Page - 113 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/01

to a festive celebration in Jerusalem and a backgammon tournament between Israelis and Palestinians. The sequence starts with an image of a revolving car- ousel and then moves on to the mixed peoples, who are enjoying the evening with its festive music. The event as described by one of the participants is about “Middle Eastern culture that serves as a gateway between ‘us’ and Arabs … we can live in peace by sharing our culture and music”. The last shot (like the open- ing) stays on the carousel. The fade-out in this scene is not complete, and a dim image of the carousel remains as the credits roll. Each capsulated narrative becomes part of an encapsulated story about the unresolved socio-political space that includes the many different realities and spaces (geographical and socio-political) of Israel. By encapsulating all these diverse spaces and realities, Gitai continues Rabin’s work in the cinematic sense: he acknowledges differences, social stratification, absence of trust, misuse of religion and even contradictions that divide the sides deeply. However, he frames all these realities within an ultimate dialogue, as a “programme of striv- ing for peace” and “transforming the circumstances” of Israel.22 FRAMING PEACE: CONTEMPORARY PROPHETS? “The thing I can adhere to most in the Jewish heritage is that it’s a great critical school of thought. Even the Old Testament is a very critical text.”23 Amos Gitai 22 See Yitzhak Rabin interview in West of the Jordan River (Amos Gitai, IL/FR, 2017). 23 Amos Gitai, Personal Interview, 30.07.2018. Also see Romney 2000. Fig. 2: Landscape. Film still, West of the Jordan River (Amos Gitai, IL/FR 2017), 00:20:25. Constructing Space, Changing Reality of Israel through Film | 113www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/1