Hill 24 Doesn't Answer (1955) - full transcript

"The eastern shore of the
Mediterranean. Palestine."

"On May 14th 1948."

"The state of Israel, sanctioned by
The United Nations, was declared."

"And the British Mandate
ended on that day."

"Seven Arab countries challenged the
borders set by The United Nations."

"Thus began the war of liberation in
which Israel fought for survival."

"Here are the boundaries held at 05:45
on the morning of July 18th 1948."

"When a general truce between
the Israelis and the Arabs .. "

"Was established by The United Nations."

James Finnegan.
─ Here.

Allan Goodman.
─ Here.



Esther Hadassi.
─ Here.

David Amirand.
─ Yes.

I'll speak English. I know Finnegan
doesn't understand Hebrew yet.

Well, I'm improving.

What about you, Goodman?
─ Yes.

Do you both understand
English well enough?

As you know, the ceasefire becomes
effective 05:45 this morning.

It is one o'clock now .. we have four
hours to improve our positions.

These hills .. dominate the
highway into Jerusalem.

There must be no dispute
about our right to claim them.

These points .. have been
held by us for months.

Tonight, we must get men on
to these smaller hills between.

You three men ..
─ What about me?

Give Esther a break, won't you. She's
had only boring jobs up until now.



I know these hills. I walked over them
many times. ─ Esther, Esther.

Alright .. that's your
passport to the job.

Settled.

You four, volunteered for patrol.
There should be more strong men.

But we have dozens of
these assignments tonight.

This is your position .. Hill 24.

It's a link in a chain.
You must hold it.

We shall bring you to this
point at the base of the hill.

According to our latest
information, it is unoccupied.

If you are lucky .. the Arabs won't know
you are there until after the truce.

Any questions?

Have I got a minute to write a letter?
─ Surely.

If you have anything you don't want the
enemy to get, leave it in these envelopes.

You have five minutes while
I check your transportation.

Have you got a cigarette?
─ Sure, sure.

There you are.
─ Thank you. Say ..

How do you happen to
know Captain Berger?

He is what you call
you know .. a Big Shot.

I met him when he was
rather less well known.

Did he pull you .. into our little war?

Not in the way that you mean .. but
he had something to do with it, yes.

"It was two years ago, back in 1946."

"That was my first
meeting with Berger."

"There was a crazy situation
here in Palestine."

"The British under the
Mandate were still in charge."

"And I was in the British Police."

"The radar station at Haifa watched day
and night for ships travelling in secret."

"Bringing illegal Jewish
immigrants to Palestine."

"Here was something they couldn't
account for. Obviously an illegal ship."

Come on there, get up.

[ gunshot ]

Hands up!

"That was my first
meeting with Berger."

Quiet .. quiet!

Do you speak English?
─ Yes.

Well don't move, I'll send help.
Here, give him this. It's brandy.

"After a while I sent a
First-Aid man to the spot."

"But I was glad to hear they'd
gone. I couldn't help myself."

"That poor devil deserved
a break. Let it be."

"But I couldn't get the girl's
face out of my mind."

"Months later, the Jewish Underground
blew up the radar station."

"The police set up roadblocks
at all the ways into Haifa."

"We clamped down a curfew."

"We were ordered to pull
in every possible suspect."

Identity cards!

Identity card.

[ Tannoy ]
"Anyone found outdoors during
curfew hours will be arrested."

Come on, everybody out! Come on!

Come on there .. get a
move on .. faster, faster!

You there! Stop!

After that man! Bring him back here.
─ Hey, you down there .. stop!

Ladies .. get back into the
queue please. Ladies, ladies.

Oh please get out of the
way .. I have no papers.

Let this lady through.

Identity card.

Next .. identity card.

Next.

The file, please.

Next.

Alright .. you can go.
─ Thanks.

See where he goes, Finnegan.

Pick him up as soon as curfew starts,
and anyone you find with him.

Yes, sir.

What's the matter, sonny?

What's he saying?
─ He says he wants to go home.

So do I sonny .. so do I.

