:54,040
Their portrait was pasted
into a fairground they never visited.
70
00:09:58,200 --> 00:10:01,160
Eighty percent recognized themselves...
71
00:10:01,520 --> 00:10:04,600
They recognized the fake photo as real!
72
00:10:04,960 --> 00:10:07,720
Twenty percent couldn't remember.
73
00:10:08,080 --> 00:10:10,360
The researchers asked them again.
74
00:10:10,720 --> 00:10:14,400
The second time, the others said
that they remembered the image.
75
00:10:15,720 --> 00:10:19,080
"Such a wonderful day at the park
with my parents."
76
00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:22,680
They remembered
a completely fabricated experience.
77
00:10:23,920 --> 00:10:26,600
Memory is dynamic. It's alive.
78
00:10:27,000 --> 00:10:29,920
If some details are missing,
79
00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:35,040
memory fills the holes
with things that never happened.
80
00:10:37,400 --> 00:10:43,760
So my vision of the massacre
is like the fake photo?
81
00:10:44,120 --> 00:10:48,320
It never happened?
I invented it? It's not real?
82
00:10:48,680 --> 00:10:51,320
I don't know.
Who was there with you?
83
00:10:51,680 --> 00:10:55,320
Carmi was there.
You know him from school.
84
00:10:56,600 --> 00:10:59,240
And someone else I don't recognize.
85
00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,640
So go ask Carmi what he remembers.
- He's in Holland.
86
00:11:05,000 --> 00:11:07,240
He's lived there for 20 years.
87
00:11:07,600 --> 00:11:11,080
Go to Holland and ask him
if it bothers you.
88
00:11:11,440 --> 00:11:12,480
Isn't that dangerous?
89
00:11:12,840 --> 00:11:16,680
Maybe I'll discover things
I don't want to know about myself?
90
00:11:17,040 --> 00:11:18,360
Not at all.
91
00:11:18,720 --> 00:11:22,800
You'll discover important things
that you want to know.
92
00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:26,840
We don't go places
where we really don't want to.
93
00:11:27,200 --> 00:11:31,440
A human mechanism
prevents us from entering dark places.
94
00:11:31,800 --> 00:11:35,640
Memory takes us
where we need to go.
95
00:12:10,280 --> 00:12:12,080
See all that?
96
00:12:15,840 --> 00:12:17,440
It's all mine.
97
00:12:20,480 --> 00:12:21,680
All of it?
98
00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,040
From those trees to the river.
99
00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:27,680
It all belongs to you.
- Yes, and the house.
100
00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:30,640
It's about 10 acres.
101
00:12:32,720 --> 00:12:36,280
All that just from selling falafel?
- Just from falafel.
102
00:12:36,640 --> 00:12:39,280
Wow!
- Come and see.
103
00:12:43,440 --> 00:12:46,800
How much falafel did you sell?
- Three years was enough.
104
00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:51,440
In the early '90s
I had a small stand in Utrecht.
105
00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:55,720
Health food was in fashion.
The Middle East too...
106
00:12:56,080 --> 00:12:58,880
Falafel is both healthy
and Middle Eastern.
107
00:12:59,800 --> 00:13:03,760
Everyone thought you'd become
a nuclear physicist.
108
00:13:04,600 --> 00:13:05,720
Who did?
109
00:13:06,080 --> 00:13:10,040
I don't know, your family,
my family, our school friends.
110
00:13:12,160 --> 00:13:15,280
They thought that by the age of 40
you'd be nominated for a Nobel prize.
111
00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:17,400
By 20 that future was over.
112
00:13:19,240 --> 00:13:20,080
Cold?
113
00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:24,400
Cold? I'm freezing!
- Let's go inside.
114
00:13:25,160 --> 00:13:28,000
We have to talk all that way?
115
00:13:28,960 --> 00:13:31,600
It's funny you've showed up now.
116
00:13:31,960 --> 00:13:34,040
Why.
- When you called...
117
00:13:34,720 --> 00:13:39,040
I had just gone out with my son Thomas.
He's seven.
118
00:13:39,400 --> 00:13:43,000
He was playing with a toy gun
and started asking questions.
119
00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,280
"What did you do in the army?
Ever shoot anyone?"
120
00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:48,640
Did you?
- I don't know.
121
00:13:49,520 --> 00:13:52,480
Let's go inside and warm up.
122
00:13:53,380 --> 00:13:57,080
Would you mind if I sketch
you and your son playing in the snow?
123
00:13:57,440 --> 00:13:58,960
No.
124
00:13:59,800 --> 00:14:02,840
Not at all. Draw as much as you like.
125
00:14:03,200 --> 00:14:04,840
I'll fetch him.
126
00:14:05,200 --> 00:14:07,960
It's fine as long as you draw,
but don't film.
127
00:15:15,200 --> 00:15:20,000
As strange as it sounds,
we were transported to war
128
00:15:20,360 --> 00:15:25,640
on a little "Love Boat"
leased by the army or God knows what.
129
00:15:26,320 --> 00:15:30,440
They wanted to mislead the enemy
and launch a surprise attack.
130
00:15:31,400 --> 00:15:36,320
What do you mean a "Love Boat"?
With jacuzzis and bars?
131
00:15:36,680 --> 00:15:42,160
All of that?
- That's how I imagined it.
132
00:15:42,520 --> 00:15:48,920
I later found out it was
just an old commando boat.
133
00:15:49,280 --> 00:15:53,480
For 18 you seemed pretty bright to me.
I never took you for a fighter.
134
00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:57,400
Frankly, it was important to me
for a pretty practical reason.
135
00:15:57,760 --> 00:16:01,600
I felt like everyone else
was screwing like rabbits,
136
00:16:01,960 --> 00:16:04,560
and that I was the only...
How can I put it?
137
00:16:04,920 --> 00:16:08,480
The only nerd good at chess and Math
138
00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:13,760
but with masculinity problems.
So I had to prove to everyone
139
00:16:14,120 --> 00:16:16,600
that I was the best fighter
and some big hero.
140
00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:18,920
Did you succeed?
141
00:16:19,960 --> 00:16:21,880
Yes, surprisingly enough.
142
00:16:22,560 --> 00:16:25,040
I felt that I was strong and capable.
143
00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:31,840
Then the war started and
they put us on that damned "Love Boat".
144
00:16:33,040 --> 00:16:36,040
Then I..
- You what?
145
00:16:36,400 --> 00:16:41,160
I puked like a pig!
I wondered what the enemy would think.
146
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:45,400
I finally collapsed on deck
and fell asleep.
147
00:16:46,360 --> 00:16:48,760
I sleep when I'm scared.
148
00:16:49,880 --> 00:16:53,040
To this day,
I escape into sleep and hallucinate.
149
00:17:33,280 --> 00:17:35,040
Unconscious on the deck,
150
00:17:38,120 --> 00:17:43,480
dreaming a woman would come
151
00:17:47,960 --> 00:17:50,920
and take me for the first time,
152
00:17:53,720 --> 00:17:58,320
I saw my best friends
go up in flames before my eyes.
153
00:17:58,760 --> 00:18:01,480
Where?
- On the boat.
154
00:18:33,160 --> 00:18:37,240
I woke up just before we docked.
It's dawn, and we're in a city.
155
00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,120
Which city?
- How should I know?
156
00:18:41,520 --> 00:18:42,560
Sidon, I think.
157
00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:47,640
Out of pure fear and anxiety
we start shooting like lunatics.
158
00:18:50,520 --> 00:18:52,560
At whom?
- How do I know?
159
00:18:55,080 --> 00:18:57,320
Then an old Mercedes drives up.
