Documentary Film and the Image of Conflict in the Middle East

Viewing Guide: Israel's Great Divide - Al Jazeera World (July 13, 2016)
This TV documentary tells the story of the origins of Israel’s social divisions; the
documentary explores the deep-rooted divide between Mizrahim and Ashkenazim and the
failure of Ben Gurion’s declared mission to create what he called “the great Jewish
melting pot.” Interviewees include scholars, activists, politicians, and everyday citizens.
They claim that discrimination against Mizrahim existed before the establishment of the
country, and was later incorporated into the Zionist state.
Discussion questions:

1. What mode of representation does the director use, and why?
2. Yehuda Shenhav, an Israeli professor of Iraqi origin, believes that the situation of
   the third-generation Mizrahi Jews compared with Ashkenazis is worse today than
   it was 30 years ago. Why does Professor Yehuda Shenhav say “the gap between
   Mizrahim and Ashkenazi actually widens”?
3. What were some of the ways in which the oppression of Mizrahim was
   manifested through educational and cultural practices?
4. Few of the current Jewish population in Israel (only 2%) can speak and read
   Arabic. How is this trend connected to the Mizrahim’s right wing and
   conservative political views?
5. Why do you think Shenhav says he needed to reinvent himself as an Israeli while
   distancing himself from his Arab culture? Why was this process connected to
   what he calls a “Zionist political awakening”?
6. What do you think about the interview with professor Amir Hetzroni, who bluntly
   says “This state was established for me [the European Jews] not for you [the
   Mizrahi]”?
7. Why do you think the divide remains great even in the absence of official
   discriminatory laws?
8. Describe some of the statements that made the most impact on you. Did you see
   anything similar to social divisions in the US?
9. Why do you think the Army is perceived as a great unifying force? How do you
   think this is going to affect the Israeli-Palestinian conflict?
   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xv_0JUBk3fI&t=1676s
   http://www.haaretz.com/opinion/.premium-1.704258

Watch the short movie and answer questions in the file. Link of the movie is below