''The Promise'' is a British television serial in four episodes written and directed by
Peter Kosminsky
Peter Kosminsky (born 21 April 1956) is a British writer, director and producer. He has directed Hollywood movies such as ''White Oleander'' and television films like ''Warriors'', ''The Government Inspector (television drama), The Government In ...
, with music by
Debbie Wiseman
Debbie Wiseman, OBE (born 10 May 1963) is a British composer for film and television, known also as a conductor and a radio and television presenter.
Biography
Wiseman was born in London. She studied at Trinity College of Music Junior Depart ...
. It tells the story of a young woman who goes to present-day
Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
and
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
determined to find out about her soldier grandfather's involvement in the final years of
Palestine
__NOTOC__
Palestine may refer to:
* State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia
* Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia
* Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...
under the British
mandate. It premiered on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...
on 6 February 2011.
Cast
*
Claire Foy
Claire Elizabeth Foy (born 16 April 1984) is a British actress. She is best known for her portrayal of the young Queen Elizabeth II in the first two seasons of the Netflix series ''The Crown'' (2016–2017) for which she won a Primetime Emmy Aw ...
as Erin Matthews
*
Christian Cooke as Sergeant Leonard Matthews
*
Itay Tiran
Itay Tiran ( he, איתי טיראן; born March 23, 1980) is an Israeli stage and screen actor, director, and a well-known pro-Palestinian advocate in Israel. As an actor, he is known for his roles in '' Forgiveness'' (2006), '' Beaufort'' (200 ...
as Paul Meyer
*
Katharina Schüttler as Clara Rosenbaum
*
Yvonne Catterfeld
Yvonne Catterfeld (born 2 December 1979) is a German singer, actress, and television personality. Born and raised in Erfurt, Thuringia, she later moved to Leipzig to pursue her career in music. In 2000, she participated in the debut season of the ...
as Ziphora
*
Haaz Sleiman
Haaz Sleiman (; ar, هاز سليمان; born July 1, 1976) is a Lebanese actor. He most notably played the role of Tarek in the 2007 film '' The Visitor'' for which he was nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male an ...
as Omar Habash
*
Ali Suliman
Ali Suliman ( ar, علي سليمان, he, עלי סלימאן; born 1977) is a Palestinian actor. He is known for his work on the series '' Jack Ryan'' and the film ''Paradise Now''.
Life and career
Ali was born in Nazareth, israel. He gradua ...
as Abu-Hassan Mohammed
*
Perdita Weeks
Perdita Rose Weeks (born 25 December 1985) is a British actress who plays Juliet Higgins in the CBS-turned-NBC reboot series ''Magnum P.I.''
Life and education
Weeks was born in South Glamorgan, to Robin and Susan (née Wade) Weeks, was educat ...
as Eliza Meyer
*
Ben Miles as Max Meyer
* Smadar Wolfman as Leah Meyer
*
Holly Aird
Imogen Holly Aird (born 18 May 1969) is an English television actress known for playing forensic pathologist Frankie Wharton in the BBC1 drama series '' Waking the Dead'', having previously starred in productions such as ''Soldier Soldier'' a ...
as Chris Matthews
*
Hiam Abbass
Hiam Abbass ( ar, هيام عباس, he, היאם עבאס; born 30 November 1960), also Hiyam Abbas, is a Palestinian actress and film director.
Personal life
Hiam Abbass was born in Nazareth, Israel, to a Muslim Arab family. She was raised ...
as Old Jawda
*
Lucas Gregorowicz
Lucas Gregorowicz (born 31 August 1976 in London) is a German-Polish actor.Iain McKee
Iain McKee is an English actor best known for his role as Frank Gadney in BBC1 drama series ''Lilies'' and Michael in BBC sitcom ''The Visit''. He is originally from Bolton and now lives in North London.
Filmography
* 2001 - ''The Parole Office ...
as Sergeant Hugh Robbins
*
Paul Anderson as Sergeant Frank Nash
* Max Deacon as Private Alec Hyman
*
Pip Torrens
Philip D'Oyly "Pip" Torrens (born 2 June 1960) is an English actor.
Known for playing urbane, authoritative figures, Torrens portrayed courtier Tommy Lascelles in the Netflix drama ''The Crown'', aristocrat Lord Massen in the HBO series ''The ...
as Major John Arbuthnot
Subjects depicted in the serial
* British liberation of
Bergen-Belsen concentration camp
Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concent ...
*
King David Hotel bombing
The British administrative headquarters for Mandatory Palestine, housed in the southern wing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, were bombed in a terrorist attack on 22 July 1946 by the militant right-wing Zionist underground organization the ...
*
Ein Hawd
Ein Hawd ( ar, عين حوض; he, עין חוד) is an Arab village in northern Israel. Located on the foot of Mount Carmel, near Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
The ...
and
Ein Hod
Ein Hod ( he, עֵין הוֹד) is a village in Haifa District in northern Israel. Located at the foot of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council and has the status of community set ...
villages
*
The Sergeants affair
The Sergeants affair ( he, פרשת הסרג'נטים) was an incident that took place in Mandate Palestine in July 1947 during Jewish insurgency in Palestine, in which the Jewish underground group Irgun kidnapped two British Army Intelligence ...