[ Tannoy ]
"Anyone found outdoors during
curfew hours will be arrested."

He got away.
─ Okay.

No luck Sergeant .. he got clean away.

Well, better search the place.
It might be one of his hideouts.

Who lives here?
─ Well, not that bloke, anyway.

Highbrow rubbish.

It will be rubbish by the time you're done
with it. No need to smash the place up.

Isn't that what they're to us?
─ No, not all of them.

Did you find anything?

No .. we're wasting our time.

Well, I'll be ..

Sorry to have had to
disturb you like this.

May I know your name, please?
─ Miszrahi.

First name?
─ Miriam.

What are you doing here?
─ We followed a man here.

He got away through that window.

Does that mean that you
can ransack my room?

He knows where you keep your key.

I'm afraid we'll have to take
you to headquarters.

Name. Miriam Miszrahi.
Age. 22. Born in Palestine.

Fourth generation Palestinian.
Father .. fruit farmer.

Training as a schoolteacher.
Languages: Hebrew, Arabic, English.

Do you mind if we go
on talking in English?

I've got nothing against the language.

This man .. is he a friend of yours?
─ I've met him.

Do you know he's a member
of the Underground?

He went to your apartment this evening.
He found the key, and let himself in.

So you say .. I was
expecting some friends.

Were you expecting him?
─ No.

None of us have telephones.
Friends just drop in.

Oh, so he is a friend of yours?

An acquaintance.
─ You help with his Underground work?

No.

So, with Jews dying all over Europe ..

You aren't lifting a finger to
get them into this country?

That's my affair!
─ Yes, or no!

No.

That's a pretty selfish statement for
a Jewish girl to make nowadays.

What would your friend here say to that?
─ He would probably say the same.

Anyway, it is none of your business.
─ Listen, young lady ..

For as long as rebellion goes on in
this country, it is our business to stop it.

This is not your country!
─ It is ours to administer.

And our duty to keep law and order
in Palestine. ─ Law and order ..

By what law do you bring me here?
─ Emergency Defense Regulation.

Does that give me the right to
justice in my own country?

You'll get justice alright.

But as long as you go on covering up
for your friends in the Underground,

You may not like what you get.

This way.

Stand here please, will you.
Where we can see you.

Miss Miszrahi says that
you know each other.

I take it you do understand English?

Will you interpret please, Levin.

He understands, but
doesn't speak English, sir.

How did you come to be
out of doors during curfew?

We were trying to reach a shelter.

But why did you leave
number 4 Saleh El Din Street?

You climbed through a window.

He says he was in a hurry.
─ You got away.

Only to be picked up an hour
later by a Police patrol.

You don't seem to be enjoying
your normal luck Mr Berger.

He says his name is Friedman.

Your real name .. is Yehuda Berger.

We know quite a bit about you.
You were in a concentration camp.

He says: not every Jew
has had that privilege.

Your number was B11781.

Uncover his arm.

How did you land here?

You landed illegally .. then
you joined the Underground.

He says: make up what
you like about him.

You won't be here much longer.

Is that what your leaders say?

He said: that's what every Jew knows.

He said more than that.
─ The rest was for me, sir.

Well, what was it?

He says: I should know it too.

Miss Miszrahi can go now.

She can rest in the waiting
room until the end of curfew.

"The curfew ended at six
o'clock that morning."

"I was assigned to follow her."

"I did a lot of walking in
the next three days."

"But it meant I saw her
every day, and I liked that."

"I liked her."

"And that was getting
me in a devil of a fix."

"She was a student at
the teacher's college."

"Browning and I watched
in eight-hour shifts."

"She led me a chase to
Usifiya one afternoon."

"She had friends among the Druze."

"Living with the Arabs for centuries,
the Druze looked like Arabs."

But they are something on their own.

"In three days, Browning and I had got
nothing out of all this foot-slogging."

"If she was doing Underground work."

"It couldn't have been of any
importance, it seemed to me."

"She was attractive .. which couldn't
be said for Lawson when I reported."

No progress, sir.
─ Well come out into the open.

