The Gatekeepers: film, television series, and book review

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Notes

¹ Alex Fishman and Sima Kadmon, “Four ex-Shin Bet Directors in a One-Time and Dramatic Meeting: ‘We are Seriously Concerned about the Fate of the State of Israel,”’ Yediot Aharonot, November 14, 2013.

² This expression was originally coined in the context of Israel’s policy of deliberate vagueness regarding its nuclear policy.

³ A biography of each one of the six Shin Bet directors can be found on the official website of The Gatekeepers, which also provides details about the filmmakers, the trailer, and press articles published after the film’s release: http://www.thegatekeepersfilm.com/.

⁴ Unless otherwise specified, the English translations in this review are taken from the subtitles on the official version of the film.

⁵ ‘The Old Man’ was the nickname of David Ben-Gurion, Israel’s first prime minister.

⁶ Winner: Best Documentary – Los Angeles Film Critics Association; Winner: Top 5 Documentaries – National Board of Review Awards; Official Selection – Venice Film Festival, New York Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, and Toronto Film Festival.

⁷ Uri Klein, “Meeting the Gatekeepers on the Way to the Ballot Box,” Haaretz, December 31, 2012 (in Hebrew), http://www.haaretz.co.il/gallery/cinema/movie-reviews/1.1896985.

⁸ Roz Rothstein and Roberta Seid, “The Dishonesty of The Gatekeepers,” Jerusalem Post, February 13, 2013, http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/The-dishonesty-of-The-Gatekeepers.

⁹ This phrase was originally used by the late Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban in reference to the Palestinians.

¹⁰ Carmi Gillon, in discussion with the author of this review, 28 December 2014. 


¹¹ Ami Ayalon, in discussion with the author of this review, 8 February 2016. 


¹² Moreh, The Gatekeepers, 358.