– the abduction of two British soldiers as hostages, and their killings as reprisal for the executions of Jewish guerrillas in Palestine
*
Israeli–Palestinian conflict in Hebron
*
Deir Yassin massacre
The Deir Yassin massacre took place on April 9, 1948, when around 130 fighters from the Zionist paramilitary groups Irgun and Lehi killed at least 107 Palestinian Arabs, including women and children, in Deir Yassin, a village of roughly 600 peopl ...
*
Battle of Haifa (1948)
The Battle of Haifa, called by the Jewish forces Operation Bi'ur Hametz ( he, מבצע ביעור חמץ " Passover Cleaning"), was a Haganah operation carried out on 21–22 April 1948 and was a major event in the final stages of the civil w ...
*
1948 Palestinian exodus
In 1948 Estimates of the Palestinian Refugee flight of 1948, more than 700,000 Palestinians, Palestinian Arabs – about half of prewar Mandatory Palestine, Palestine's Arab population – Causes of the 1948 Palestinian exodus, were expelled ...
*
Gaza–Israel conflict
The Gaza–Israel conflict is a part of the localized Israeli–Palestinian conflict, but is also a scene of power struggle between regional powers including Egypt, Iran and Turkey together with Qatar, supporting different sides of the confl ...
*
House demolition in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Plot
Part 1
![British Mandate](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/19/British_Mandate.jpg)
Erin Matthews is a British teenager about to start her
gap year
A gap year, also known as a sabbatical year, is typically a year-long break before or after college/university during which students engage in various educational and developmental activities, such as travel or some type of regular work. Gap yea ...
. She is taken reluctantly to see her grandfather Len, in his eighties, who is in hospital paralysed by a stroke. Erin hardly knows him, but whilst helping her mother to clear out his flat she finds a diary of his time in the
6th Airborne Division
The 6th Airborne Division was an airborne infantry division of the British Army during the Second World War. Despite its name, the 6th was actually the second of two airborne divisions raised by the British Army during the war, the other being t ...
in
British Mandate Palestine
Mandatory Palestine ( ar, فلسطين الانتدابية '; he, פָּלֶשְׂתִּינָה (א״י) ', where "E.Y." indicates ''’Eretz Yiśrā’ēl'', the Land of Israel) was a geopolitical entity established between 1920 and 1948 i ...
after the Second World War. Her mother wants to throw it away, but she surreptitiously keeps it. She decides to take up her best friend Eliza's offer to spend time in Israel, while she undergoes
basic training
Military recruit training, commonly known as basic training or boot camp, refers to the initial instruction of new military personnel. It is a physically and psychologically intensive process, which resocializes its subjects for the unique deman ...
for her compulsory Israeli
military service
Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription).
Some nations (e.g., Mexico) require a ...
. As they fly out Erin starts to read the diary, and becomes fascinated; it opens with Len describing "the worst day of his life so far" – the horror of liberating
Bergen-Belsen
Bergen-Belsen , or Belsen, was a Nazi concentration camp in what is today Lower Saxony in northern Germany, southwest of the town of Bergen near Celle. Originally established as a prisoner of war camp, in 1943, parts of it became a concentrati ...
concentration camp
Internment is the imprisonment of people, commonly in large groups, without charges or intent to file charges. The term is especially used for the confinement "of enemy citizens in wartime or of terrorism suspects". Thus, while it can simply ...
. Thereafter the series intercuts between the two stories as they develop, hers in 2005 and his in the 1940s.
Len's unit is posted to
Stella Maris base near
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, as part of the forces keeping the fragile peace between Arabs and the growing Jewish population. Their first job is to round up Jewish refugees coming ashore from a ship, who are taken to a detention centre. The forced showers and captivity behind wire fences remind Len of what he saw in Germany.
Returning to the beach Len finds a straggler, and is about to let her go when they are spotted by a passing patrol. Len is reprimanded; his commander emphasises the danger of Arab insurrection if Jewish immigration is not controlled. At the City Hospitality Club in Haifa, Len's corporal Jackie Clough introduces him to two Jewish girls: Ziphora and Clara. Clara explains that the club's purpose is to generate goodwill for the Jews, and that she is paid to be there. Meanwhile Len leads a search of the
kibbutz
A kibbutz ( he, קִבּוּץ / , lit. "gathering, clustering"; plural: kibbutzim / ) is an intentional community in Israel that was traditionally based on agriculture. The first kibbutz, established in 1909, was Degania. Today, farming h ...
at
Qiryat Haiyim, but finds nothing. He is told that the entire secretariat at Stella Maris is Jewish and leaks are very common.