Talk to her. See what happens.
─ I will, sir.

Good day to you, Miss.

Are you going to arrest me?
─ No.

These initials stand for
James Finnegan .. that's me.

I apologize for taking it from your room.
Now I give it back. ─ You?

Well .. I kept it for luck.
─ It's brought me luck.

I've been able to talk
to you .. please take it.

I'll have the same .. please.

We mustn't talk, please.
─ Take it, it's the least you can do.

You were good to us that
night .. I'm really grateful.

But it must be some kind of a trap.
You are an English Policeman.

Don't you see how?
─ I wasn't always a Policeman.

Oh, what were you?
─ Six years in the Army, before here.

The war was much quieter.
─ And what were you before the war?

An Irishman, for one thing.
But there was no money in it.

Oh, that's good to see.

You mustn't look at me that way.

Look, for the last three days I've
been following you around.

And I haven't been able to get close
enough to get a good look at you.

Do you know you have
the most beautiful eyes.

Why did your people arrest Friedman?
─ We believe he's a rebel.

After four years in concentration
camps he was freed by you British.

And now you take his freedom
here .. but this is his home.

Yes, it does sound a bit odd,
when you put it like that.

But what he does here, interferes
with other people's lives.

What do you mean
by "what he does here"?

What do you suppose he wants?

What we all want: a country, a home!

Peace and quiet .. is that a crime?

No, it shouldn't be a crime.

Perhaps he has to grab in this fashion,
the way things are these days.

Maybe if I were a Jew, I'd
be doing the same thing.

How can you talk as you do,
and still keep your job?

I'm not being Sergeant Finnegan now.

You could still be a Police spy.

I could be .. but I'm not.

Look .. can't we forget our differences
and talk like two human beings?

I just won't tolerate it Finnegan.
─ I don't remember seeing him before.

It is your job to study all additions
to the files as they come in.

Sir, I've been out on the Miszrahi
case this last three days.

Forget the Miszrahi case. I should
never have put you on it.

You're getting soft Finnegan .. you
spoke earlier about compassion.

Look how Berger repaid
us for your compassion.

I'm not ashamed of anything I've done.
─ Perhaps not.

But your discipline has been
getting very slack lately.

When does your contract
come up for renewal?

In a month's time, sir. I'm
not asking for an extension.

We'll talk about that later. What you
need right now is a change of routine.

I'm transferring you to the office.

"Lawson got Browning his
promotion .. he deserved it."

"I had lost track of Miriam. And with
her, I had lost my peace of mind."

"On my first day's leave,
I checked up on Miriam's haunts."

"As a last shot I went to Usifiya, on
the chance that she might be there."

"I went straight to the village head-man
and asked if he had any news of Miriam."

"I didn't expect him to tell me anything,
but it's the best way to scotch rumors.

Hey Miriam ..

Do you like coffee?
─ Yes, please. ─ Sit down please.

Miriam ..
─ Yah?

Miriam.

I've searched everywhere for you.

But .. it's impossible. Can't you see ..

We can talk here.

I've got to straighten things out.

Why did you come here?
Did somebody send you?

No, I decided it for myself.

Why do you ask that?
─ You're not the kind that runs away.

You don't know me.

I feel I've known you for years.

It is no good for us to
see each other anymore.

I had to come .. while I could still think.

Do you mind what those people
in the café were saying?

We can't get away from it anywhere.

I am Jewish and you are a
British policeman .. a Christian.

What do they know? We've only
had a few words together. Ever.

A few words .. is that
all they were to you?

No .. I love you Miriam.

But you don't know a thing about me.

Such as whether you're a
member of the Underground?

No? .. Are you?

No, I am not. ─ I believe you.
─ But I have helped them.

Any decent Jew would.
─ I understand.

How impossible it makes it for us!

I don't want to live without you. At
last I know what to do with my life.

But if you wish it .. I will
never see you again.

Oh Jim .. this is not what I wish.

We cannot choose.
─ For myself .. I can choose.

I have to return to England for
my discharge. I'll come right back.

Oh Miriam, give me a break.
Let me see you again.

