“Watch this documentary and see Israel.”
-Gideon Levy, Haaretz columnist
“A gut-punch of a film.”
-Lara Friedman, President of the Foundation for Middle East Peace
“An extraordinary investigation”
- Naomi Klein, award-winning author and activist
Dear Subscribers,
We’ve seen all your messages, your emails, your comments on social media asking about the release of Israel’s Reel Extremism, our first documentary. Many of you saw the trailer that came out earlier this summer and read Mehdi’s emphatic message to subscribers about why its subject matter is so important in today’s media landscape.
Well, without further ado, Israel’s Reel Extremism is finally released! Please do watch the documentary above, streaming on Substack only for our subscribers.
For those of you who haven’t heard of the film yet or haven’t seen the trailer, Israel’s Reel Extremism is an on-the-ground examination of Israel and its society after many months of war, seen initially through the prism of viral social media posts from Gaza - and exclusive interviews with the soldiers behind them. These posts across TikTok and Instagram, some shared millions of times, show soldiers humiliating bound Palestinians, ransacking their homes, joking as they detonate schools and whole districts, and laughing as they launch high explosive ordnance into densely-packed areas. The award-winning team behind this Basement Films production traveled to Israel to interview soldiers, radical activists, rightwing politicians, and media personalities, revealing an Israeli Jewish society that, in the aftermath of October 7th, is gripped by vengeance and hate.
This is a documentary pitch that Basement Films, an award-winning production company in the UK, came to Zeteo with when no one else in the mainstream media on either side of the Atlantic was willing to consider it – and when you see the material in the final film, you’ll quickly understand why.
“Liberal supporters of Israel need to face this horrifying reality,” notes Simone Zimmerman, the Jewish-American peace activist featured in the documentary Israelism. It’s “hard to watch, but hard to look away from,” says Daniel Levy, a former Israeli peace negotiator.
For those of you who are free subscribers, you’ll be able to watch the first 10 minutes of the film and, if you feel like this 40-minute documentary is worth your time (which we hope it is!), then please consider becoming a paid subscriber to watch the full documentary.
For those of you who are already paid subscribers, thank you for your generous support and for allowing this production to be made. We couldn’t have done it without you! Please do watch and share this documentary widely as we feel the subject is important enough to deserve the biggest and broadest audience possible.
So, let’s watch and share this unique and timely film together – and hopefully continue doing more vital journalistic work like this. And please join the conversation in the comments!
- Team Zeteo