160
00:18:57,680 --> 00:19:00,160
Everyone fires at it like crazy.
161
00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,560
Two years of training,
and the fear,
162
00:19:06,920 --> 00:19:09,200
the uncontrollable fear...
163
00:19:12,440 --> 00:19:16,680
Then the silence.
The terrible silence of death.
164
00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,000
At daybreak
165
00:19:21,440 --> 00:19:26,080
we could see our destruction,
166
00:19:28,840 --> 00:19:31,160
without knowing where we were.
167
00:19:31,520 --> 00:19:33,720
Lying in the car...
168
00:19:35,320 --> 00:19:37,080
What was in the car?
169
00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:38,880
The bodies of a whole family.
170
00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:42,080
Why did you come here?
171
00:19:42,660 --> 00:19:44,240
Me? I...
172
00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:47,040
I lost my memory.
173
00:19:47,560 --> 00:19:49,800
In an accident?
- What?
174
00:19:50,160 --> 00:19:52,760
Did you have an accident?
- What do you mean?
175
00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:56,200
In a car or at work?
176
00:19:56,560 --> 00:19:59,040
No, I didn't have an accident.
177
00:19:59,400 --> 00:20:03,360
I just can't remember anything
about the Lebanon War.
178
00:20:03,720 --> 00:20:07,640
Just one image in my mind.
179
00:20:09,280 --> 00:20:12,240
Somehow you're in it.
180
00:20:12,600 --> 00:20:14,000
What image?
181
00:20:49,920 --> 00:20:51,960
Were you there too?
182
00:20:54,440 --> 00:20:55,480
It's hard to say.
183
00:20:55,840 --> 00:20:57,560
What do you mean?
Were you there?
184
00:20:57,920 --> 00:20:59,240
It's hard to say.
185
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,040
I don't remember anything
about the massacre.
186
00:21:03,640 --> 00:21:07,360
But you were in Beirut
when the massacre took place.
187
00:21:07,720 --> 00:21:09,160
Yes, I remember being there.
188
00:21:09,520 --> 00:21:12,360
I'll never forget
us marching into Beirut.
189
00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:15,400
But the massacre...
How did you say it?
190
00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:18,440
That's not stored in my system.
191
00:21:19,680 --> 00:21:20,600
Right.
- Massacre...
192
00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,840
Then it happened in a taxi
to Amsterdam airport...
193
00:22:01,200 --> 00:22:03,840
Suddenly all the memories came back.
194
00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:06,200
Not a hallucination
nor my subconscious.
195
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:11,400
The first day of the war. Barely 19,
I haven't even started shaving.
196
00:22:11,760 --> 00:22:14,840
We're driving down a road.
Orchards on one side,
197
00:22:15,200 --> 00:22:20,000
the sea on the other.
We're shooting everywhere
198
00:22:20,360 --> 00:22:22,520
at everything, until nightfall.
199
00:22:27,160 --> 00:22:30,120
That evening, when we stopped,
an officer tells me:
200
00:22:30,480 --> 00:22:33,480
"Load up the dead and wounded.
201
00:22:33,840 --> 00:22:36,240
Go and dump them."
202
00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:39,760
"Dump?"
- "Yes, dump."
203
00:22:40,120 --> 00:22:41,400
"Where?"
204
00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:47,480
"How should I know?
Out there, near that bright light.
205
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:50,160
That's where they're dumped."
206
00:22:56,560 --> 00:23:00,480
So I drive all the way back.
207
00:23:00,840 --> 00:23:05,240
I had never seen an open wound
or any kind of bleeding before.
208
00:23:05,600 --> 00:23:07,360
Now I was in command of a tank
209
00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:12,720
full of the dead and wounded,
looking for a bright light, salvation.
210
00:23:19,880 --> 00:23:23,000
What should we do?
Why don't you tell us what to do?
211
00:23:23,360 --> 00:23:25,240
Shoot.
- At who?
212
00:23:25,560 --> 00:23:27,240
How do I know? Just shoot.
213
00:23:27,640 --> 00:23:31,160
Isn't it better to pray?
- Then pray and shoot.
214
00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,120
Finally we see the helicopter lights.
Like halos.
215
00:23:46,480 --> 00:23:51,440
As we get closer to the light,
we see dead and wounded everywhere.
216
00:24:25,080 --> 00:24:29,840
We unload mechanically,
as if we're not even present.
217
00:24:30,200 --> 00:24:32,880
The we turn around and drive off.
218
00:24:58,200 --> 00:25:00,880
On the first day of the war,
219
00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,160
I transported the dead and wounded
220
00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,440
from tanks on the coast road.
221
00:25:07,800 --> 00:25:10,320
I'm looking for people who were with me.
222
00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:13,800
Could your men have been among them?
223
00:25:14,160 --> 00:25:19,160
It sounds logical.
We were in the coastal area.
224
00:25:19,520 --> 00:25:22,240
In the western sector
It's possible.
225
00:25:22,600 --> 00:25:25,800
Do you recognize me here?
226
00:25:28,920 --> 00:25:30,400
No.
227
00:25:31,800 --> 00:25:34,800
I don't recognize myself either.
228
00:25:48,720 --> 00:25:52,760
Crossing the border at Rosh Hanikra,
felt like an excursion.
229
00:25:53,120 --> 00:25:54,440
We took photos,
230
00:25:54,800 --> 00:25:56,800
we told jokes...
231
00:25:57,160 --> 00:26:01,280
We had time to fool around
before going into action.
232
00:26:02,560 --> 00:26:08,840
Good morning, Lebanon
233
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:15,640
Good morning, Lebanon
234
00:26:16,240 --> 00:26:22,280
Too much pain to carry on
235
00:26:23,240 --> 00:26:28,480
Good morning, Lebanon
236
00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:34,440
The landscape was beautiful,
trees all around,
237
00:26:34,800 --> 00:26:40,040
a few scattered houses...
A really idyllic pastoral scene.
238
00:26:40,400 --> 00:26:43,600
The slow drive allowed us
to enjoy the scenery.
239
00:26:43,960 --> 00:26:50,480
May your dreams come true
240
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:57,160
May your nightmares pass
241
00:26:58,120 --> 00:27:03,120
Your existence is a blessing, Lebanon
242
00:27:03,480 --> 00:27:06,920
In a tank, you always feel really safe.
243
00:27:07,280 --> 00:27:11,680
A tank is a very massive.
enclosed vehicle.
244
00:27:12,040 --> 00:27:14,000
Inside the tank,
245
00:27:14,360 --> 00:27:15,680
we were protected.
246
00:27:18,800 --> 00:27:25,440
You are torn to pieces
247
00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:32,420
You bleed to death in my arms
248
00:27:32,821 --> 00:27:35,840
You bleed to death in my arms
249
00:27:36,200 --> 00:27:39,640
You are the love of my life
250
00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:46,360
Oh, my short, short life
251
00:27:46,720 --> 00:27:51,800
Tear me to pieces
252
00:27:53,760 --> 00:27:56,200
I'm bleeding...
253
00:28:00,640 --> 00:28:04,960
Suddenly our commander
stopped responding. We lost contact.
254
00:28:05,320 --> 00:28:06,960
Was he beside you.
- Yes.
255
00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:11,760
I saw his head slumped forward.
256
00:28:12,760 --> 00:28:16,520
I went down inside and saw blood,
blood in the tank.
257
00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:23,000
The blood was coming from his neck.
258
00:28:25,520 --> 00:28:29,480
You were next in command?
- Yes, I was.
259
00:28:29,840 --> 00:28:32,560
But I didn't react immediately.