You will come back?
─ Sure I will. I promise.

Now you promise me something. You
come right back to Haifa. ─ Why?

Because you're known to the Police.
─ So?

If you're not seen, you'll be taken off
the "suspect" file and made a "certain".

That means arrest-on-sight and prison.
Come back with me, now .. huh?

Okay Jim.

[ bomb explosion ]

We're back in the 20th century
with a vengeance.

Sorry sir, can't take chances you know.
─ Quite right. ─ Goodnight sir.

What's the matter?

Nice work Finnegan.

What is this?

Will you come quietly Miss Miszrahi?

Miriam.

"By the time I returned to this country,
the War Of Liberation was on."

"And Miriam was in the Army."

"I was glad to join up myself. I believed
in the fight the Israelis were showing."

"But everything kept
Miriam and me apart."

"It made me so mad, I contacted
Berger .. our one link."

"Considering the past,
he's been decent."

"He could sometimes arrange transport,
so that Miriam and I were able to meet."

Esther.

So you volunteered as
a friend of Berger's?

Volunteered, yes. But
hardly as his friend.

I wanted to prove to him and
others that I mean what I say.

Like it? ─ It's beautiful.
─ How much did you pay?

Has the lady accepted?

Not yet. She wants her family
to approve, but they don't.

Families are like that.
─ Yes.

Still we Finnegans are all optimists you
know. It will all come right in the end.

Finnegan? That is Hungarian?
─ No.

I'm from Ireland. ─ An Irish Jew eh?
─ No .. an Irish Christian.

It sounds a long way away for you to
be here. Where is Ireland? In England?

Hell, no!

Where is Israel, in Egypt? And
besides, why shouldn't he be here?

Look at us. One dark-eyed beauty
from Yemen. A romantic from New York.

One man whose Papa came here
from Poland before he was born.

Outside and incomes different.

But the rest much the same.

Meaning crazy.
─ Yeah, yeah. But in a nice way.

You know, that bit in the bible covers us:
"In my father's house are many mansions."

Who said that? Yeshua?
─ She means Isaiah.

No, it was Jesus.
─ Then he took it from Isaiah.

Yeshua said that .. it means .. I don't
know how to say it in English.

It means: "From my house, shall be
the house of prayer, for all nations."

Ours is Yeshua .. yours is Jesus.

Transportation is ready. Amirand, you
will be in command. ─ Yes sir.

You are senior Finnegan. But
he knows the languages.

Airmail special .. for New York.
─ Okay.

For Miriam.
─ Hold on to it.

Miriam is on duty tonight.

While Amirand is checking his equipment,
you can have a few words with her.

Oh thanks.

Jim.

Darling.

The same old question.
Yes Jim, I do love you.

Oh Jim, I am so proud
you are with us today.

Ani ohev otach .. me-od .. me-od.

Shalom darling.
─ Shalom Jim.

Finnegan.

Good luck.

Well Finnegan .. have you got
another of those cigarettes?

How are things Goodman?
Packed all your valuables?

Amirand, you must die of
curiosity a thousand times a day.

I keep my valuable right here.

You'd like to know what it is,
wouldn't you? ─ Yes.

I had a summer to kill and
some money to waste.

So I stuck pins in a map.

With my luck it landed in the dead sea.

So I came .. saw everything
I was supposed to see.

But when it came to this guided
tour of the Old City of Jerusalem ..

The travel agent was very, very cagey.

Mr Goodman, we do
our best to arrange all.

But some of the services you paid for in
New York are now a little difficult.

It's not practical for you to visit
now the Old City of Jerusalem.

Then I'll join the impractical
people and still go there.

The Arabs haven't declared war yet.
─ It's a matter of degree Mr Goodman.

There is no official
war, but there it is.

Arab snipers even attacked an armored bus
travelling between the Old and New cities.

We do not yet parachute our clients
directly into the Old City of Jerusalem.

That's a great idea .. I'll
be your first parachutee!

Mr Goodman, please ..

These are no days for
joking, nor comfort at all.

