On May 23, IN OUR HANDS: The Battle for Jerusalem, a Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN) documentary commemorating the 50th anniversary of Israel’s June 1967 war, will appear in movie theaters at 896 locations throughout the United States.“Packed with interviews, archival footage and historic reenactments,” the documentary includes exclusive commentary from CBN CEO Gordon Robertson.
In 1967, relations between Israel and its neighboring Arab states had not normalized after the 1948 Arab–Israeli War. In reaction to mobilization of Egyptian forces along the common border in the Sinai, Israel launched a series of lethal, preemptive airstrikes against Egyptian airfields. At the same time, Israel launched a ground offensive into Gaza and the Sinai. When Syria and Jordan entered the conflict, Israeli counterattacks resulted in the seizure of East Jerusalem and the “West Bank” from the Jordanians as well as the Golan Heights from Syria. IN OUR HANDS dramatizes the battle for Jerusalem. CBN describes the film as “a good story, told accurately.”
“Many battle scenes were filmed in their exact locations. Every line of dialogue comes from records, diaries and interviews. Where politics prevented use of an actual site, filmmakers worked to accurately recreate scenes and surroundings. In battle scenes, the film’s extras are actual paratroopers. The line producer was an Israeli military veteran. The man in charge of training military medics ensured battle-scene medics’ authenticity and facts were checked against Michael Oren’s definitive book, Six Days of War.”
“‘To know this story is to have to tell it,’ CBN CEO Gordon Robertson said. ‘From the very Israeli paratroopers who fought it, IN OUR HANDS unveils the surprise victory that returned to the Jews the Old City of Jerusalem and the Western Wall of the old Temple. One soldier called it ‘the returning to the nation its heart.’
“In the Six-Day War’s first two hours, Israel’s air force victory testified to years of prep and rehearsal. By contrast, the reservist paratroopers [at Jerusalem] were unprepared for city and trench warfare, house-to-house combat, in places new to them. Yet both sets of soldiers won.”
According to CBN’s pre-release publicity, the documentary goes beyond simply providing clinical details of the military moves that comprised the battle. We learn from the film that the Israeli paratroopers at Jerusalem included both orthodox and secular Jews working together, one of whom delivered an Arab woman’s baby in the Old City during the battle. “Ordinary husbands, fathers and tradesmen, as temporary soldiers,” were among the many heroes who helped reclaim Jerusalem for Israel.
CBN Documentaries produced IN OUR HANDS in conjunction with entertainment content provider, Fathom Events. The Christian Broadcasting Network is a nonprofit organization that provides cable, broadcast, satellite and online programming to approximately 200 countries around the world. Along with affiliated organizations, CBN aims to report the news of the day from an informed Christian perspective and has continued to grow in size and scope as a leading voice in Christian broadcasting, media and communications.
To purchase tickets online visit InOurHands1967.com.
Click below to watch the full theatrical trailer of IN OUR HANDS.
This article originally appeared at KehilaNews.com in substantially the same form and is reprinted here with permission.
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