Tantura

As the echoes of "erase it" reverberate through the annals of history, the tumultuous birth of Israel in 1948 comes into stark relief. The United Nations' partitioning of Palestine into separate Jewish and Arab states sparked a regional conflict that would leave hundreds of Palestinian villages desolate. For Israelis, this period is remembered as the War of Independence; for Palestinians, it's an era of devastation known as "The Nakba" - a catastrophe whose scars still linger.

Fast-forward to the late 1990s, when graduate student Teddy Katz delved into the dark recesses of history, shedding light on a mass slaughter alleged to have occurred in Tantura during that fateful year. His work would later be disputed, his reputation tarnished, but the treasure trove of audio testimonies remains - 140 hours of unvarnished truth.

Director Alon Schwarz sets out to exhume the past by confronting former Israeli soldiers from the Alexandroni Brigade with Teddy's recorded interviews, as well as visiting the elderly residents of Tantura who lived through the chaos. As these now-weathered ex-soldiers recount their experiences, the veil of silence lifts, and the unsettling realities of war are laid bare. The audio archives of Katz's youthful interviews slice through the self-preservation and reveal how power, silencing, and carefully constructed narratives can shape the very fabric of history.

This poignant film offers a rare glimpse into the psyche of Israel's first-generation, whose experiences have forged a founding myth that has shaped reality for generations to come. By juxtaposing never-before-seen archival footage from 1948 with intimate interviews from ex-Israeli soldiers, Palestinian residents, and historians, Schwarz paints a nuanced portrait of a nation grappling with its troubled past. As the truth slowly emerges, so too do the complexities of memory, identity, and the enduring legacy of "The Nakba".