JERUSALEM, Israel – The August 15 anniversary of Israel’s forced removal in 2005 of nearly 10,000 Jews from the Gaza Strip and northern Samaria, often called the Disengagement, has come and gone. But the consequences of that decision by the Sharon government, backed by the Bush administration, live on.
One former resident of those Gaza Jewish communities, Avi Abelow, is today a journalist, commentator, and influencer on behalf of Israel. He had the foresight to make a film in 2005 documenting the plight of teenagers living in the Jewish communities. Abelow came to our studios to talk about the film and why he produced it.
To watch the video of our interview, click on the video above.
The text of our interview is below.
JULIE STAHL, CBN NEWS (JS)
I’m joined by Avi Abelow from Pulse of Israel. Avi, after the disengagement, you put together a film from the viewpoint of the teenagers that were there, called Home Game and telling the story of what happened before and during the disengagement. Why did you make that film?
AVI ABELOW (AA):
It was a very, very painful time. I knew it was a disaster (for) the families. I knew it was a disaster (for) the state of Israel that all of a sudden, Gaza was going to be turned into a launching pad of terror to terrorize Israel, which October 7th proved through.
We were telling everyone 20 years ago: “Don’t you dare do this. This is horrible. It’s going to bring destruction to Israel.”
JS:
And even before October 7th, they were firing rockets and doing all sorts of things from Gaza.
AA:
Right. Jews were being terrorized in Gaza, and we didn’t take care. When you appease terrorism and you give into demands and you run away from the problem instead of stopping it, then you get an even bigger problem.
So I decided I want to make a movie so that people could see exactly who these people are and what they experienced. So people around the world, and especially Jews, can have empathy and understand exactly what this was about to ensure something like this never happens again.
JS:
It’s called “Home Game”, and it’s from the point of view of the teens who were there. How? Tell us about the people in the film.
AA:
So I was in the community of Netzer Hazani, in Gush Katif, in Gaza. And basically, when my video guy told me… When I went to my video guy saying, “Make me a movie about the story,” and I had some of my own video footage from being there, he goes, “Avi, you’re crazy. I made a four-minute clip for you, but that’s all I can make.” He goes, “If you’re serious about making a movie about their story, go back to the families and ask for their home video footage.”
So, it was so important for me to get this movie out there to the world. I went to these families who just lost their homes, lost their lives, and here I am asking for their gold, basically, the memories of their lives. And I gathered over 80 hours of home video footage from 18 different families. And I went back to my video guy. I said, “Alright. Here you go, make a movie now, that any Israeli, no matter right wing, left wing, will watch this movie without turning the channel from beginning to end, in order to be impacted by the power of these teenagers.”
And the story is basically how they were struggling to win a basketball tournament, a home game, (at) the same time they were struggling to remain in their homes. Wow. And it was really powerful. It’s one of the most-watched movies about that fateful summer of 2005. And still today, it’s making an impact. And the most powerful movie. And I highly suggest people watch it, to be able to internalize it.
JS:
How can they watch it?
AA:
Very simply, they can go to my website, Israelunwired.com, and then in the Search bar, write in Home Game and Gaza, and it’ll come up, and they’ll be able to watch it and I hope people do watch it and are impacted by it, and share it with anyone they can to also watch it.
JS:
Very good. It is a very, very powerful film, and I also recommend it. So, thank you so much, Avi, for being with us.
AA:
Thank you, Julie, for having me.
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