260
00:28:33,120 --> 00:28:37,360
We just stayed in the tank
without even thinking of firing back.
261
00:28:41,120 --> 00:28:42,160
Two minutes later,
262
00:28:42,520 --> 00:28:46,520
there was an explosion. Everyone tried
to escape from the tank hysterically...
263
00:28:50,640 --> 00:28:53,920
without weapons or anything...
264
00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:57,120
Those who stayed inside,
were killed in the tank.
265
00:29:02,960 --> 00:29:05,560
I ran as fast as I could
266
00:29:05,920 --> 00:29:08,520
in zigzags towards the sea.
267
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:29,080
My only thought.
268
00:29:29,440 --> 00:29:32,720
It's over. I'm done for.
269
00:29:33,680 --> 00:29:38,080
They'll be here any minute.
All I can do is wait for the end.
270
00:29:44,400 --> 00:29:48,200
I saw the building from which they
were shooting, and the commander.
271
00:29:48,560 --> 00:29:53,560
I hoped he'd get closer.
272
00:30:19,960 --> 00:30:23,600
I don't know why,
but he started to retreat.
273
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:39,280
I felt abandoned by our forces.
274
00:30:46,200 --> 00:30:47,960
I imagined how my mother would react.
275
00:30:48,320 --> 00:30:52,840
We're very close.
I was always like her right hand.
276
00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:57,760
I'm the only one
who helps out at home.
277
00:30:58,720 --> 00:31:00,320
Like the firstborn son.
278
00:31:03,240 --> 00:31:06,960
I took a peek.
I saw them chatting, smoking.
279
00:31:08,040 --> 00:31:10,080
I wondered why
280
00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:12,480
they didn't notice me.
281
00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:18,120
I peeked a few more times,
I realized that they probably thought
282
00:31:18,480 --> 00:31:22,800
that everyone was killed in the attack.
283
00:31:23,160 --> 00:31:26,240
I decided to wait until dark.
284
00:31:26,600 --> 00:31:28,920
I had a good place to hide.
285
00:31:37,680 --> 00:31:40,080
I don't know why, but I decided
286
00:31:40,440 --> 00:31:42,800
to crawl out to the sea.
287
00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:53,360
I didn't want to stay close to shore,
so I swam quite far out.
288
00:31:54,880 --> 00:31:59,280
When I felt I was far out enough
I started swimming south.
289
00:31:59,640 --> 00:32:00,680
How was the sea?
290
00:32:01,040 --> 00:32:04,880
Really calm, no waves.
291
00:32:05,840 --> 00:32:08,640
I felt calm and at peace.
Just me and the sea.
292
00:32:23,760 --> 00:32:26,880
I felt safe, because the sea
was calm and peaceful.
293
00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:30,400
But I was still really afraid
294
00:32:31,440 --> 00:32:34,440
that my strength would fail
and I'd drown.
295
00:32:34,800 --> 00:32:39,520
Or maybe someone might spot me
and shoot at me, kill me.
296
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:54,640
While swimming through
this peaceful water,
297
00:32:55,000 --> 00:32:58,040
I suddenly heard a loud noise.
298
00:32:58,400 --> 00:33:00,160
I felt the water pulsating.
299
00:33:00,520 --> 00:33:04,720
I felt the turbulent water
enveloping me.
300
00:33:05,520 --> 00:33:09,560
My body shook with fear.
301
00:33:37,680 --> 00:33:41,960
I saw lights in the distance
and I headed in that direction.
302
00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:44,960
They might be Israeli forces.
303
00:33:45,320 --> 00:33:49,160
I kept swimming
but felt my strength was dwindling.
304
00:33:49,520 --> 00:33:52,000
I could barely move my limbs.
305
00:34:02,960 --> 00:34:06,640
Sometimes I simply
let the water carry me along.
306
00:34:15,640 --> 00:34:18,280
I eventually reached shore
and started walking.
307
00:34:18,640 --> 00:34:23,560
I heard voices speaking Hebrew
on the two-way radio.
308
00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,200
I knew
309
00:34:27,080 --> 00:34:31,080
that I had to get to them
despite my exhaustion.
310
00:34:38,440 --> 00:34:42,560
To my amazement, it was
the regiment that had abandoned me.
311
00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:49,920
After I got back to my regiment,
312
00:34:50,280 --> 00:34:52,520
I felt like...
313
00:34:54,200 --> 00:34:57,240
like it was me who had
abandoned my comrades.
314
00:34:57,600 --> 00:34:59,720
I always felt
that they regarded me like...
315
00:35:04,640 --> 00:35:08,720
like someone who didn't help
rescue his friends.
316
00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:15,440
As if I had fled the battlefield
just to save my own skin.
317
00:35:15,800 --> 00:35:17,760
I sometimes felt very uneasy.
318
00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:20,240
I broke off contact
with the families of the dead.
319
00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:27,080
At first I visited their graves,
but then I just stopped.
320
00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:32,200
I wanted to forget.
I didn't want to relive those moments.
321
00:35:32,560 --> 00:35:36,760
Visiting the graves, you felt...
- Guilty.
322
00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:40,280
I felt guilty standing at their graves.
323
00:35:42,480 --> 00:35:43,280
As if I didn't do enough.
324
00:35:43,720 --> 00:35:45,040
I didn't do enough.
325
00:35:45,400 --> 00:35:51,240
I wasn't the hero type who carries
weapons and saves everyone's life.
326
00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,520
That's not me. I'm not the type.
327
00:36:31,000 --> 00:36:34,240
I bombed Sidon today
328
00:36:35,600 --> 00:36:40,240
amid the clouds of smoke at dawn
329
00:36:40,760 --> 00:36:45,080
I almost went home in a coffin
330
00:36:46,600 --> 00:36:49,160
I bombed Sidon today
331
00:36:53,520 --> 00:36:56,800
One month after Ronnie Dayag
swam back home safely,
332
00:36:57,160 --> 00:37:00,640
the army took the beach
from which he had fled.
333
00:37:01,000 --> 00:37:04,720
They told us we'd soon attack Beirut
and that we'd all die.
334
00:37:05,280 --> 00:37:09,560
But on the beach
we didn't think much about death.
335
00:37:09,920 --> 00:37:12,080
I had a hut of banana leaves.
336
00:37:12,440 --> 00:37:14,240
Thinking back,
337
00:37:14,600 --> 00:37:19,960
the smell of Patchouli Oil
still makes me nauseous.
338
00:37:21,520 --> 00:37:25,880
It was really popular in the '80s.
For my roommate Frenkel,
339
00:37:26,240 --> 00:37:31,600
Patchouli was not just a fragrance,
it was a way of life.
340
00:37:59,120 --> 00:38:01,880
Patchouli...
How do you use it?
341
00:38:02,360 --> 00:38:03,840
Show me.
342
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:09,000
You sprinkle a drop on your hand,
like this.
343
00:38:17,400 --> 00:38:18,640
This way,
344
00:38:19,000 --> 00:38:21,800
your comrades always know you're there.
345
00:38:22,160 --> 00:38:25,800
I remember my men telling me:
346
00:38:26,160 --> 00:38:31,080
"Frenkel, you walk too fast.
Like a rabbit."
347
00:38:33,520 --> 00:38:36,760
So what do you do? Patchouli!
348
00:38:37,120 --> 00:38:40,560
In the dark, at night...
They couldn't miss me!
349
00:38:40,920 --> 00:38:45,040
The scent is really strong,
even out in the field.
350
00:38:45,760 --> 00:38:47,240
I still use it.
