The jail as a social microcosm

One can only understand this film within the framework of a certain reality of Israeli society. It's not, I sorry to say, a very good film (poor dialog, sloppy editing, etc.), but it's interesting in expressing statement - in the mainstream - that wasn't then being heard.

I've always found it interesting how power elites maintain control, when so many groups are dissatisfied and angry. One method is to take a group one step from the social-economic bottom, and turn their anger against a group below them. The Russian Tsar was always able to turn popular anger against the Jews - see "Battleship Potemkin, and its message concerning this. The poor whites in the Southern US were encouraged to hate the blacks. And so on.

In the 1950's and 1960's there was mass immigration of Jews to Israel from Arab countries, especially from Northern Africa. I won't argue here about the intentions of the ruling parties (I feel their bad intentions are often overstated) , but the fact was that the immigrants were settled in the least hospitable places in Israel, given poor jobs, and made to feel second-class citizens. Popular culture, radio and early television, ignored them altogether. So when their anger began to show itself in the early '70s, it was easy, especially when they were drawn to Begin's right-wing Likud party, to exploit their feeling towards the Arabs.

This is the point of the films. The jail (filmed in the newer part of the souk in old Akko) is made up of the criminal ("eastern" Jews) and political (Arab) prisoners. Their common enemy is the Ashkenazi-elite guards and staff, but they are encouraged to fight between themselves. Until a new prisoner enters (Assi Dayan), who is a JEWISH prisoner (he TALKED with PLO people in Europe - then a crime), and all are forced to reevaluate their positions.

As I said, not a great film, but interesting a a social document of the times.