Clara invites him home for tea, where her father tries to get him to talk about Stella Maris. Len's superior Rowntree encourages Len to contact the Jewish underground, suggesting that a crowd at a rally would be a safer place to meet them than Clara's flat. However, when Len is approached, his contact is shot dead by the British forces policing the rally: Len has been set up. Out on armoured patrol a chamberpot is emptied over the soldiers. Then at the base several of Len's men are shot, some in the back while they are hosing down the vehicles, in a raid by Jewish militants. Len goes to see Clara, whose father apologises for what has happened, but tells him he is no longer welcome. Clara however follows Len down the stairs and embraces him.
Meanwhile, in 2005 Erin is staying with Eliza's well-to-do family, who live in
Caesarea
Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
in a beach-front villa with a pool. Eliza takes Erin shopping and clubbing in
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, cut short when Erin's
epilepsy
Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrical ...
is triggered by flashing lights in the club. Erin meets Eliza's brother Paul, described by Eliza as "crazy", who left the army transformed into a peace activist. Paul and Eliza's father is a former general who criticised the occupation and is now a leading liberal. Nevertheless he and Paul clash over politics. According to Paul, his father's liberalism misleads people into thinking Israel is a normal country like their own; he says the truth is that it is dominated and led by former military leaders. Erin asks Paul to take her to see the grave of one of Len's comrades, who in the diary has just been killed in the raid of the Jewish militants on the base. At the
CWGC cemetery she finds the graves of two more names from the diary: Sergeants Robbins and Nash, who at that point in the diary are still alive.
Paul takes her through a checkpoint into the Occupied Territories. In
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
Erin hears him addressing a meeting of
Combatants for Peace
Combatants for Peace ( he, לוחמים לשלום; ar, مقاتلون من أجل آلسلام) is an Israeli-Palestinian NGO and an egalitarian, bi-national, grassroots movement committed to non-violent action against the “Israeli occupation ...
together with Omar, a former member of the
al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades
The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades () is a coalition of Palestinian armed groups in the West Bank. The organization has been designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the European Union, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and the United States.
L ...
. Afterward the two shake hands, and Paul drives Omar back to the Israeli side of the line. They are waved through the checkpoint, but Omar goes back to remonstrate with the border guards about a couple being split up, and is detained. Paul condemns the checkpoints as just a way to make Palestinian life difficult, and points to a stretch of the
separation barrier
A separation barrier or separation wall is a barrier, wall or fence, constructed to limit the movement of people across a certain line or border, or to separate peoples or cultures. A separation barrier that runs along an internationally recogni ...
where there is a Palestinian village on each side of the wall, arguing that a terrorist might live in either village. They go to a café, but when Paul goes back for his wallet, the building is blown apart by a
suicide bomb
A suicide attack is any violent attack, usually entailing the attacker detonating an explosive, where the attacker has accepted their own death as a direct result of the attacking method used. Suicide attacks have occurred throughout histor ...
.
Part 2
Len disciplines soldiers who are abusing his company's Palestinian servant. Later at the club, Clough teases him that Clara is seeking a passport from marrying him. Len takes Clara home; there is no-one in, so she takes him to bed, asking him to stay longer, but he has to attend a meeting. The meeting, at the
King David Hotel
The King David Hotel ( he, מלון המלך דוד, Malon ha-Melekh David; ar, فندق الملك داود) is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally qua ...
in Jerusalem, is a briefing on "Operation Bulldog", the upcoming
cordon and search
Cordon and search is a military tactic to cordon off an area and search the premises for weapons or insurgents. It is one of the basic counterinsurgency operations. Two types of cordon and search operations are cordon and knockIrgun
Irgun • Etzel
, image = Irgun.svg , image_size = 200px
, caption = Irgun emblem. The map shows both Mandatory Palestine and the Emirate of Transjordan, which the Irgun claimed in its entirety for a future Jewish state. The acronym "Etzel" i ...
" members, but they are nevertheless taken away, and the British blow up their house.
Mesheq Yagur kibbutz is searched, and Len discovers a substantial arms cache hidden in a room below a children's merry-go-round. Returning to base, the soldiers are serenaded by schoolchildren handing out flowers. Rowntree explains that they are
anemone
''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand an ...
s, or ''kalaniot'' in Hebrew: "red for the paratrooper's beret; black for his heart". Len gives the bunch to Mohammed, only to be told he has now put Mohammed under an obligation, and Mohammed will be duty-bound to offer him dinner. Subsequently he visits Mohammed and his family for dinner. They take a group photograph outside.
Paul's mother complains that the suicide bombers at the café are 'animals'. Paul replies that she should tell Erin about some of the 'animals' who blew up the King David Hotel, including her own father.
Erin is on the point of going home, but reads the last page of Len's diary and finds with it, in an envelope, a key. Len is facing prison, and has let down everyone who trusted him, wishing he could return the key to Mohammed. Haunted by this, and knowing her grandfather has been unhappy all his life, Erin decides to stay. Looking up Omar's telephone number in Paul's phone, she gets Omar to take her to Ein Hawd, which was the location of Mohammed's house, and finds that that village is now
Ein Hod
Ein Hod ( he, עֵין הוֹד) is a village in Haifa District in northern Israel. Located at the foot of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council and has the status of community set ...
