Director & Editor: Lia Tarachansky

Year: 2017

 

In the heart of downtown Jerusalem, surrounded by coffeeshops, restaurants, and the city's main branches of government stands Mosqobiyya, one of Israel's most notorious jails. This short film tells the story of what is unseen and unheard in the streets and bars hugging the prison's walls.
 
​In 1999 the Israeli Supreme Court banned torture, after a damning human rights report revealed widespread maltreatment of prisoners at the Mosqobiyya jail in Jerusalem. Today, numerous Palestinian prisoners testify that torture techniques continue to be used in interrogations. One quarter of the Palestinian population and 40% of men spend time in Israeli jails. Mass imprisonment, assassination, and exile are tools frequently used by the Israeli government in order to suppress Palestinian political resistance. In April 2017, hundreds of Palestinian prisoners announced a mass hunger strike, protesting these practices.