Ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Yom Kippur War, the Israel Film Archive of the Jerusalem Cinematheque launched an appeal to the public, asking people to send them home movies made during the Yom Kippur War and in the months that followed.
The staff of the Israel Film Archive felt that these home movies would help paint a fuller picture of the war and its impact on Israeli life. Many Israelis sent films, which the archive staff have begun to digitize, and many have just been made available on the website, at https://jfc.org.il/ They offer glimpses into the war that did not make the headlines at the time, since they don’t involve major battles or famous military figures, but which are fascinating to see. Some were filmed by journalists and photographers who were serving in the war.
Jerusalem Cinematheque CEO Roni Mahadav-Levin said, “Preserving the audio-visual history of life in Israel and making the archive’s treasures accessible to the general public through a dedicated website is of great importance in passing on the historical story to future generations. During the years of working on the digitization project, the archive team has made public rare clips that would likely never have been preserved over the generations or reached the general public.
“As part of the current project, we called on the public to transfer to the Israel Film Archive home movies taken during the Yom Kippur War, which was a significant event in the history of the State of Israel and in the lives of many Israelis. Through the project we seek to preserve the materials for future generations and make them accessible to the public.”
Preserving the history of the Yom Kippur War with new footage
Among the clips are scenes of soldiers reunited with comrades after the war, soldiers loading trucks with supplies for delegates negotiating an end to the fighting; graves of Jewish soldiers who fought with the Allies during World War II at a military cemetery in Egypt; a polling place in the Sinai for the elections that followed the war; a heavy snowfall on Mount Hermon, and much more.
In addition to the home movies, the archive has a great deal of content related to the war, including several feature films.
In light of the recent release of the movie, Golda, Ori Inbar’s 2003 film, Silence of the Sirens, a dramatization of Uri Bar-Joseph’s book, The Watchman Fell Asleep: The Surprise of the Yom Kippur War and Its Sources, is especially interesting. It features Ruth Geller of Shtisel as Golda Meir; Assi Dayan plays his father, then-defense minister Moshe Dayan. Other notable films about the war are Amos Gitai’s Kippur and a short film, After, by Renen Schorr, who went on to found the Sam Spiegel School for Film and Television in Jerusalem.
There is also a rather chilling instructional film by the Israel Defense Forces that features a soldier who was taken prisoner by the Egyptians during the war and who gives tips on how to avoid trouble while in captivity.
The Israel Film Archive was opened by the late Jerusalem Cinematheque founder Lia van Leer, and it was originally composed of her own personal collection. It now features more than 30,000 items, two million meters of film, and 4,500 hours filmed in Israel, including movies that go back more than 125 years.
Most of the content on the website is free, although some of the feature films must be rented for a small fee; many of the movies and clips have English subtitles. The content available is extraordinary. No matter what aspect of Israeli life interests you, you are sure to find many clips about it.