, a Jewish artistic centre. She is told that the Palestinians left in 1948, but some had returned to found a new
Ein Hawd
Ein Hawd ( ar, عين حوض; he, עין חוד) is an Arab village in northern Israel. Located on the foot of Mount Carmel, near Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council. In it had a population of .
History
The ...
in what had been their orchards above the old village. An old man agrees to let them drive him, and they identify what had been Mohammed's house. He thanks Erin for taking him back, even though it had been painful. He is able to give Omar a Hebron address for the family, although when Erin asks Omar to take her, he suggests that Paul might be a better guide.
Erin and Eliza visit Eliza's grandfather. He is unapologetic, and tells them that his father, mother, sister and brother had all died in German camps. He says that his generation had been determined that the Jewish people would never again capitulate in the face of genocide, and want to secure land that could alwaya be safe. He explains that the British stood in their way, so they wiped them out.
Len and Jackie and another soldier are off duty and driving through town when they are ambushed. Len reaches for his revolver, but two men with handguns shoot all three. As Len and Jackie struggle for their lives, they are ignored by onlookers sitting in cafés.
Part 3
In hospital, Len shows compassion to Avram Klein (a Jewish militant who has been shot after shooting three British policemen), even after an attempt to free him. Rowntree asks Len to persuade Klein to
appeal to the Privy Council to avoid his execution. Len finds Klein in solitary confinement in Acre, but he is unwilling to appeal, saying that every movement needs its martyrs.
Meanwhile Len has started giving Mohammed's son Hassan tuition in mathematics. Clara is getting hostile glances from people who think she is fraternising with the enemy.
Erin is dropped by taxi at
Abu Dis
Abu Dis or Abu Deis ( ar, أبو ديس) is a Palestinian village in the West Bank, in the Jerusalem Governorate of the State of Palestine, bordering Jerusalem. Since the 1995 Oslo II Accord, Abu Dis land has been mostly part of " Area B", unde ...
, where Omar lives, which is near the separation wall. He is playing cards on the roof, and non-plussed when Erin says he had agreed to give her a driving lesson. He also tells Erin that he is a
Palestinian Christian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
. In the car Erin admits that she is forbidden to drive because of her epilepsy. Omar drives back to Caesarea, where Erin tempts him into the house, and then into the pool. They are starting to kiss when Eliza's parents appear. Eliza's father is formally polite; his wife looks very unhappy, and a strained dinner follows. Paul also seems not entirely happy. Eliza's parents start to have a serious talk with Erin, but she is struck by another fit. When she recovers, Paul comes to see her; she senses that he is upset with her, but he denies it.
Arriving at Clara's flat, Len is perturbed to find it apparently deserted. Clara is in the bath; much of her hair has been torn out, and she has been daubed with oil and feathers. Len comforts her, but later needs to leave for an appointment. Clara can't believe he still does not trust her. Len relents and tells her everything, including the name of the spy that he, Robbins and Nash are going to meet.
At the meeting they are ambushed; their Jewish informant is led away, and Len and the two sergeants are abducted. A purported British Army major apologises to Len that it has been a ruse, to determine whether Robbins is a spy. But Len is unconvinced, and he is dragged off to join the others, being held in a hole under a trapdoor, with just enough room for an oxygen cylinder. Days pass, and Len is again taken to the "major", who tells Len he was indeed a wartime officer, in the Palestine
Jewish Brigade
The Jewish Infantry Brigade Group, more commonly known as the Jewish Brigade Group or Jewish Brigade, was a military formation of the British Army in the Second World War. It was formed in late 1944 and was recruited among Yishuv Jews from Manda ...
, and had then
spirited Jews out of the camps onto boats. He asks Len to join, but Len is not interested. Days later, Len is dragged out again. Unhooded and in the open, he expects to be shot, but finds he has been released. He takes Rowntree back to the factory, but Robbins and Nash are gone. Two miles away, Robbins and Nash are found dead, hanging from trees. A message hung around Robbins's neck says he has been executed in reprisal for the "illegal killing" of Avram Klein. Sappers declare the ground clear, but when a member of the
Palestine Police
The Palestine Police Force was a British colonial police service established in Mandatory Palestine on 1 July 1920,Sinclair, 2006. when High Commissioner Sir Herbert Samuel's civil administration took over responsibility for security from Gener ...
starts to cut down the body, it explodes. Len returns to Clara's flat in fury, but she has gone. Clara's father apologies for his daughter's views. Len confesses everything to Rowntree. Later, talking to Clough, he suffers an epileptic fit. Robbins and Nash are buried with military honours.
Erin is shocked to read about Len's fit. She shows Paul a press cutting about Robbins and Nash; he remembers it, and says it was what broke the British will to fight. Paul kisses her, and she wakes up the next morning in Paul's bed.
From a bus on the way to
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after East J ...
she rings Omar and asks if he could meet her there. At a military checkpoint a liberal Israeli guide is explaining to a group that part of the city has been closed off as a "sterile zone"; he is being barracked by an orthodox
settler
A settler is a person who has human migration, migrated to an area and established a permanent residence there, often to colonize the area.