Comfort? For three weeks I've ploughed
through acres of dusty history.

And now I'm not even going to see
the Mosque Of Omar, and all the rest.

Well, what are you going to do when the
British leave? ─ Fly back, of course

But there are millions of Arabs.

You people are just walking
into another pogrom.

Pogrom .. no .. Trouble .. yes.

If war comes, we shall fight alone if
needs be. They'll be no pogrom here.

That's quite a statement.
─ Seven Arab states are against you.

That's November .. can we stop them?

We've got no choice .. this is
our secret weapon .. no choice!

Well, I've only been here for three
weeks .. but one thing I'm sure of.

The Jews have a real
stake in this country.

You look at things purely
from the Jewish point of view.

Wouldn't you?

Say Lawrence, you have to admit
we Arabs have a point of view too.

Of course, you Arabs belong
to this part of the world.

The Jews want to come home
to Palestine, and we British ..

Want to keep your
hands on the Arab oil!

Ah, but as an American, even you
want your investments protected.

Point one for your side. But what
about these thousands of refugees?

They can't go back to Germany and Poland.
─ No, no-one can live in a vacuum.

The come here .. to stay.

Out of the frying pan, into the fire.
Other places were suggested, you know.

This is our ancient homeland.
It has been promised us!

Of course. If people introduce
modern ideas into my country.

There are too many Jews.
How will it end?

Either you push us into the desert,
or we push you into the sea.

I get your point.*

Attention!

At ease!

Soldiers of Israel .. you stand
before the walls of Jerusalem.

For one thousand, eight hundred
and seventy-eight years.

These walls have been waiting for you.

Since the days of King David ..

No Jewish force has broken
through the walls of the Old City.

Tonight .. you will mount them.

At midnight, we shall break through
the Zion Gate into the Old City.

Where we shall relieve
our last surrounded post.

For three weeks now, our troops have held
their ground against superior Arab forces.

They are short of food, water,
arms and ammunition.

Before the main assault on the Zion Gate,
a diversionary fire attack will be made.

To pin down the enemy
near the Jaffa Gate.

While the enemy expects an attack there,
we shall break through the Zion Gate.

We shall be attacking a place
which is sacred to all religions.

Every ???? awaits you,
protecting and liberating him.

One day, this shall
again be a city of peace.

[ bomb blast ]

How many of us are surrounding
that post down there?

It's a synagogue, isn't it?
─ No, it's a hospital.

There was a synagogue under it.

3,000 Jews left in Old Jerusalem.
And a handful are holding out, there.

How many Arabs?

They say there are
40,000, with civilians.

And the Arab Legion
brought up heavy artillery.

Heavy artillery against
rifles .. what a mess.

Did you fight in the last war?

I was stationed in Washington D.C.

I hope they taught you street fighting.
─ Take it easy.

I've had four weeks of
combat training here.

I may be nuts but ..

I don't know .. but something
about fighting for Jerusalem.

Did something to me.
─ You know the Old City?

Nobody would let me in
to the place until today.

Advance booking for a tour
in the Old City of Jerusalem.

You had better keep your eye
on me, or you will get lost.

It's not the place I'd pick to fight in.
─ A few weeks ago, somebody called it ..

"The City that has always been
fought for with love and passion."

The bloodiest kind of a fight.
─ And it has to be our fight.

What did that Commander say?

May God be with us.

He'd better be.

Fire!

Look out!

Get back!

Water .. water.

Esther.

That man is American.

Shalom, my son.

I would like to help you.

You have to drink this slowly.

There will be no more
until this evening.

[ bomb blast ]

What is your name, my son?

Allan Goodman.
─ You are American?

New York.

Thanks Rabbi.

Of our faith?

I suppose, if you want to call it that.
─ You came to help us.

By accident .. I'm a leftover
from a Cook's Tour.

Those who help of their own free will,
are the most blessed in the eyes of God.

You didn't have to stay
and share this battle.

Don't falter in your courage now.
─ But I stayed for all the wrong reasons.

I didn't know it was
going to be like this.

This is horrible.

