The Gatekeepers

'The Gatekeepers' was directed by Israeli filmmaker Dror Moreh and released in 2012. The film features candid interviews with six former heads of the Shin Bet, Israel's internal security service. It was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards.

The film features interviews with six former heads of Shin Bet, including Ami Ayalon, Avi Dichter, Yuval Diskin, Carmi Gillon, Yaakov Peri, and one additional former director. These men collectively oversaw Israel's internal security operations across decades of conflict. Their willingness to speak on camera about the moral and strategic dilemmas they faced is what makes the film remarkable.

'The Gatekeepers' presents a critical reflection on Israel's security policies through the testimony of the former Shin Bet leaders, several of whom express concern about the long-term effectiveness and moral costs of certain strategies. The film explores the tensions between tactical successes and broader strategic failures in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Many of the interviewees suggest that military approaches alone cannot resolve the underlying political issues.

'The Gatekeepers' was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 85th Academy Awards in 2013. It also received nominations and awards at several international film festivals. The film was widely praised by critics for its unprecedented access to the highest levels of Israel's security establishment and for the candor of its subjects.