A settler who migrates to an area previously uninhabited or sparsely inhabited may be described as a ...
with a megaphone. Erin slips past into the zone. She meets Palestinian schoolgirls walking home from school. The girls are verbally abused and then stoned by some Jewish boys, while IDF soldiers watch. The group point her to a house that matches her address, where she is met by a Jewish orthodox woman and led to a room where orthodox men are eating. Erin starts to explain her quest, when two IDF soldiers arrive, brought by the daughter, to lead Erin away. Behind her the man rebukes the woman. Outside, she is bundled into an IDF vehicle. Erin secretly sends a text from her phone.
Part 4
Erin is to be questioned at the IDF base when Paul appears, and greets his former colleagues. He tells her the army is there to protect the settlers, not to keep the peace. Erin wakes in the night and is almost shot by a sniper bullet. Paul has his ex-comrades throw him a gun, and he shoots into the night, justifying his actions as loyalty. The next morning, they find a woman who is the grand-daughter of Mohammed's cousin. Settlers drop broken glass onto her yard from what had been her grandfather's house. The orthodox woman from the previous day arrives to taunt her. Erin tries to intervene, but Paul leads her away, saying it would make things worse. Paul tells Erin that Mohammed's family is now in
Gaza, which is an unreachable war-zone.
Back in 1947, a crowd is celebrating the
UN partition resolution which will create a Jewish state. Searching for the source of the
Kol Zion underground broadcasts, Len's men raid some flats; Clough's gun ‘accidentally’ misfires. Len stumbles, but Clough catches Ziphora, his girlfriend, but lets her go. Later, Len beats him, and he admits to having told her everything – just as he told Clara about Robbins and Nash. Len visits Mohammed and advises him to move somewhere safer, because the British will not protect him, but Mohammed will not leave.
Erin feels out of place at a party with Eliza's friends. On a laptop, she watches news of another suicide bombing. She argues with Paul, who does not understand why this is all so important to her.
Len is driving Mohammed's son Hassan back from a maths exam. He turns down a track to investigate a column of smoke from the village of
Deir Yassin
Deir Yassin ( ar, دير ياسين, Dayr Yāsīn) was a Palestinian Arab village of around 600 inhabitants about west of Jerusalem. Deir Yassin declared its neutrality during the 1948 Palestine war between Arabs and Jews. The village was razed ...
. Jewish fighters are going from house to house, throwing grenades and shooting the occupants. Men are being forced into the village square and shot. One of the fighters is Clara. She asks him to join her, but Len turns and leaves. He later confronts Rowntree, but Rowntree is under a direct order that British lives are not to be risked protecting the Arabs.
Erin goes to see Omar, but he too refuses to help. She shows him the key, and he explains its importance to displaced Palestinian families, and then shows her the key to his own uncle's house in Jaffa. He agrees to take her to Gaza.
Len's platoon is in Haifa, stationed between the Jewish and Arab-controlled areas, overlooked by armed Jewish irregulars. They are ordered to pull back, but Len orders them to hold the position to prevent Jewish mortar attack on the
souk. Len goes to find Rowntree, but he is gone and the last personnel is evacuating. The roads are clogged with Arab refugees. Mohammed insists that the Arab armies will protect them; but Len tells him that they will come too late: the Jews will arrive by nightfall. The family leaves home and Len drives them to the docks, where the Royal Navy is taking people to Acre. Mohammed commands Hassan to keep the house key safe, because one day they will return. Hassan goes missing in the crowds, and Len promises to go back and find him, persuading Mohammed to get his wife and daughter to safety. Len returns to his men and fills a bag with grenades and ammunition, ordering Alec to take the men to the docks.
Erin and Omar are led through a tunnel into Gaza. A taxi takes them to a house of a cousin of Mohammed's, where relatives have gathered for the funeral for his daughter, who had been the suicide bomber of the previous night. Erin sits by herself on the roof, overlooked by a military watch-tower. A young girl Samira pulls her in, miming that it is not safe. That night there is shooting; Erin comforts the girl. Later, she is woken by arguing from downstairs. The son, who is with Hamas, is brandishing a gun and telling Omar, a Fatah member, to go. But the house is raided by Israeli soldiers. Omar and the son run off, while Erin and the family are confined in a bedroom. An IDF officer takes Erin's name and address, while the son is marched away. In the morning, the IDF are searching the house. Eliza appears to deal with Erin, called as a favour to her father.
Len finds Hassan fighting with a group of Arabs, under fire from a sniper. Len takes charge, only to find that the sniper is Clough, who has joined the Jewish militants. He confiscates his rifle and lets him go. Len agrees to stay and fight, if Hassan will go to the docks. But as Hassan sets out across open ground, he is hit by a bullet. Before he dies, he asks Len to promise to give the key back to his father. Back at the docks, Len tries to find Mohammed, but is arrested by two military policemen, who had been tipped off by Alec to make sure Len gets home.