351
00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:52,880
I bombed Beirut today
352
00:38:54,360 --> 00:38:58,240
I bombed Beirut every day
353
00:38:59,280 --> 00:39:04,120
If I came close to death
I couldn't say
354
00:39:04,680 --> 00:39:07,600
I bombed Beirut every day
355
00:39:09,240 --> 00:39:13,000
At the pull of a trigger
356
00:39:14,560 --> 00:39:17,840
We can send strangers
straight to Hell
357
00:39:24,880 --> 00:39:29,640
If I came close to death
I couldn't say
358
00:39:30,000 --> 00:39:32,600
I bombed Beirut every day
359
00:39:33,920 --> 00:39:35,960
Our daily routine was this:
360
00:39:37,480 --> 00:39:39,040
Get up in the morning,
361
00:39:40,200 --> 00:39:44,480
prepare breakfast
on those frying pans,
362
00:39:44,840 --> 00:39:47,040
potted beef and eggs.
363
00:39:47,400 --> 00:39:49,720
On the beach.
- On the beach.
364
00:39:50,080 --> 00:39:51,120
Take a quick swim,
365
00:39:51,480 --> 00:39:55,240
back into uniform,
then go after some terrorists.
366
00:41:19,040 --> 00:41:21,120
Someone yelled, "Frenkel!"
367
00:41:23,040 --> 00:41:25,280
I noticed a boy holding an RPG.
368
00:41:25,640 --> 00:41:27,120
A kid.
369
00:41:40,200 --> 00:41:42,240
Frenkel, was I there too?
370
00:41:42,640 --> 00:41:47,440
Sure. From training camp,
you were with me wherever I went.
371
00:41:47,920 --> 00:41:49,960
Even there?
- Yes, there too.
372
00:41:50,480 --> 00:41:53,560
Good to know. Of course I was there.
373
00:41:55,040 --> 00:41:59,240
Is it possible that I can't remember
such a dramatic event?
374
00:41:59,600 --> 00:42:01,280
We call them "dissociative events".
375
00:42:01,760 --> 00:42:06,000
It's when a person is in a situation
but feels outside it.
376
00:42:06,360 --> 00:42:10,120
I was once visited by a young man,
an amateur photographer.
377
00:42:10,480 --> 00:42:13,840
I asked him in 1983, "How did you
survive through that gruelling war?"
378
00:42:14,600 --> 00:42:18,160
He replied, "It was quite easy.
I regarded it as a long day-trip."
379
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:22,400
He told himself,
"Wow! What great scenes:
380
00:42:22,760 --> 00:42:25,680
shooting, artillery,
wounded people, screaming...
381
00:42:26,040 --> 00:42:30,920
He looked at everything
as if through an imaginary camera.
382
00:42:43,880 --> 00:42:45,960
Then something happened.
383
00:42:47,040 --> 00:42:49,080
his 'camera' broke.
384
00:43:01,400 --> 00:43:04,040
He said that the situation
turned traumatic for him
385
00:43:04,400 --> 00:43:08,880
when they arrived in the vicinity of the
stables in Beirut.
386
00:43:09,240 --> 00:43:10,320
The Hippodrome.
387
00:43:10,680 --> 00:43:14,400
He saw a huge number of carcasses
388
00:43:14,760 --> 00:43:18,640
of slaughtered Arabian horses.
389
00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:23,840
"It broke my heart.", he
said. What had those horses done
390
00:43:24,200 --> 00:43:26,400
to deserve such suffering?"
391
00:43:26,760 --> 00:43:30,000
He couldn't handle seeing
those dead and wounded horses.
392
00:43:30,360 --> 00:43:33,120
He had used a mechanism
to remain outside events,
393
00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:36,840
as if watching the war on film
instead of participating.
394
00:43:37,200 --> 00:43:39,240
This protected him.
395
00:43:39,600 --> 00:43:43,800
Once pulled into the events,
he could no longer deny reality.
396
00:43:44,640 --> 00:43:48,280
Horror surrounded him
and he freaked out.
397
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:59,200
You told me earlier that
you can't remember being in the orchard
398
00:43:59,560 --> 00:44:02,360
where the boy with the RPG was.
399
00:44:02,720 --> 00:44:05,440
Can you remember other things?
Like going home
400
00:44:06,160 --> 00:44:08,760
chatting with friends,
events from that time,
401
00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:13,040
something that maybe reminds you
of that time?
402
00:44:13,400 --> 00:44:16,280
Yes, in detail.
- For example?
403
00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:19,360
I can remember perfectly
every furlough.
404
00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:10,920
I remember when I was about 10,
there was a war going on.
405
00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:15,080
And everything came to a halt.
All the fathers were at the front.
406
00:45:15,440 --> 00:45:19,520
All children sat with their mothers
closed indoors,
407
00:45:20,800 --> 00:45:22,360
behind closed blinds in the dark.
408
00:45:22,720 --> 00:45:26,000
Just waiting for a plane to drop a bomb
and kill them all.
409
00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:29,440
No one even dreamed of going outside.
410
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:36,480
When I went home from Lebanon
for the first time in six weeks,
411
00:45:36,840 --> 00:45:40,400
and saw that life
was carrying on normally.
412
00:45:51,720 --> 00:45:56,480
My goal on leave
was to get back my girlfriend Yaeli.
413
00:45:56,840 --> 00:45:59,720
She had dumped my the night before
all of this started.
414
00:46:19,480 --> 00:46:23,760
Remember how?
Add some Sprite...
415
00:46:24,880 --> 00:46:25,520
Ready?
416
00:46:30,560 --> 00:46:31,680
Bottoms up!
417
00:46:35,440 --> 00:46:37,280
The memories are coming back.
418
00:46:37,640 --> 00:46:42,520
I met people who served with me.
I almost have the full picture.
419
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:45,840
At which point?
- The first day of the war,
420
00:46:46,200 --> 00:46:48,400
the siege on Beirut.
421
00:46:48,760 --> 00:46:50,880
You remember
that Yaeli dumped you a week before?
422
00:46:51,760 --> 00:46:52,920
How do you know?
423
00:47:01,760 --> 00:47:04,400
No, I didn't know that.
424
00:47:04,760 --> 00:47:06,040
It's true.
425
00:47:08,200 --> 00:47:10,760
What's wrong?
That was 20 years ago.
426
00:47:11,120 --> 00:47:13,600
It's OK. I'm not angry.
427
00:47:16,240 --> 00:47:18,840
At least you had your home,
your family.
428
00:47:19,200 --> 00:47:22,120
What home? What family?
429
00:47:23,080 --> 00:47:24,120
You have no idea.
430
00:47:24,640 --> 00:47:25,680
My father...
431
00:47:28,840 --> 00:47:31,720
To comfort me,
he told me that in his war,
432
00:47:32,080 --> 00:47:33,960
World War II...
433
00:47:34,320 --> 00:47:35,800
Russian soldiers in Stalingrad
434
00:47:36,160 --> 00:47:39,320
were given 48 hours leave
only after one year on the front.
435
00:47:48,360 --> 00:47:53,000
They got on a train,
arrived home at the station,
436
00:47:53,840 --> 00:47:55,960
kissed their girlfriends
on the platform,
437
00:47:56,320 --> 00:48:00,680
then had to get back on board
to head back to the front.
438
00:48:01,040 --> 00:48:02,320
Understand?
439
00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:10,120
He thought it would comfort me.
In fact, he was right.
440
00:48:10,480 --> 00:48:13,600
After only 24 hours
I was called back to duty.
441
00:48:13,960 --> 00:48:17,200
Back then, a new trend started:
car bombs.
