Death in Gaza

I saw Death in Gaza as a wonderful documentary about the horror of life in and around the Israel border. Too many times we hear of bombings and death in Israel without seeing the other side of the story. This film gives a voice to those who do not have the cameras or television stations to broadcast their side. Because of the extreme poverty of the these people they simply did not have the resources to film what everyday life is like living with the intimidation of a much wealthier country who has the largest world powers as their allies. One has to admire the makers of this documentary for being willing to get this story and for ultimately for paying the highest price and becoming themselves yet another statistic.

Some of the comments on this board regarding Death In Gaza are truly astounding. I'm refering to the users who describe the Palestinians in this film as "barbaric" and Israel as a "peaceful nation." We must have seen different documentaries because I didn't see it this way at all. I saw local Palestinian militia defending themselves against illegal occupiers and I saw Palestinian children throwing rocks at huge Isreali tanks (paid for by US dollars). The user who describes Israel as a "peaceful nation" must believe those tanks shoot flowers and stuffed teddy bears. If Israel is so peaceful why do they need a multi billion dollar army? To defend themselves against kids with rocks and an occasional suicide bomber? Wake up. This was an amazing film and kudos to HBO for airing it, although judging by a number of the comments on this board, the point was completely lost on many people.

This a really amazing look at the intertwined lives in this conflict. The film explores the attitudes of those trapped in this struggle, the day-to-day issues of living in a war zone and the hopes for the future that some still have after all of this. The filmmaker manages to cast a fairly objective view of what's happening in Gaza. The film is amazing in that the camera gets into places one could never imagine possible. A truly noble pursuit. The fact that the director lost his life creating this necessary work is a testament to the dedication of himself and his partner. Placing a very human face on this struggle is mesmerizing; the shots of the militants interacting with children, the people who's homes were destroyed by tanks, really helps one understand the chaos of the situation on the ground there.

I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 and while it is not in the category for best documentary in the Oscars anymore, and it probably would have won, it definitely comes second to this film. Death in Gaza exposes the true horror that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has caused to both the Palestinians and the Israelis. The story by James Miller and Saira Shah show us how everyday Palestinians live. They never give any biased opinions on whether the Israelis are to blame for the current state the Palestinians live in, yet they show in a true journalistic fashion Palestinian life and culture in its fullest form. The movie is a documentation of children in Palestine and the struggles and dangers they face on an every day basis. It shows how they are pushed by cultural ideologies to believe that being a martyr is somehow more glorious than living a peaceful life. In the movie the children are the focal point of the movie. From an American standpoint it is a real eye-opener at the way they live, what they are taught at school, how they create bombs out of cans, and the way they are recruited by radical groups in Palestine to perform acts of terror against the Israelis. We are shown the other side to a conflict we only usually receive an Israeli voice for. The fact that director James Miller died creating this movie only adds to this dramatic documentary that made me think about what can we do to make this world a better place?

Your comments on James Miller's death at the end of filming "Death In Gaza" were extremely distasteful. A dedicated filmmaker was murdered; needlessly shot in the throat by Israeli units. Israeli units with night-vision equipment who were capable of seeing the white flag the film crew were waving. James Miller was killed in cold blood & no one has been held responsible, which is a clear indication of what Israel & the IDF think about Justice. The murder of James Miller was recognised in the UK media but not the countless murders of innocent Palestinians by Israel's brutal occupation. Day after day, after day. When Israel is a nation with no actual right to exist; I am neither Palestinian or Arab, I have never left the UK, but from thousands of miles away I can see the blaring injustice of a nation with the population of London, Armed to the back teeth with the single unified purpose of destroying the original, Muslim, inhabitants. Palestinians are in need of justice, not criticism. Naturally I agree all terrorism is wrong, but that includes state terrorism. The world wouldn't stand for Naziism, or Apertheid; we should not stand for Zionism. Love & Light2d