The Israel Film Service Collection

The White Bridge

47 Minutes, 1978
Genre:
Documentary

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Directed by: Ada Ushpiz
Production:Igal Efrati
Production Company:Israel Film Service
Photographer: Amnon Salomon, Avi Olsha, Emil Knebel
Narrator: Doron Tavory
Language: Hebrew
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Subtitles: English, Hebrew

For thirty years, starting in 1971, Ilana Batzri initiated a project to help patients from the West Bank and Arab countries. Her weekly radio program “Doctor Behind the Microphone,” broadcasted on “Kol Israel” in Arabic, transcended hostile political borders and reached a broad audience. The documentary film “A Bridge in White,” produced by the Israeli Film Service, showcases the outcomes of Batzri’s project. The film follows Arab patients who come to receive medical treatment in Israeli hospitals. It examines how the treatment influences their views on the Jewish state and how it changes the opinions of Jewish patients regarding their Arab neighbors. Despite the sad circumstances that foster these intercultural encounters, the film illustrates how human connection can mitigate national and religious tensions and create courageous cross-border friendships.

Persons in segment: