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interview with the filmmaker BBC, Tuesday 30 October 2002 
Yulie Cohen-Gerstel discusses Israeli reactions to her attempts to free
a terrorist and how her daughters have dealt with these efforts.BBC Four: Why at this point in your life did you want to meet the man who shot you? Yulie Cohen-Gerstel: In 1993 the peace process really seemed encouraging. I started to think about this guy whom I met in 1978 and then again in court in 1979. I thought to myself if their leader can shake hands with my leader then why shouldn't I shake his hand and reconcile? I started to look for him in the Palestinian Territory and couldn't find him. I was sure he was somewhere here because, as I say in the film, I knew that the Iraqi terrorist who shot Argov, our ambassador, in London in 1982 had been released for years so I was sure that Fahad was also out. Surprisingly I didn't find him here so I met a British producer in Israel and asked him to help me perhaps find him in Britain - and he did. BBC Four: The film's been shown on Israeli television. What's the reaction been there? Y C-G: The reactions were mixed. People are calling this a controversial film - some love it, some hate it. Nobody is indifferent. BBC Four: Were you expecting that? Y G-C: Yes and no. In a way I was a bit surprised by the negative comments. But I realised that when people didn't agree politically with what I was doing they could not see how personally important my journey was. I guess because of the terrorism that's still with us here every day it is impossible for people to feel any compassion. BBC Four: Do you feel any optimism at the moment? Y G-C: I'm very pessimistic. Very pessimistic. I've just started my next movie which will be My Colonist and deals with Settlements. For 35 years every Israeli government has encouraged settlement in the West Bank. Almost 400,000 Jewish people are living there. It is so huge. You wonder whether Israel ever wanted to have a Palestinian state over there. BBC Four: How have your daughters dealt with your efforts to free Fahad? Y G-C: There were times when my eldest daughter said she didn't think it was a good time to help him. When I finished it last July I wasn't sure if I wanted to release it yet so I had a conversation with them. They told me if I'd made all this effort and come all this way then I should put it out. I told them they might pay a price. We had one phone call after the broadcast on Israeli television from a maths teacher I'd met before the film came out and asked to give my daughters private tuition. She called me and said, "Mrs Gerstel..." - before that I'd always been Yulie to her - "I can't teach your daughters. Something came up." This is one of the things that personally affected us. BBC Four: Are you aware of what Fahad's situation is now? Y C-G: On purpose no. He didn't want to be exposed in the film and I cooperated with this. I didn't want to know what was going on with him so when people ask me I really don't know. |
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