442
00:48:17,560 --> 00:48:19,040
Still popular today.
443
00:48:19,400 --> 00:48:21,920
They're a blast!
444
00:48:22,280 --> 00:48:24,240
A real blast!
445
00:48:25,600 --> 00:48:30,040
So I arrive at this villa
on the outskirts of Beirut.
446
00:48:36,160 --> 00:48:38,520
Everything is made of gold.
447
00:48:38,880 --> 00:48:42,880
Fancy sinks, marble,
gold fixtures and all that stuff.
448
00:48:45,000 --> 00:48:49,280
An officer sits in front of the TV.
He doesn't look at me.
449
00:48:49,640 --> 00:48:52,720
He keeps repeating:
"Fast forward."
450
00:48:53,760 --> 00:48:55,480
Fast forward.
451
00:48:57,880 --> 00:49:01,920
I'm here to check your plumbing.
- Down here.
452
00:49:07,000 --> 00:49:09,880
Have you seen my tool?
- Which tool?
453
00:49:10,240 --> 00:49:11,920
The big long one.
454
00:49:15,480 --> 00:49:16,880
Your pipes are so deep!
455
00:49:17,240 --> 00:49:18,480
Fast forward.
456
00:49:32,360 --> 00:49:35,320
Hello.
I that your red Mercedes outside?
457
00:49:35,680 --> 00:49:38,840
I'm busy servicing a customer!
458
00:49:42,600 --> 00:49:45,240
He changes the tape and says:
459
00:49:45,600 --> 00:49:49,600
We received a tip-off
about a red Mercedes.
460
00:49:49,960 --> 00:49:51,600
It's coming to blow up your men.
- So?
461
00:49:51,960 --> 00:49:54,240
Blow it up first.
462
00:49:54,600 --> 00:49:57,760
Every red Mercedes?
- Are you an idiot?
463
00:49:58,480 --> 00:50:00,040
Did the Mercedes come?
464
00:50:00,800 --> 00:50:05,960
We waited all night
for the exploding Mercedes,
465
00:50:08,080 --> 00:50:09,040
for this impending disaster.
466
00:50:44,400 --> 00:50:49,360
Then, in the middle of the night,
the phone rang.
467
00:50:50,720 --> 00:50:52,120
Bashir is dead.
468
00:50:53,200 --> 00:50:54,680
Which Bashir?
- Bashir Gemayel,
469
00:50:55,120 --> 00:50:57,320
the elected president of Lebanon.
470
00:50:57,960 --> 00:51:02,200
A brother, an ally, a Christian.
Murdered.
471
00:51:02,880 --> 00:51:06,800
Wake everyone up.
You'll be in Beirut in two hours!
472
00:51:07,240 --> 00:51:10,520
I don't remember much
about the flight to Beirut,
473
00:51:10,880 --> 00:51:14,720
except that I was having
obsessive thoughts about death.
474
00:51:15,080 --> 00:51:18,800
Because my girlfriend Yaeli
had dumped me the week before.
475
00:51:19,160 --> 00:51:22,000
Death would be my revenge.
476
00:51:22,360 --> 00:51:25,160
She would be ridden with guilt
477
00:51:25,520 --> 00:51:27,440
for the rest of her life.
478
00:51:31,120 --> 00:51:34,080
While fantasizing about my death.
479
00:51:34,480 --> 00:51:36,160
we approach Beirut.
480
00:51:36,600 --> 00:51:38,840
A city with hotels. beaches.
481
00:51:39,240 --> 00:51:41,120
and people scurrying about.
482
00:51:41,520 --> 00:51:44,280
We land at the international airport.
483
00:51:44,680 --> 00:51:49,760
Our Hercules army helicopter
lands next to jets from Air France, TWA,
484
00:51:50,160 --> 00:51:52,000
and British Airways.
485
00:51:52,400 --> 00:51:55,880
I was excited
Like I was going on a trip abroad,
486
00:51:56,240 --> 00:51:58,800
excited all over.
487
00:52:06,240 --> 00:52:08,280
At some point I simply take off
488
00:52:08,680 --> 00:52:10,720
and walk into the terminal
489
00:52:11,760 --> 00:52:14,480
It felt as if I was on a leisure trip,
490
00:52:15,720 --> 00:52:18,600
a sort of hallucination
491
00:52:19,000 --> 00:52:20,720
Like standing in a terminal
492
00:52:21,120 --> 00:52:23,840
waiting to choose my destination
493
00:52:24,240 --> 00:52:27,320
Before that '80s departures board,
494
00:52:27,720 --> 00:52:30,960
the choice is all mine
495
00:52:31,360 --> 00:52:34,120
I see the 14:10 to London.
496
00:52:34,520 --> 00:52:36,480
the 15:20 to Paris,
497
00:52:36,880 --> 00:52:38,680
the 16:00 to New York...
498
00:52:40,720 --> 00:52:44,280
I wander through the terminal
and see the duty-free shops:
499
00:52:44,680 --> 00:52:47,360
jewellery, tobacco,
500
00:52:47,760 --> 00:52:48,800
alcohol...
501
00:52:49,200 --> 00:52:53,280
While I'm still on this trip,
I suddenly realize what's going on.
502
00:52:53,680 --> 00:52:57,040
Through the window I see
503
00:52:57,440 --> 00:53:02,040
that all the TWA and Air France planes
are just bombed-out shells.
504
00:53:03,240 --> 00:53:05,200
And the stops are empty,
505
00:53:05,600 --> 00:53:07,160
they've long since been looted.
506
00:53:07,560 --> 00:53:12,160
And the schedule board
hasn't changed for months.
507
00:53:13,200 --> 00:53:16,040
Then I start to hear sounds, voices.
508
00:53:16,440 --> 00:53:20,840
I hear shelling in the city
and the bombing by the air force.
509
00:53:21,240 --> 00:53:22,800
Slowly I begin to realize where I am
510
00:53:23,200 --> 00:53:25,960
and I am afraid
of what will happen next.
511
00:53:30,600 --> 00:53:34,440
We start walking
from the airport to the city.
512
00:53:34,840 --> 00:53:38,040
Tall high-rise hotels
hover above us.
513
00:53:38,960 --> 00:53:41,080
The sea is at our side.
514
00:53:48,600 --> 00:53:53,920
We walk along a promenade
towards a large junction.
515
00:53:55,000 --> 00:53:59,800
Then we come under sniper fire
from the upper floors of a hotel.
516
00:54:00,800 --> 00:54:06,200
We can't see where it's coming from
or who is shooting.
517
00:54:06,600 --> 00:54:11,160
A wounded soldier was lying at the
junction, but we couldn't get to him.
518
00:54:11,680 --> 00:54:13,400
We were scared to death.
519
00:54:25,840 --> 00:54:27,720
Then, in the middle of this hell.
520
00:54:28,120 --> 00:54:32,520
that TV correspondent
Ron Ben-Yishai suddenly shows up.
521
00:54:33,120 --> 00:54:38,040
He's walking upright,
dodging bullets like Superman.
522
00:54:38,440 --> 00:54:42,440
Strolling along as if nothing's wrong.
while bullets whiz past him.
523
00:54:47,320 --> 00:54:52,120
Trembling with fear,
he can't see beyond his helmet.
524
00:54:52,560 --> 00:54:55,200
It was a large junction.
525
00:54:55,600 --> 00:55:01,240
One lane led directly
into Hamra street.
526
00:55:01,640 --> 00:55:04,880
to the West Beirut district of Hamra.
527
00:55:05,280 --> 00:55:09,040
I remember the sizzling sound
a sort of hissing noise...
