Closed Zone – Slamdance with Bashir

The Making of “Closed Zone”

Yoni Goodman, director of animation for the Academy Award-nominated film, “Waltz with Bashir”, talks about the process of making his new animated film on the closure of Gaza together with the human rights group Gisha. Click here to watch »

Closed Zone

Despite declarations that it has “disengaged” from the Gaza Strip, Israel maintains control of the Strip’s overland border crossings, territorial waters, and air space. This includes substantial, albeit indirect, control of the Rafah Crossing.

During the past 18 months, Israel tightened its closure of Gaza, almost completely restricting the passage of goods and people both to and from the Strip.

These policies punish innocent civilians with the goal of exerting pressure on the Hamas government, violating the rights of 1.5 million people who seek only to live ordinary lives – to be reunited with family, to pursue higher education, to receive quality medical treatment, and to earn a living.

The effects of the closure were particularly harsh during the military operation of Dec. 2008 – Jan. 2009. For three weeks, Gaza residents had nowhere to flee to escape the bombing.

Gisha – Legal Center for Freedom of Movement calls on the State of Israel to fully open Gaza’s crossings and to allow the real victims of the closure – 1.5 million human beings – the freedom of movement necessary to realize their dreams and aspirations. [...read more]

Ed. note: Does Gisha acknowledge that many residents of Gaza are actually refugees?  A UN Map from 2005 lists over 900,000,  multi-generational refugees.   While the video is poignant, I’m not sure it gets to the root of the problem, the right of return.

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