IDF soldiers take Samira for a
human shield
A human shield is a non-combatant (or a group of non-combatants) who either volunteers or is forced to shield a legitimate military target in order to deter the enemy from attacking it. The use of human shields as a resistance measure was popula ...
when they go to occupy the brother's house. As Samira becomes frantic, Erin suggests that they take her also. They are confined in the room of a bedridden old woman, who tells Erin she learned English from the British. She shows Erin a photograph; it is the photograph of Len with Mohammed and his family. She is Mohammed's daughter Jawda, with fond memories of Len, but she says her father was angry with him for many years as he failed to bring Hassan back. Erin produces the key, and as soldiers come in she clutches it in her hand. The IDF lay explosives in the house. Erin finds a toolbox, and chains herself and Samira to a pillar. The IDF commander tells Eliza to get a cutter, and she is freed. Outside, Erin finds Jawda being loaded into an ambulance, as the houses are blown up. Erin retrieves some trinkets in a box and the photograph album, and gives them to Jawda. However, an IDF soldier takes away the box. Erin starts to remonstrate, but is seized by another fit. Later, Erin is back in Caesarea, gathering her things. She thanks Eliza's parents for her stay, and Paul hopes she may come back one day.
As she flies home, Erin turns to the last page of Len's diary. He is leaving Palestine as prisoner on a Royal Navy ship. He writes that the Jewish state has been born in violence and cruelty, and worries that it will not thrive. For himself, he says all he has to look forward to is a long prison term and a dishonourable discharge. He wishes that one day he can return the key to Mohammed, though he is not sure he could face him.
At the airport, Erin surprises her mother with the intensity of her embrace. In the hospital, she holds her grandfather's hand, and tells him she has given Mohammed's daughter the key. A single tear runs down his face.
Production
Research
The idea for ''The Promise'' arose from the 1999 drama ''
Warriors
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have be ...
'', Kosminsky's sympathetic portrayal of British troops
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Within the United N ...
in central
Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
in
1992–93, their hands tied by an impossible mandate. A former soldier wrote to its executive producer
Jane Tranter
Jane Tranter (born 17 March 1963) is an English television executive who was the executive vice-president of programming and production at BBC Worldwide's Los Angeles base from 2009 until 2015. From 2006 to 2008, she was the BBC's controller of ...
at the BBC, suggesting she should do a film about the forgotten British soldiers who had been in Palestine.
Tranter passed the letter to Kosminsky, who initially put it to one side. However, after completing ''
The Project'' in 2002, Kosminsky presented the subject as a possible theme for a future drama, and the BBC agreed to support research on it. The BBC's Sarah Barton, subsequently assisted by Sarah MacFarlane, began making contacts through regimental groups and the Palestine Veterans Association, ultimately conducting detailed interviews with 82 veterans,
many of them speaking about things they had never told their wives and families.
[Production Focus: ''The Promise'', ]Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
event, 16 March 2011 These oral accounts were compared with archive material in books and from the
Red Cross
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a Humanitarianism, humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million Volunteering, volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure re ...
, the
National Archives and the
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
, including the weekly military intelligence digests. Kosminsky was particularly struck by the
house demolitions carried out by the British, and with what other parallels might exist with the present. The research team contacted newly emerging groups of critical IDF veterans,
Breaking the Silence and
Combatants for Peace
Combatants for Peace ( he, לוחמים לשלום; ar, مقاتلون من أجل آلسلام) is an Israeli-Palestinian NGO and an egalitarian, bi-national, grassroots movement committed to non-violent action against the “Israeli occupation ...
. According to Kosminsky, it took him eleven months to read all the research, including over 40 books that researchers had prepared for him, while thinking how to distill it into a workable drama.
[Miri Weingarten]
The Promise: Interview with Peter Kosminsky
JNews, 24 March 2011
Characters and construction
Kosminsky says that his overriding aim was to present the experience of the 100,000 British soldiers who served in Palestine,
"to remind us all of what happened".
[Peter Kosminsky: Episode 1 Q&A](_blank)
Channel 4 website, 6 February 2011 After leaving Palestine nobody had wanted to remember,
[Sophie Bourdais]
Peter Kosminsky: "Britain has a responsibility in the current Palestinian conflict"
, ''Télérama
''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...
'', 22 March 2011 the veterans had been "shunned"; they had "returned home to find the nation that wanted nothing to do with them", with no memorial, and were denied even "the right to march to the
Cenotaph
A cenotaph is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although the vast majority of cenot ...
in formation".
Most found it incredibly hard to talk about their experiences.
"I was determined that their story be told."
[Macha Séry, Israel-Palestine: to the origins of the conflict , TéléVisions supplement pp.6–7, '']Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'', 20–21 March 2011.
text
This was always his aim for the drama, to "honour the original letter sent to the BBC", so this was always going to be the path of Len's journey.
Overwhelmingly, the veterans told a similar story: they had started out "incredibly pro-Jewish"
but they had shifted their allegiance and by the end "were feeling a great deal of sympathy for the Arabs".