You have to try and stay
calm .. and quiet.

You've suffered a shock.

Rabbi, this hurts an awful lot .. could
they give me a shot of something?

A shot?

An injection, something, anything.

The few drugs that are left
are .. for operation cases.

But we brought everything.

Ammunition, medical supplies.
Food .. water.

That was days ago.

And not all of you .. are through to us.

Things are bad here.

Why should I deceive you?
God has not mocked.

God .. look, I didn't get into this
mess to listen to drivel about God!

You are bitter my son.

God's on the side of the big battalions.
Haven't you heard that in this Old City?

You must not talk that way.

You're angry at something
within yourself, not him.

I hate your God! There is no love in him
and no mercy .. and where is he anyway?

Where was he when millions of
Jews were slaughtered in Europe?

And where is he now when Jerusalem
is dying? What does he care?

Where is he I want to know?
Where is he every time we need him?

Almost seven hundred years ago.

Rabbi Moshe Ben Akman came from Spain
to see the Holy Land with his own eyes.

And he saw Jerusalem in
the clothes of mourning.

Which she had worn
for a thousand years.

And he touched the
wounds .. of her destruction.

And he wept.

And he wrote in a letter to his son.

"This is the heart of the matter:"

"That which is most Holy .. suffers
the greatest destruction."

That sounds pretty cockeyed to me.

Why should those who truly believe
in God, suffer the greatest destruction?

Because if you truly believe in God.

You have chosen .. to defend good.

Against evil.

The forces of evil are strong.

The battle between evil
and good is never-ending.

Those who are in the
front of this battle.

Suffer the greatest casualties.
It is a choice we have to make.

it is not decided for us.
─ Who cares what choice we make?

God cares ..

If we tolerate evil .. we
are forsaking God.

And the seed of our own
destruction lies in this toleration.

Perhaps a blind drift, a lack of thought,
but it becomes a chosen way of living.

I'm afraid I'm a long
way behind you Rabbi.

It is written:

Everything is in the hands of God.
Except .. our choice .. of God.

Yeah .. so I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death.

I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.

Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me.

Sounds fine.

And they are comforting words .. I only
wish they meant more to me.

You do not know the Psalms of David?
The 23rd Psalm? ─ Sure.

A Rabbi used to read it to
us when we were kids.

He would have liked me
to have listened then.

I guess I'm hearing them
for the first time now.

Its simplicity carries the power
to renew courage. Which is life.

Those like you my son, who draw
comfort from its blessing, are legion.

You are in good company.

I hope .. we may talk again .. on
these matters .. but if we do not.

I remember .. the blessing.

Amen.

My son.
Rabbi.

To life .. to courage.

I hope we meet again Allan.

But if we do not, always remember.

No matter what happens,
never be defeated.

[ gunfire ]

Never be defeated in the
chambers of your heart.

She-ket she-ket!

She-ket, she-ket.

We have surrendered.

Yeah .. though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death.

This is the heart of the matter.

So, we got out.

Esther helped to patch me up .. and
then we volunteered for this patrol.

I was born near here.

I like to show you all the
Jerusalem hills at dawn.

And I like him to see
that before it goes away.

The plans I have .. I'll be round
here for quite some time.

Well Finnegan, go ahead and
say something. It's your turn now.

It stops one thinking, you know.

Talk English!

You are being rude to
our foreign legion.

Excuse me, but Amirand and I quarrel.

It's like you and me
since you got better.

Oh, you want me to be silent, I'll be
silent. Anyway, silence is a great idea.

Did you know that silence
can settle arguments?

You don't believe me, huh?

Okay .. I'll tell you a story.

I speak six languages .. yeah, yeah.

Hebrew .. born in Israel, so naturally.

Polish .. Papa speaks it.

Russian .. Mama.

In the thirties came the
refugees from Germany.

My grandmother speaks only Yiddish.
She says all languages come from Yiddish.

That's how much?
─ Five. ─ Yeah.

And English. I don't have to tell you
the British were here and besides ..

I knew I had to talk to you and
you are only here for 24 hours.

