Documentary Based on Hazkani Book Wins AHA John E. O'Connor Film Award

The Soldier's Opinion Wins AHA Film Award

The Soldier’s Opinion, which grew out of Shay Hazkani’s book Dear Palestine: A Social History of the 1948 War (Stanford Univ. Press, 2021), is a cultural and psychological history of the inner lives of Israeli soldiers and the censors ordered to document their morale in letters home across five decades of war and occupation. We are privy to surprising responses to violence and to outbursts of racism as the soldiers (and their censors) struggle with difference, moral doubt, and feelings of shame. The film offers insights into Israeli society, Zionism, war, military cultures, and settler cultures.

John E. O'Connor Film Award

The Soldier's Opinion: A documentary film by Assaf Banitt and Shay Hazkani

The award recognizes outstanding interpretations of history through the medium of film or video. 

Assaf Banitt, director and producer; Shahar Ben-Hur, producer; Shay Hazkani, Univ. of Maryland, College Park, writer (JMT Films, 2022)