528
00:55:09,440 --> 00:55:13,960
They were firing masses of RPGs,
and it sounded
529
00:55:14,320 --> 00:55:16,320
like a Native American
arrow-shooting range.
530
00:55:16,680 --> 00:55:20,040
Before an RPG explodes,
it makes this hissing noise.
531
00:55:22,000 --> 00:55:24,680
You don't hear an explosion,
532
00:55:25,040 --> 00:55:29,280
but just this hissing,
then the walls shattering.
533
00:55:31,520 --> 00:55:35,760
During all this,
civilians are seen on balconies:
534
00:55:36,120 --> 00:55:37,880
women, children,
535
00:55:41,600 --> 00:55:42,320
and old people are watching
as if it were a film.
536
00:55:55,160 --> 00:56:00,200
They are shooting at us
from all directions.
537
00:56:05,960 --> 00:56:08,400
And we can't get across.
538
00:56:08,760 --> 00:56:12,640
Throughout my military service
I was a MAG shooter.
539
00:56:13,000 --> 00:56:15,400
During my officer's training, I thought,
540
00:56:15,760 --> 00:56:19,400
"You've used a MAG for so long,
why not try something else?"
541
00:56:19,760 --> 00:56:20,880
So they gave me a Galil.
542
00:56:21,600 --> 00:56:27,360
And while they're shooting at us
from all directions,
543
00:56:28,040 --> 00:56:32,720
I realize that I can't shoot
with the Galil like I could before.
544
00:56:33,640 --> 00:56:38,000
I missed the good old MAG
that I was familiar with.
545
00:56:38,840 --> 00:56:42,080
So I say to Erez,
"Erez, do me a favour.
546
00:56:44,840 --> 00:56:48,880
Give me your MAG.
I won't make it across with the Galil.
547
00:56:49,240 --> 00:56:52,280
Give me your MAG
and we'll cross the street.
548
00:56:52,640 --> 00:56:53,680
I'll shoot better."
549
00:56:54,800 --> 00:56:57,960
He says' "Frenkel, are you nuts?
550
00:56:58,320 --> 00:57:02,800
They're attacking us!
Stop babbling and shoot!"
551
00:57:05,640 --> 00:57:07,960
I finally realize that I must
552
00:57:08,320 --> 00:57:11,200
take drastic steps.
I grab him and say,
553
00:57:11,560 --> 00:57:17,680
"Listen, Erez, give me the MAG,
or I'll take it by force!"
554
00:57:41,400 --> 00:57:43,720
Whether an eternity
or just a minute,
555
00:57:44,160 --> 00:57:46,280
there was Frenkel at the junction
556
00:57:46,640 --> 00:57:49,840
with bullets flying past him
in every direction.
557
00:57:50,200 --> 00:57:52,880
Instead of crossing the junction,
558
00:57:53,240 --> 00:57:56,200
I saw him dancing, as if in a trance.
559
00:57:57,280 --> 00:58:00,960
He cursed the shooters.
Like he wanted to stay there forever.
560
00:58:01,320 --> 00:58:05,800
As if he wanted to show off
his waltz amid the gunfire,
561
00:58:06,160 --> 00:58:08,840
with the posters of Bashir
above his head.
562
00:58:09,200 --> 00:58:12,440
And Bashir's followers
563
00:58:12,800 --> 00:58:14,760
preparing their big revenge
just 200 yards away:
564
00:58:15,120 --> 00:58:18,640
The Sabra and Shatila massacre.
565
00:58:30,320 --> 00:58:31,720
I'm starting to remember.
566
00:58:32,280 --> 00:58:35,280
I've met people,
I've heard stories...
567
00:58:35,640 --> 00:58:37,600
Stories about myself.
568
00:58:38,360 --> 00:58:40,367
I didn't want to believe them.
569
00:58:41,560 --> 00:58:44,680
So what can't you remember?
570
00:58:45,040 --> 00:58:50,000
The day of the massacre.
I can remember everything else.
571
00:58:54,080 --> 00:58:55,160
I don't understand
why people were so surprised
572
00:58:55,440 --> 00:58:58,400
that the Phalangists
carried out the massacre.
573
00:58:59,120 --> 00:59:01,480
I knew all along
how ruthless they were.
574
00:59:07,520 --> 00:59:09,760
During the storming of Beirut
we were in the slaughterhouse.
575
00:59:10,120 --> 00:59:13,640
Where?
- The slaughterhouse, that junk yard
576
00:59:14,000 --> 00:59:19,040
where they took the Palestinians,
interrogated them, and executed them.
577
00:59:19,680 --> 00:59:21,960
It was like being on an LSD trip.
578
00:59:29,520 --> 00:59:32,400
They carried body parts
of murdered Palestinians
579
00:59:32,760 --> 00:59:35,000
preserved in jars of formaldehyde.
580
00:59:37,240 --> 00:59:41,800
They had fingers, eyeballs,
anything you wanted.
581
00:59:47,280 --> 00:59:49,960
And always pictures of Bashir.
582
00:59:50,640 --> 00:59:53,920
Bashir pendants, Bashir watches,
Bashir this, Bashir that...
583
00:59:54,280 --> 00:59:59,960
Bashir was to them
what David Bowie was to me.
584
01:00:00,320 --> 01:00:04,680
A star, an idol,
a prince, admirable.
585
01:00:05,600 --> 01:00:08,480
I think they even felt
an eroticism for him.
586
01:00:09,440 --> 01:00:10,760
Totally erotic.
587
01:00:12,240 --> 01:00:16,560
Their idol was about to become king.
We were the ones to crown him.
588
01:00:17,480 --> 01:00:19,600
The next day he was murdered.
589
01:00:19,960 --> 01:00:23,480
It was obvious they'd avenge his death
in some perverse way.
590
01:00:24,560 --> 01:00:27,360
It was as if their wife
had been murdered.
591
01:00:27,720 --> 01:00:30,960
This was about family honour,
which runs deep.
592
01:00:34,040 --> 01:00:35,600
Why did you come back?
593
01:00:35,840 --> 01:00:40,960
I m still having these hallucinations
about the massacre on the beach.
594
01:00:42,040 --> 01:00:44,320
And you're there with me.
595
01:01:22,480 --> 01:01:24,080
You're crazy.
596
01:01:24,720 --> 01:01:26,600
You're obsessed.
597
01:01:26,960 --> 01:01:31,400
Beach? What are you talking about?
Who was on the beach that night?
598
01:01:31,760 --> 01:01:33,760
What beach?
599
01:01:44,360 --> 01:01:46,920
I've reached a dead end.
600
01:01:47,280 --> 01:01:51,440
I can't find anyone
who was with me at the massacre.
601
01:01:52,160 --> 01:01:55,000
No one who was with me
602
01:01:55,360 --> 01:01:59,960
has any solid memories
of the days of the massacre.
603
01:02:01,320 --> 01:02:03,360
I only have this one vision.
604
01:02:03,720 --> 01:02:09,120
And Carmi, the only person in my vision,
denies being there with me.
605
01:02:09,480 --> 01:02:11,760
It's still real.
- It's a vision.
606
01:02:12,120 --> 01:02:15,000
But it's yours. Shall I explain?
- Yes.
607
01:02:15,360 --> 01:02:19,880
What does the sea symbolize in dreams?
Fear. Feelings.
608
01:02:20,920 --> 01:02:25,160
The massacre frightens you,
makes you uneasy. You were close to it.
609
01:02:25,520 --> 01:02:27,120
That doesn't help me much.
610
01:02:27,480 --> 01:02:40,680
Your interest in the massacre developed
long before it happened.
