Language:
English
Year of publication:
2003
Titel der Quelle:
Critical Inquiry
Angaben zur Quelle:
30,1 (2003) 63-97
Keywords:
Arendt, Hannah,
;
Sivan, Eyal,
;
Eichmann, Adolf,
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945) Influence
;
Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945), in motion pictures
Abstract:
In 1999 the French-Israeli-German documentary film "The Specialist", on the Eichmann trial, was produced by Eyal Sivan and Rony Brauman. This film, in the words of its producers, aimed to desacralize the Eichmann case as a basic Israeli narrative. Taking the film and Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem" as a starting point, reflects on the trial and on the instrumentalization of Holocaust memory in Israel and in the USA. Contends that the trial failed to establish a clear precedent for universal judgment on crimes against humanity because it was conceived for another purpose: to reinforce Israeli collective identity and to construct an Israeli narrative of the Holocaust and of the revival of Israel. This narrative was constructed in the spirit of the Cold War, and was accepted not only in Israel but also in the USA, serving its global aims.
Note:
On Hannah Arendt's "Eichmann in Jerusalem" and on the film "The Specialist" by Eyal Sivan and Rony Brauman.
URL:
Locate this publication in Israeli libraries
Permalink