Israel Matzav

Home Game - the movie

Home Game the movie focuses on the human aspect of the Kadima party's 2005 Disengagement from Gaza, reminding all that regardless of politics, people are supposed to care about one another.

"Home Game" documents the story of graduating 12th graders, from the Israeli village of Netzer Hazani in Gush Katif, during their last vacation before adulthood - the summer the former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was to expel 9,000 Jews from their homes in Jewish Gaza.

Their yearly summers of beach, sports and fun usually focused on the annual youth final basketball competition. Yet their 2005 summer vacation turned into something else entirely because the Israeli government began to implement its plan to remove them from their homes in Gush Katif.

Instead of just competing on the basketball court they were also forced to compete on their 'home' court as well.

The movie below begins with a 17-second trailer in Hebrew and then screens the Home Game movie (English subtitles). It's about an hour and eight minutes long.

Let's go to the videotape.





More about the movie here.

In the summer of 2005, my mother was dying (I was in Boston when the Jewish residents of Gaza were expelled and my Mom passed away a few days later), so my memories of that summer are largely from the US media and not from the Israeli media.

There are four things I didn't appreciate until I saw this movie. First, the extent to which so many people believed right up to the end that they would not be expelled. That's a lesson for the future. Second, the dedication these people had to living in Gaza (the movie doesn't show the years of missile bombardment). Third, the number of soldiers that were used (wasted) expelling Jews from their homes - and for what? And fourth, the number of Anglos who lived there (those of you who aren't fluent in Hebrew are unlikely to pick up the American and other Anglo accents).

The last 20-25 minutes are especially difficult to watch.

Four years later, most of these people are homeless, jobless and penniless. Simply beyond belief.

UPDATE 1:39 PM

I was watching the end of the movie when it published and the star basketball player mentions that his name is Schneid. I believe his parents (grandparents?) were my swimming counselors in camp more than 40 years ago. I heard they were living in Gaza somewhere. Ouch.

I'm sorry that those of you who don't understand Hebrew will not understand the significance of the songs on the basketball court at the end.

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:37 PM