So I speak six languages. I don't speak
them so well but I make myself understood.

But what I wanted to tell you
is, the time I spoke best ..

And really best .. was when
I didn't say anything at all.

We all have to grow up sometime.

No seriously, about 3 weeks ago it must
have been, I was in action in the Negev.

Near that old ruined city of Rabda

And two hours before the attack on the
Egyptians, we went on a flanking patrol.

The kid beside me, Itzik'l
was a real greenhorn.

I think he was in the country 5 minutes
before he joined up and got his gun.

Military strategy? Tactics? There wasn't.

Itzik'l says to me: "what's this
flanking? What are we doing?"

So I say: "right now we are
in front of the whole war."

"We are supposed to contact the enemy."

"If we do, we call the Commander
and tell him where the enemy is."

"Then the planes, if we have
planes, go over and bomb them,"

"The artillery, if we have artillery,
disorganizes their rear."

"The tanks, but we have
no tanks, grind them up."

Then the infantry. That's us, we go in
and do the whole job from the beginning.

Oh that Itzik'l. Again he says to me:

What does it mean "contact the enemy?"
I say, "what do you think it means?".

He says: "How do we know when
we've contacted the enemy?".

"That's simple" I say "when
they start shooting."

Itzik'l!

You speak English? Okay.

Now .. let's take off that shirt.

Come on .. come on, let's take it off.

Nazi.

Don't talk German!

A Nazi.

Yes, I was a Nazi, but I
couldn't help it. Nobody could.

Adolf Hitler .. did you ever see his eyes?
That was .. that was a great power.

We had to obey. He could
do with us anything he wanted.

We couldn't help ourselves. We ..

What would you do in my
place, eh? What could you do?

Yes we .. we did some terrible things.

Against your people I mean.
But those were our orders.

Want one? Want one?

I tell you why I am here. Not because
I want to fight the Jews. No.

Just because I want to fight.

Just fight .. anybody .. anything.

I .. I did not learn something else.

We are born to fight, isn't that true?

And when there are no more wars,
we'd have to invent them, yah?

What are you going to do with
me? Are you going to kill me?

I'm a wounded prisoner .. there's a law.

Your Army, what do they
do with prisoners like me?

You mustn't do what we did. We were bad.
It was against religion, what we did.

You .. you are religious, yes?

Yes, yes .. you must be. After
all, this is the Holy Land.

And you are the ones who gave us the
Ten Commandments, and Christianity.

Christ was a Jew, and he said:

"Father, forgive them, for
they know not what they do."

You and I, we are soldiers.

You must forgive me ..
it is your law .. isn't it?

Isn't it?

Why don't you speak?
Of what do you accuse me?

Who are you anyway, you lousy
Yehuda. You don't know who I am.

Obersturmführer, Waffen S.S.

Jawohl! Achtung Hitler-Hof!
Are you afraid?

You are the son of a gypsy.

The dirty little gypsy
mongrel is a coward.

Okay .. give me the gun.

I'll do it for you.

You have the word of a German Officer.

Go ahead .. give it to me, please.

Alright .. then you do it .. go ahead.

Go ahead, do it! Shoot! Shoot! Shoot!

Obersturmführer, Waffen S.S.

Heil Hitler!

Bravo! Bravo!

No, he talked himself dead. You
should have seen how he hated me.

He is one dead but .. how
many more are there?

The Old City .. The Negev.
And now Hill 24.

A link in a chain .. Berger's words.
─ Good words.

It's nice knowing they're along
side us. The others on the hills.

The Israelis.

And now we claim Hill 24!.. L'Chaim.

L'Chaim.

L'Chaim

L'Chaim

Good morning Colonel.

Commander Hill 24!

Hello .. Hill 24!

Let me try.

I know we have men up there.

There doesn't seem to be
anybody up there now.

I claim Hill 24 for our side.
─ I dispute your claim.

It looks like it is easier to start
a war, than to end one.

It is clear the hill belongs to us.
The defender did not survive to claim it.

Gentlemen, Hill 24 has
been claimed for Israel.

t-g