CONTEMPORARY ISRAELI CINEMA Through analysis of the complex discourse surrounding trauma and loss, this book provides a necessary examination of temporality and ethics in Israeli film and television since the turn of the millennium. The author examines posttraumatic idioms of fragmentation and incoherence, highlighting the rising resistance toward generic categories, and the turn to un- conventional and paradoxical structures with unique aesthetics. Maintaining that contemporary Israeli cinema has undergone an ethical shift, the author exam- ines the revealing traumas and denied identities that also seek alternative ways to confront ethical question of accountability. It discusses the relationships between trauma, nationalism, and cinema through the intertwined perspectives of femi- nism, queer theory, and critical race and postcolonial studies, showing how na- tional traumas are constructed by notions of gendered, sexual, and racial identity. This innovative text highlights the complexities of discourse surrounding trauma and loss, informed by multiple categories of difference. Across each chapter vari- ous elements of Israeli film are explored, spanning from strategies used to critically examine victim- perpetrator dynamics, co- existence in temporal space, women’s cinema in Israel, displacement, and queer communities and identity. Beyond its direct contribution to cinema studies and Israel studies, the book will be of interest to trauma and memory studies, postcolonial studies, gender and sexuality studies, Jewish studies, Middle Eastern studies, and cultural studies. Raz Yosef is an Associate Professor and Head of the Steve Tisch School of Film and Television at Tel Aviv University, Israel. His research interests are on gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, trauma and memory in Israeli national visual culture. Routledge Studies in Middle East Film and Media This new series is for books that examine the development of film and media in the modern and contemporary eras. It includes works on cinema, television, and print and digital medias, and how these have impacted on society, politics, the economy, and culture in the region. Women and Turkish Cinema Gender Politics, Cultural Identity and Representation Eylem Atakav Women in the Cinemas of Iran and Turkey As Images and as Image- Makers Gönül Dönmez- Colin Israeli Television Global Contexts, Local Visions Miri Talmon and Yael Levy Revolutionary Filmmaking Documentaries in the Middle East and North Africa Viola Shafik Contemporary Israeli Cinema Trauma, Ethics and Temporality Raz Yosef For more information about this series, please visit: https:// www.routledge.com/ middleeaststudies/ series/ MEFILM CONTEMPORARY ISRAELI CINEMA Trauma, Ethics and Temporality Raz Yosef First published 2023 by Routledge 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN and by Routledge 605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2023 Raz Yosef The right of Raz Yosef to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. British Library C ataloguing-i n-P ublication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress C ataloging-i n-P ublication Data A catalog record has been requested for this book ISBN: 978- 1- 032- 19409- 7 ( hbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 032- 19421- 9 ( pbk) ISBN: 978- 1- 003- 25909- 1 ( ebk) DOI: 10.4324/9 781003259091 Typeset in Bembo by codeMantra In Memory of Judd Ne’eman CONTENTS List of figures ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 1 Witnessing and Accountability 18 2 Documentary Reenactment and Ethics 39 3 Terror TV and Traumatic Time 63 4 Trauma and Women’s Cinema 85 5 Melancholia and Queer Diaspora 110 6 Homonationalism and Transnational Temporalities 132 Index 155 FIGURES 0.1 Trapped in the iron machine: Lebanon ( Shmulik Maoz, 2009). Courtesy of Metro Communications and United King Films 2 0.2 Viewing through the tank’s periscope the horrors of war: Lebanon ( Shmulik Maoz, 2009). Courtesy of Metro Communications and United King Films 2 1.1 “ I had a terrible flashback from the war in Lebanon”: Ari Folman in Waltz with Bashir (A ri Folman, 2008). Courtesy of Transfax Productions 21 1.2 “ As long as you’re drawing and not photographing it’s OK”: Carmi Can’an and Ari Folman in Waltz with Bashir ( Ari Folman, 2008). Courtesy of Transfax Productions 23 1.3 Disremembering war: Shooting light bombs in Waltz with Bashir ( Ari Folman, 2008). Courtesy of Transfax Productions 28 1.4 Visibility and invisibility: Roni’s digitized mask in Z32 ( Avi Mograbi, 2008). Courtesy of Avi Mograbi 30 1.5 Reenacting testimony: Roni and his girlfriend in Z32 ( Avi Mograbi, 2008). Courtesy of Avi Mograbi 31 2.1 A testimony without a listener: Ronit Elkabetz in the opening scene of Testimony ( Shlomi Elkabetz, 2011). Courtesy of David Adika ( cinematographer), Shlomi Elkabetz and Galit Cahlon 40 2.2 The silence of the witnesses in Testimony ( Shlomi Elkabetz, 2011). Courtesy of David Adika ( cinematographer), Shlomi Elkabetz and Galit Cahlon 52 2.3 “ Until you come out from my voice!” Dikla’s singing performance in Testimony ( Shlomi Elkabetz, 2011). Courtesy of David Adika ( cinematographer), Shlomi Elkabetz and Galit Cahlon 56