The Gatekeepers

Charged with overseeing Israel's war on terror-both Palestinian and Jewish- the head of the Shin Bet, Israel's secret service is present at the crossroad of every decision made. For the first time they share their insights.

For the first time ever, six former heads of Israel’s secret service agency, the Shin Bet, share their insights and reflect publicly on their actions and decisions. The Gatekeepers is a documentary featuring interviews with all surviving former heads of Shin Bet, the most active and certainly the most secretive of Israel’s security forces.

Since the Six Day War in 1967, Israel has failed to transform its crushing military victory into a lasting peace. Throughout that entire period, these heads of the Shin Bet stood at the center of Israel's decision-making process in all matters pertaining to security. They worked closely with every Israeli prime minister, and their assessments and insights had—and continue to have—a profound impact on Israeli policy.

The Gatekeepers offers an exclusive account of the sum of their successes and failures. Intimately interviewed, they shed light on the controversy surrounding the Occupation of the Palestinian territories since 1967

Sami Faltas, Senior Lecturer in International Relations at Groningen University, will introduce the film and lead the discussion afterwards. He will dwell on the relationship between intelligence agencies and the politicians who give them their orders, the difficulty of holding intelligence agencies accountable, and the amazing fact that a film like this could be made in Israel. Sami Faltas was born in Egypt and also works as a trainer for the International Security Security Advisory Team (ISSAT) in Geneva and a research fellow for the Centre for European Security Studies in Groningen.

This programme is organised in co-operation with the Dutch United Nations Student Organisation SIB

Interesting links:
YouTube: trailer The Gatekeeper
IMDB.com: The Gatekeepers
RottenToamtoes.com: The Gatekeepers
RUG.nl: lecturer of the year 2012 Samir Faltas
New York Times.com: Most Israelis Are Not Listening
NewYorkTimes.com: Six Israeli Spymasters on a Shadowy Past and a Dark Future