611
01:02:41,040 --> 01:02:42,840
Were your parents in camps?
- Yes.
612
01:02:43,000 --> 01:02:44,560
Auschwitz?
- Yes.
613
01:02:45,160 --> 01:02:49,440
So the massacre has been with you
since you were six.
614
01:02:50,040 --> 01:02:52,840
You lived through the massacre
and those camps.
615
01:02:53,480 --> 01:02:57,520
Your only solution
is to find out what really happened
616
01:02:58,480 --> 01:03:01,640
in Sabra and Shatila.
Seek out people.
617
01:03:02,000 --> 01:03:04,840
Find out what really happened,
ask who was there.
618
01:03:05,200 --> 01:03:08,280
Get details and more details.
That way...
619
01:03:10,160 --> 01:03:14,080
Then maybe you can find out
where you were exactly,
620
01:03:14,440 --> 01:03:16,400
and what role you played.
621
01:03:25,000 --> 01:03:29,920
On that day we were sent
to a certain post.
622
01:03:30,280 --> 01:03:33,960
It was actually on a hill.
This hill
623
01:03:34,320 --> 01:03:38,120
was opposite the western sector
of the refugee camp.
624
01:03:38,480 --> 01:03:43,800
From where I was,
I could see the settlement houses.
625
01:03:44,160 --> 01:03:46,760
There was occasional shooting.
We tried to locate them
626
01:03:47,120 --> 01:03:48,960
and retaliate.
627
01:03:53,600 --> 01:03:56,200
The Christian Phalangist forces
began to arrive.
628
01:03:56,560 --> 01:03:59,680
In full kit,
soldiers in Israeli uniforms
629
01:04:00,040 --> 01:04:02,440
took position behind tanks.
630
01:04:03,680 --> 01:04:08,000
I was called for a briefing.
It was in English.
631
01:04:08,600 --> 01:04:12,720
What was it a out?
- They told us that the Christians
632
01:04:13,080 --> 01:04:16,440
would enter the camp
and we would give them cover.
633
01:04:17,040 --> 01:04:20,200
Once they had purged the camps,
634
01:04:20,560 --> 01:04:22,680
we would seize control.
635
01:04:23,040 --> 01:04:25,840
Purged of what?
- Palestinian Terrorists.
636
01:05:14,800 --> 01:05:18,240
The next morning,
they began to bring out civilians.
637
01:05:24,840 --> 01:05:29,840
The civilians were led out of the camps
638
01:05:30,200 --> 01:05:33,800
in a long line.
639
01:05:34,160 --> 01:05:37,720
The Phalangists watched on,
constantly shouting at them
640
01:05:38,080 --> 01:05:40,400
and occasionally firing into the air.
641
01:05:41,600 --> 01:05:43,200
There were women, old people,
642
01:05:45,000 --> 01:05:48,120
and children walking in a line
towards the stadium.
643
01:05:50,200 --> 01:05:56,200
From inside in the tank, did you wonder
where they were taking them?
644
01:05:56,560 --> 01:05:58,440
Did you think about it?
645
01:05:59,640 --> 01:06:01,840
Not really, because wherever we went,
646
01:06:02,200 --> 01:06:05,000
an announcement was made
upon entering a camp.
647
01:06:05,360 --> 01:06:10,880
Civilians were ordered out.
Those remaining were considered rebels.
648
01:06:11,240 --> 01:06:16,520
It seemed quite natural
to say to the residents,
649
01:06:16,880 --> 01:06:20,080
"If you don't want to get hurt,
then come out!"
650
01:06:45,760 --> 01:06:47,280
On that day I drove to Docha,
a city on the coast.
651
01:06:50,240 --> 01:06:51,720
It had
an Israel Defense Forces landing field.
652
01:06:52,520 --> 01:06:53,720
On the way,
653
01:06:54,080 --> 01:06:57,280
many Phalangist
half-track vehicles appeared.
654
01:06:57,640 --> 01:07:03,240
They shouted with joy
as they headed towards the airfield.
655
01:07:03,600 --> 01:07:07,800
At the airfield,
I met a Colonel friend.
656
01:07:08,160 --> 01:07:10,400
He told me,
657
01:07:11,400 --> 01:07:14,440
Have you heard
what's happening in the refugee camps?"
658
01:07:14,800 --> 01:07:17,320
He had pointed to Sabra and Shatila.
659
01:07:17,680 --> 01:07:20,320
"What's happening?", I asked.
660
01:07:20,680 --> 01:07:26,360
I didn't witness it myself, but they
say there was a terrible massacre."
661
01:07:31,880 --> 01:07:33,000
Palestinians were slaughtered.
I heard they put them on trucks.
662
01:07:33,360 --> 01:07:37,960
I was told that crucifixes
were carved on their chests.
663
01:07:38,320 --> 01:07:43,120
There were wounded,
some in critical condition.
664
01:07:45,640 --> 01:07:46,560
They were put on trucks
and taken to an unknown destination.
665
01:07:55,480 --> 01:07:59,120
We saw a Phalangist soldier
666
01:07:59,480 --> 01:08:01,600
taking an old man away.
667
01:08:04,520 --> 01:08:07,880
At some point we heard shots.
668
01:08:08,560 --> 01:08:10,480
We heard shots.
669
01:08:11,320 --> 01:08:14,400
Then the soldier came out alone.
670
01:08:14,760 --> 01:08:18,040
We asked him what happened.
671
01:08:18,720 --> 01:08:25,200
We couldn't hear him,
but his gestures meant "Boom!"
672
01:08:25,560 --> 01:08:29,760
We understood that he'd told the man
to kneel down before him.
673
01:08:30,120 --> 01:08:33,120
When he refused, he shot his knees.
When he refused again,
674
01:08:33,480 --> 01:08:35,320
he shot him in the stomach and head.
675
01:08:38,800 --> 01:08:49,325
Didn't you ever realize
676
01:08:49,360 --> 01:08:58,400
women and children were brought out
and bulldozers went in?
677
01:08:59,800 --> 01:09:02,400
Yes, of course.
678
01:09:06,240 --> 01:09:08,360
I realized something was happening
only when my men told me.
679
01:09:08,720 --> 01:09:10,920
From the top of their tanks,
680
01:09:11,280 --> 01:09:16,040
they started shouting,
"They are shooting people!"
681
01:09:27,920 --> 01:09:31,960
They claim that people were lined up
against the wall and shot.
682
01:09:32,640 --> 01:09:37,000
So I called my commanding officer.
683
01:09:37,360 --> 01:09:41,480
I told him what I heard
was going on in the camps.
684
01:09:42,760 --> 01:09:47,120
He said, "We know about it.
It s under control. We reported it."
685
01:09:47,480 --> 01:09:51,680
As far as I was concerned,
the army was handling it.
686
01:09:52,040 --> 01:09:56,080
Where was the operations room,
the headquarters?
687
01:09:56,640 --> 01:10:00,680
About yards away.
On top of a very tall building.
688
01:10:01,120 --> 01:10:04,880
How tall?
- Tall enough to see everything.
689
01:10:05,240 --> 01:10:08,400
They surely had a better view
than I did.
690
01:10:32,800 --> 01:10:37,440
I didn't want to walk around at night,
so I drove
691
01:10:37,800 --> 01:10:41,240
to my place in Bahabda.
I had an apartment in Beirut.
692
01:10:41,600 --> 01:10:46,400
Micha Friedman was with me.
We decided to make dinner.
693
01:10:46,760 --> 01:10:53,400
Micha invited the guys from
the regiment of the 211th Brigade.
