The Road Between Us Controversy

 

On October 7, 2023 Amir Tibon and his family were able to lock themselves in the "safe room" of their home on the kibbutz of Nahal Oz, the closest Israeli settlement to Gaza. For hours they listened to the sounds of neighbours being murdered outside by Hamas members. Tibon, his wife, and two daughters were eventually rescued and he wrote a book called The Gates of Gaza about the experience.  It is a gripping story and while the horrendous attacks by Hamas are front and centre Tibon shares what led his family to the kibbutz in the first place, including a desire for better relations with the people of Gaza. 

What is truly remarkable is that they were freed by a military group that included Tibon's father, Noam,  a retired general in the Israel Defense Forces, who drove from Tel Aviv to find his besieged family. There is now a documentary film titled The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue directed by Canadian Barry Avrich about Noam Tibon, as he tries to save his family during the attack nearly two years ago.

The Road Between Us screened yesterday at the Toronto International Film Festival although this world premier was cancelled and then reinstated with an apology from TIFF's Cameron Bailey. If this film honestly reflects this family story on a nightmare day it deserves to be seen and I hope to eventually see it. Not surprisingly Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli protesters gathered outside the TIFF venue where it was shown and police kept the groups separated. 

This is a strong and grim reminder of the morass that is the Gaza conflict. I am convinced that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and I mourn the retaliatory deaths of tens of thousands of Palestinian citizens. That this is unfolding in the "Holy Land", the place of Jesus' birth, is as unholy and evil as anyone can imagine. Yet there are many stories to be told and they deserve to be heard. Heaping hatred on hatred and sowing division is not the answer. 

Here is an excerpt from my blog of last November about The Gates of Gaza: 

This is not a religious book by any means but Tibon does note the biblical importance of Gaza for millennia and the wild story in Judges of the powerful Samson pulling down the city gates, hence the title of the book.  

Tibon and his family survived because of the heroic response of the security team on the kibbutz and the arrival of a military contingent that included his now civilian father. Fourteen members of their kibbutz were killed, all of the them known to them,  but in one neighbouring community 100 died and in another, 60. The music festival where more than 300 were massacred was only a few kilometres away.

Despite the horror they experienced personally, the grim reality that they may never return to their community, and the national crisis, Tibon takes a measured approach in outlining what has transpired through the decades. His disdain for Prime Minister Netanyahu is apparent and he recognizes the terrible retributive toll for the Palestinian people. He goes so far as to acknowlege the accusations of others within Israel who use the controversial terms  "apartheid" and "genocide" 

It brought to mind the controversy that erupted 15 years ago around the use of the word apartheid in United Church document regarding the Israeli response in Gaza and the West Bank.The word was eventually dropped under pressure but is has emerged in the UCC discussion again this year due to the destruction and deaths in Gaza.