“Z32” follows the testimony of a soldier (Roni) who with his unit carried out an order to avenge the death of six Israeli soldiers by ambushing and killing two Palestinian policemen. During the movie the soldier never shows his face, and his identity remains hidden behind a digital mask. The soldier is shown confessing to his friends and his girlfriend about participating in the war crime, and his quest for forgiveness. At one point in the movie the couple discusses whether someone can be forgiven for an act that any court would describe as a murder.

In Israel the phrase “shoot and then cry” (yorim vebochim) is a very common term used to criticize the behavior of the occupying soldiers who should have known better than to carry out war crimes. Many Israeli movies feature Israeli soldiers asking for forgiveness and redemption for crimes that they performed in the occupied territories. Z32, however, does not allow the viewers to be carried away with Roni’s search for forgiveness, and instead deals with the question of how the listener should act. With commentary in the form of songs, the viewer is forced to not passively forgive Roni for killing two innocent people. The viewer is confronted with dilemmas such as the responsibility to expose the soldier’s identity so he can face trial. Or that that by hiding the identity of the soldier and allowing him to redeem himself through confession, the viewer (and the director) become accomplices in defending and aiding a war criminal.

The movie was restricted at first to people over the age of 16, and after Avi Mugraby, the director of the movie appealed, the restriction was reduced to people over the age of 14. Although it doesn't contain sex scenes or violence, the Censor for Movies and Theater justified its decision, saying that “the subject of the film, which describes in different ways the involvement of IDF soldiers in the murder of two Palestinian policemen in order to avenge the killing of Jews, and the apparent abstruseness in its various parts…requires the viewer to watch the film in a rational manner and justifies its classification as suitable for viewers over the age of 14.” In an article posted to Indymedia Israel, Avi Mogarbi opposed the decision saying that “the Censor does not have the right to restrict movies because they are challenging, the Censor is using its power to restrict a movie that is politically sensitive.”

The name Z32 is taken from the testimony number on the Breaking The Silence website. For many years, Breaking the Silence has been collecting testimonies from soldiers who have committed atrocities and war crimes as part of their service in the Israeli Defense Force. Read More

Breaking The Silence | Z32-Restricted by Censor (Hebrew), Indymedia Israel | 15 Palestinians killed as Israel strikes back, The Independent