694
01:10:53,760 --> 01:10:58,000
During the meal,
the regiment commander took me aside.
695
01:10:58,760 --> 01:11:01,440
He said: "Ron,
696
01:11:01,800 --> 01:11:07,120
my men say there's a massacre
going on in the camps."
697
01:11:07,660 --> 01:11:11,040
He mentioned one or two incidents,
698
01:11:11,460 --> 01:11:13,640
saying a family was seen shot.
699
01:11:16,240 --> 01:11:17,360
I asked him again,
"Did you see it yourself?"
700
01:11:18,920 --> 01:11:21,200
"I didn't", he said,
but my soldiers told me about it.
701
01:11:21,560 --> 01:11:27,280
The officers sitting here did, too."
We talked about it over dinner later.
702
01:11:27,800 --> 01:11:32,080
As soon as they left at 11:30 pm,
703
01:11:32,920 --> 01:11:37,120
I knocked back a whiskey
and phoned Defense Minister Ariel Sharon.
704
01:11:38,680 --> 01:11:40,720
At his ranch.
705
01:11:41,080 --> 01:11:44,640
Ariel was half asleep.
706
01:11:45,000 --> 01:11:50,800
I said, "I've heard
there's a massacre going on, Ariel.
707
01:11:51,160 --> 01:11:56,320
They are slaughtering Palestinians.
We have to put a stop to it."
708
01:11:59,240 --> 01:12:00,360
He asked me,
"Did you see it yourself?"
709
01:12:07,200 --> 01:12:07,880
"No", I said, "but there are
several witnesses who saw it."
710
01:12:08,720 --> 01:12:09,760
"Okay", he said.
711
01:12:10,120 --> 01:12:13,240
"Thanks for bringing it
to my attention." That was all.
712
01:12:13,640 --> 01:12:17,600
You'd normally say, "I'll check it out,
I'll look into it." But no!
713
01:12:17,960 --> 01:12:23,120
He said, "Thanks for bringing it
to my attention. Happy New Year!"
714
01:12:23,800 --> 01:12:26,880
Well, something along those lines.
Then back to sleep!
715
01:12:27,240 --> 01:12:30,160
It's amazing.
A massacre took place,
716
01:12:30,520 --> 01:12:33,920
it was carried out by
Christian Phalangists.
717
01:12:36,080 --> 01:12:40,520
All around were several circles
of our soldiers
718
01:12:41,920 --> 01:12:44,280
Every circle had some information.
719
01:12:44,640 --> 01:12:47,480
The first one had the most. However,
720
01:12:47,840 --> 01:12:50,400
the penny didn't drop.
721
01:12:50,760 --> 01:12:53,280
They didn't realize
they were witnessing a genocide.
722
01:12:53,640 --> 01:12:54,960
What circle were you in?
723
01:12:55,320 --> 01:12:57,800
In the second or third.
724
01:12:58,160 --> 01:13:01,120
What did you do?
725
01:13:02,760 --> 01:13:06,480
We stood on a roof
and saw the sky was lit up.
726
01:13:08,080 --> 01:13:10,480
With what?
- Flares.
727
01:13:10,840 --> 01:13:14,760
Flares that must have helped them
do what they were doing.
728
01:13:20,920 --> 01:13:22,680
Did you fire the flares?
729
01:13:23,040 --> 01:13:24,360
Is that important?
730
01:13:24,720 --> 01:13:28,000
Does it make any difference
if I fired them
731
01:13:28,360 --> 01:13:32,360
or if I just saw the flares
that helped people shoot others?
732
01:13:34,240 --> 01:13:37,840
In your state of mind at that time,
it didn't really make a difference.
733
01:13:38,200 --> 01:13:41,960
You can't remember the massacre
because in your opinion,
734
01:13:42,320 --> 01:13:46,640
the murderers and those around them
are the same circle.
735
01:13:47,000 --> 01:13:49,840
You felt guilty at the age of 19.
736
01:13:50,200 --> 01:13:52,440
Unwillingly,
you took on the role of the Nazi.
737
01:13:52,800 --> 01:13:57,080
You were there firing flares,
but you didn't carry out the massacre.
738
01:14:11,960 --> 01:14:16,560
I woke up at 5 or 5:30,
and I woke everyone up,
739
01:14:17,440 --> 01:14:19,520
the whole team.
740
01:14:19,880 --> 01:14:23,000
Then I drove to Sabra and Shatila.
741
01:14:24,080 --> 01:14:26,000
When I arrived there...
742
01:14:26,880 --> 01:14:29,160
What a mess!
743
01:14:29,960 --> 01:14:34,640
You know that picture
from the Warsaw ghetto?
744
01:14:35,640 --> 01:14:39,720
The one with the kid
holding his hands in the air?
745
01:14:41,600 --> 01:14:44,000
That's just how the long line of women,
746
01:14:44,360 --> 01:14:47,760
old people and children looked.
747
01:14:47,795 --> 01:14:50,680
I thought about
going to Brigadier Amos's headquarters,
748
01:14:51,800 --> 01:14:55,800
but as I was leaving,
Amos suddenly turned up.
749
01:14:56,160 --> 01:14:58,000
He drove to the head of the convoy.
750
01:14:58,360 --> 01:15:02,360
His angry gestures
forced them to stop.
751
01:15:02,720 --> 01:15:06,040
And that was the end of it.
752
01:15:34,560 --> 01:15:37,400
The Phalangists
withdrew back up the street.
753
01:15:37,760 --> 01:15:42,200
The women and children
returned to the camp.
754
01:15:42,560 --> 01:15:44,880
The Palestinians?
- Yes.
755
01:15:52,240 --> 01:15:56,680
I said to my men,
"We're going in with them...
756
01:15:57,040 --> 01:15:58,760
With those women and children.
757
01:16:00,560 --> 01:16:04,000
We'll see what happened in there."
758
01:16:04,360 --> 01:16:07,200
Inside the camp we saw
a huge amount of rubble.
759
01:16:07,800 --> 01:16:09,520
My eye caught
760
01:16:09,880 --> 01:16:11,920
a hand, a small hand.
761
01:16:12,280 --> 01:16:17,760
A child's hand
stuck out from the rubble.
762
01:16:18,600 --> 01:16:22,960
I looked a bit closer and saw curls.
763
01:16:24,320 --> 01:16:29,800
A head of curls covered in dust.
It was hard to make out.
764
01:16:30,160 --> 01:16:35,920
But it was a head,
exposed up to the nose.
765
01:16:37,440 --> 01:16:39,360
A hand and a head.
766
01:16:39,720 --> 01:16:43,400
My own daughter was the same age
as that little girl.
767
01:16:43,760 --> 01:16:47,360
And she had curly hair, too.
768
01:16:52,320 --> 01:16:56,000
The Palestinians in refugee camps
have houses with courtyards.
769
01:16:56,360 --> 01:16:59,200
These courtyards were full
of bodies of women and children.
770
01:16:59,560 --> 01:17:02,520
The young men had been shot first.
771
01:17:03,000 --> 01:17:06,120
Then the rest of the family
was dealt with.
772
01:17:07,560 --> 01:17:11,080
We entered one alley,
a very narrow alley...
773
01:17:11,440 --> 01:17:14,320
the width of a man and a half.
774
01:17:14,920 --> 01:17:17,760
That alley was full...
775
01:17:18,120 --> 01:17:23,320
Piled up to the height of a man's chest
776
01:17:23,680 --> 01:17:25,720
with the bodies of young men.
777
01:17:26,080 --> 01:17:30,920
That's when I became aware
of the results of the massacre.