"A big change came in the final months, as they saw what would happen to the Palestinians, and realised both sides were to be abandoned to a war."
"It was always going to be necessary for us to faithfully reflect this in our drama,"
"I either had to reflect it or abandon the project." The series was led by what had come out of the interviews, what the soldiers had said and felt, and what they had actually experienced, rather than wider historical events with which rank-and-file soldiers had little contact.
Of all the reactions to the series, Kosminsky said what meant the most to him was a letter from a veteran, now 85 years old: "You did what you said you would. Thank you so much."
The character of Erin was influenced by his two teenage daughters, one of whom has epilepsy. Kosminsky felt the trait wasn't often shown on screen unless it was a major plot point, so he liked the idea of showing "an eighteen-year-old girl who is trying to live a normal life, despite the fact she occasionally had epileptic fits; and how other people cope with that as well". For personal reasons, Kosminsky had long wanted to explore the idea of a young person gradually coming to appreciate "the young man inside the shell of an older, sick man",
[Interview: Peter Kosminsky](_blank)
''The Jewish Chronicle
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'', 3 February 2011 to the extent that he sees the drama as an unconventional love story, capped when Paul tells Erin that the young Len of the diary no longer exists. Erin's passionate response "He does to me, he does to me!" was for Kosminsky perhaps the most important line in the whole film.
The casual relationship Erin has with Eliza, "the way they talk, the way they react, their limited attention span" was very much drawn from his experience of his daughters and their friends, and he felt that the combination of naivety and flinty assertiveness were not atypical of an "eighteen-year-old kid from London", particularly given an emotionally rather unsympathetic upbringing.
It was also important to make the character contrast with the "endlessly heroic and gentlemanly"
Len, so it was intentional that she should be harder to like.
However, he hoped that the audience would be won over as they came to understand the character, and that having the audience make this journey would make more powerful what he saw as her later bravery and single-mindedness.
Erin's emotional journey intentionally parallels the 1940s arc, because at the heart of it is her increasing engagement with Len.
"She becomes obsessed with him... she feels what he's feeling... so, by the time we get to Gaza, she patterns herself on what she thinks he would have done."
Through the modern story, Kosminsky wanted to show how the past can have consequences for the present, and that having left "chaos, political confusion, bloodshed and war", Britain has a responsibility for what happens today. "It is our problem, at least in part, and we should take some responsibility for it".
[Peter Kosminsky]
A film-maker's eye on the Middle East
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 28 January 2011 He also writes that what struck him most is a question: "How did we get from there to here?" In 1945 the Jewish plight had the sympathy of most of the world, but "just 60 years later, Israel is isolated, loathed and feared in equal measure by its neighbours, finding little sympathy outside America for its uncompromising view of how to defend its borders and secure its future. How did Israel squander the compassion of the world within a lifetime?" This is what ''The Promise'' sets out to explore.
But "It does not help anyone by claiming that good and justice are on one side only. If it were that simple, we would have already found a solution. There are rights and truths on each side, that compete with each other. You can not have everything on one side or the other, everything is meshed together"
... "There are no good guys and bad guys in this sad situation and we have tried very hard to show pluses and minuses on both sides."
"I would be very sad if someone were to consider the series as partisan."
[Marianne Behar]
Interview with Peter Kosminsky, director of the Promise
, L'Humanité
''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist."
History and profile
Pre-World Wa ...
, 22 March 2011 What he hoped to create was a kind of unstable equilibrium, so that audiences would find their sympathies shifting, repeatedly, from one side to the other.
Pre-production, further research, and finance
As of 2006 the project had the working title ''Palestine'' and was to be made for the BBC by
Carnival Films
Carnival Films is a British production company based in London, UK, founded in 1978. It has produced television series for all the major UK networks including the BBC, ITV (TV network), ITV, Channel 4, and Sky (United Kingdom), Sky, as well as ...
, best known as makers of the ''
Poirot
Hercule Poirot (, ) is a fictional Belgian detective created by British writer Agatha Christie. Poirot is one of Christie's most famous and long-running characters, appearing in 33 novels, two plays ('' Black Coffee'' and ''Alibi''), and more ...
'' series for ITV. However, Kosminsky had grown increasingly estranged from the BBC, later saying that film-makers no longer saw "that flash of mischief" when pitching ideas.
[Rachel Cooke]
Britain's humiliation in Palestine
''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', 23 January 2011
''Also:''
Ian Burrell
Peter Kosminsky: Making mischief? It's an essential part of the job
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 16 June 2008
Robin Parker
Kosminsky: Where is the BBC's mischief?
''Broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
'', 12 March 2009 "I don't think we can say the BBC bottled it...
oweverit seems to have lost its nerve for making challenging drama... drama that gets it into political and legal hot water." The BBC agreed to sell its interest and let the project go into
turnaround — for a generously low rate according to Kosminsky
– and in 2007 he secured an exclusive deal with
Daybreak Pictures, run by Channel 4's former head of film
David Aukin
David Aukin (born 12 February 1942) is a theatrical and executive producer as well as a qualified solicitor. He has been nominated many times for British Academy Television Awards and has won twice for producing films about Tony Blair: ''The Gove ...
