Il figlio di Hamas

I don't know how I found this, or why I watched it, but I'm glad I did.

> It's a true story, and it's got mystery, betrayal of many kinds, and in the last place you'd expect, it has love and admiration. It shocked and surprised me in many ways. If given the chance, Hollywood writers couldn't have written a better story than this true one.

> All I can say is, that if you think this isn't the type of doc you usually like, or dismiss it for any other reason, don't. It's not something I normally watch and would dismiss it without another thought, but I didn't for some weird reason and I'm so glad I did. Just watch it.

Mosab Hassan Yousef is the eldest son of Sheikh Hassan Yousef, a leader of Hamas. He is caught running guns at 17 and imprisoned by the Israelis. He is shocked to find Hamas torturing people suspected of being informers. Israel's security service Shin Bet is able to recruit him and Gonen Ben Yitzhak becomes his handler.

I didn't know anything about this story before watching this movie. I honestly figured that this is a fictionalized account with actors for the first half hour. The style is very plain with Mosab and Gonen talking straight into the camera. The story is so compelling that it is utterly riveting. I do wonder why he did what he did. He gives explanations and hints but I'm not sure if there is something more.

This documentary has one of those life-is-stranger-than-fiction premises. The son of one of the founders of the terrorist Hamas organization was successfully turned into an informant for the Israeli secret services, the Shin Bet. The story of Hassan Yousef would have remained one of the best guarded secrets of Israeli history had he not voluntarily exposed himself as a mole while living in the US after retiring as an Israeli asset. The story that gradually unfolds throughout the Green Prince is full of unexpected twists and intense political intrigue and family drama that one day needs to be turned into a full length feature film. But for now, we have this very competent documentary. Much of the film is a protracted interview with the Hasan with little camera movement, and simple lighting. This may sound like an overlong CNN special report, but the interview has such intensity, and Hassan narrates episodes of his life with such expressiveness and honesty, that the chronicle itself is gripping. It is interspersed with scenes that combine drone, night vision and CCTV like imagery, real news footage and some recreated acted moments, all heightening rather than replacing the narration. The storytelling and editing is tight and economical. Instead of taking a merely journalistic approach, it opts for a character study that slowly unfolds, turning a spy thriller plot into a story of betrayal and redemption that goes beyond the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. What the story does particularly well is show how gradually Hasan distanced himself from his father politically without ever disowning him. He simultaneously undermined him tactically and tried to avoid any threat to his life. At the same time, his "handler" Gonen Ben Yitzhak became a father- like figure. This bonding could be dismissed as no more than a predictable "Stockholm syndrome" denouement but for the fact that it was reciprocated by Gonen, who ultimately must also make a decision between advancing his career and protecting Hassan. The material never feels preachy or sanctimonious and it refuses to turn characters, even the Hamas founders, into cartoonish villains. A truly great documentarian like Werner Herzog or Joshua Oppenheimer might have taken a few more liberties with the material, and perhaps an even more cinematic approach, but this still deserves to be watched. In my case, the story lingered in my mind for many days after I had seen it.

The Green Prince (2014) is an Israeli film written and directed by Nadav Schirman. It's a documentary that features Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas leader, and Gonen Ben Yitzhak, who was an agent with Shin Bet, the Israeli secret service.

Intelligence agents will use any means at their disposal to get an opponent to cross the line and turn against his or her own people. That's the situation portrayed in this documentary. A Shin Bet agent was able to convince a young Palestinian to work for Shin Bet against his Palestinian friends and family.

The young man--Mosab Hassan Yousef--tells us how, when he was in prison, Hamas leaders tortured their own people with unimaginable cruelty. This experience was the turning point. It was after this that he became an informant for the Israelis.

We who are watching the film can see that there's more to this story than Mosab tell us. However, it's possible that he himself doesn't see the big picture.

Mosab clearly bonded with his handler, Gonen Ben Yitzhak. Still, it's obvious that the bonding worked in both directions. Gonen grew to respect--and possibly love--Mosab. Ultimately, their bond is put to the test.

This is a grim, difficult film about a grim, difficult situation. However, the topic is so important, and the psychological complexities are so profound, that it's worth accepting the difficulty and seeing the movie. We saw it at the Rochester JCC Hart Theatre, as part of the outstanding Rochester International Jewish Film Festival. It will work just as well on a small screen.

This movie actually does a really good job of introducing a subject to the American general public to at least remember that Israel and Palestine exist. That the conflict is not just a forgettable world news story you hear in the background on television while getting something to eat and ignoring the information. It's not the movie version of a book or a non-biased documentary, but it's entertaining enough to keep unaware viewers watching and hopefully remembering, if not researching further. I think a huge key to the success of keeping people's attention was the wondering if it's a mockumentary or documentary aspect.

I will say the 100 minutes of movie gave me a better overview of how this conflict was related to myself versus the countless hours of world news I did watch, while living in San Diego, that was difficult to discern bickering opinion from what was actually happening and why it should be important to me.

For all of you disappointed academics out there, just remember, baby steps; getting people to remember is the first step to future awareness.