Army of Shadows. (aka Armee des Ombres.) Directed and Written by Jean Pierre Melville. Based on a novel by Joseph Kessel. Cast: Lino Ventura, Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse, Jean Pierre Cassel, Claude Masure and Paul Crauchet. (1969) Grim Film Is a True Masterpiece Jean Pierre Melville’s film about the relationships of a small group of leaders of the French Resistance during World War II was finally released in this country in 2006.  It has been acclaimed as a masterpiece and deservedly so. It is grim, dark and extremely hard to watch.   It is one of the most important films I have ever seen and it has much to teach us about how we humans act when engaged in collective violence.

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 Why Israel Feels  So Threatened In a powerful Op-Ed piece in the NYT Benny Morris, does a wonderful job of describing the vulnerability and fear that Israelis feel in their 60 year old state.   Morris’s article helped me to own up to my arrogance in the blog I wrote about Israel’s victimization. I Was Arrogant  Toward Israel In My Last Blog I indulged in talking down to the state of Israel.  In truth, I am yearning desperately for the killing on both sides to stop.   I directed my remarks to Israel, rather than to Hamas, because I see Israelis as having more capacity to effect change in this situation. These opponents are not evenly matched.  The majority of Palestinians in Gaza are starving.  Perhaps I underestimate the power of Hamas to make rational choices in the current circumstances.  I-P Conflict is About Human Needs and Feelings The key word in Morris’s column is feels.  Israel has the 5th largest Army in the world.  Two peoples are fighting over feelings and perceptions. These needs are so important to Jews and Palestinians they are willing to die for them, and yet they are so passionate they are unable to communicate the depth of their importance to the other side with any coherence.                                                                                                     Stories About Meaning of Trauma Fuel Violence Both peoples hold themselves as victims.  Both were hurt by traumas in the past. Those hurts are held in several ways: physical wounds, emotional experiences, but most importantly, in interpretations (i.e.

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