‘Would I smile?’ the name of a new Israeli documentary film which was recently released featuring six Israeli female soldiers who aim at shaking the Israeli society by exposing them to the reality of the situation of their sons and daughters in the Israeli Army when operating in the occupied Palestinian lands.The six soldiers called for their community to bring an end to the atrocities of the Israeli occupation which distorts the image of Israel in the world. The film was directed and produced by Tamar Yarom, an author, a film maker and professor at college of arts at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem.
Yarom has chosen six Israeli female soldiers out of dozens who served in the occupied Palestinian territories and incorporated their testimonies and experience in the film.
‘I am very grateful for these six girls who had a great amount of courage to perform self-criticism in front of the camera, making one of my dreams come true,’ says Yarom. She adds, ‘I have served in the West Bank during the first Intifada in 1987 – 1988, and when I finished my service I wondered ‘how would a woman like me take part in suppressing and oppressing another nation, how can a gentle woman remain silent regarding this cruel violence against the Palestinian people?’
The number of Israeli soldiers who refused to serve in the occupied territories is growing, slowly though. It has reached up to 629 according to an Israeli group called, Courage to Refuse.