, with whom he had previously made ''
The Government Inspector
''The Government Inspector'', also known as ''The Inspector General'' ( rus, links=no, Ревизор, Revizor, literally: "Inspector"), is a satirical play by Russian dramatist and novelist, Nikolai Gogol. Originally published in 1836, the pla ...
'' (2005) and ''
Britz
Britz () is a German locality (''Ortsteil'') within the Berlin borough (''Bezirk'') of Neukölln.
History
The village of ''Britzig'' was first mentioned in 1273. It was incorporated by the 1920 Greater Berlin Act. It is known for being the sit ...
'' (2007).
At this stage the
treatment ran to 180 pages, with many scenes described in detail. Researchers continued to conduct interviews to enrich the story. Kosminsky flew to Israel with David Aukin, to visit places that would feature in the story, including the normally closed-off
Deir Yassin
Deir Yassin ( ar, دير ياسين, Dayr Yāsīn) was a Palestinian Arab village of around 600 inhabitants about west of Jerusalem. Deir Yassin declared its neutrality during the 1948 Palestine war between Arabs and Jews. The village was razed ...
, accompanied by modern Israeli historians organised by their pre-production partners, an Israeli documentary film company.
Benny Morris
Benny Morris ( he, בני מוריס; born 8 December 1948) is an Israeli historian. He was a professor of history in the Middle East Studies department of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in the city of Beersheba, Israel. He is a member of t ...
let Kosminsky read a pre-publication
proof copy of his book ''1948''; and from a recent PhD student of Motti Golani at
Haifa University
The University of Haifa ( he, אוניברסיטת חיפה Arabic: جامعة حيفا) is a university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation in 1972, becoming Is ...
Kosminsky heard about the city hospitality clubs, still a stigmatised subject, which shaped the background for Clara in the story.
Scripts followed quickly, and by mid-2008 Channel 4 announced its backing for the project.
Daybreak had initially costed the drama at £8 million, which with some trimming they had been able to pare back to £7 million. Channel 4 committed £4 million, roughly in line with the channel's hourly rate for prestige drama. Other sources of funding were more difficult. In France, a deal giving
Canal +
Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface flow und ...
first-run subscription broadcast rights, with
free-to-air
Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the FTA Receiver, appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring ...
rights on
ARTE
Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.
It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...
a year later, was negotiated by Daybreak's long-standing production contact Georges Campana, bringing in a further £1 million.
SBS (a frequent co-producer with ARTE) secured Australian rights, and some top-up funding was obtained from the E.U. media fund. However
pre-sale negotiations for America and Germany ran into the sand. Eventually, having put back filming from an original autumn 2009 start, and with everything else ready to go, Kosminsky went back to Channel 4 and said that without another £1 million the series wasn't going to happen. Exceptionally, Channel 4 agreed the extra funding, and filming started in Israel in early 2010 under the revised title ''Homeland'', beginning with the period scenes at Stella Maris.
Channel 4 presented its support as part of a £20 million investment in drama, also including ''
This is England '86
''This Is England '86'' is a 2010 British drama miniseries written by Shane Meadows and Jack Thorne, a spin-off from the 2006 film ''This Is England''. Set three years later, it focuses on the mod revival scene rather than the skinhead subcu ...
'' and ''
Any Human Heart
''Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart'' is a 2002 novel by William Boyd, a British writer. It is written as a lifelong series of journals kept by the fictional character Mountstuart, a writer whose life (1906–1991) ...
'', made possible by cancellation of the £50 million per series it was previously spending on ''
Big Brother''.
Filming
Filming was entirely in Israel, with a predominantly local crew and through the Israeli production company Lama Films; something unusual for a UK television drama production. According to Kosminsky they also looked at Morocco, Cyprus, Southern Spain and Tunisia, and could have recreated the 1940s sequences there; but nowhere else would have replicated the "buildings, range of cultures or topography" of modern-day Israel.
[Peter Kosminsky and Hal Vogel]
Behind the Scenes: The Promise
''Broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
'', 3 February 2011 According to ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'':
Over the course of a long career Kosminsky has become adept at turning one country into another: "I used the Czech Republic
The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
for Bosnia
Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and He ...
, Kenya
)
, national_anthem = "Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"()
, image_map =
, map_caption =
, image_map2 =
, capital = Nairobi
, coordinates =
, largest_city = Nairobi
, ...
for Somalia
Somalia, , Osmanya script: 𐒈𐒝𐒑𐒛𐒐𐒘𐒕𐒖; ar, الصومال, aṣ-Ṣūmāl officially the Federal Republic of SomaliaThe ''Federal Republic of Somalia'' is the country's name per Article 1 of thProvisional Constituti ...
, Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
for Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
, Morocco
Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...
for Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
, India for Pakistan and Leeds
Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
for Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
." This time, though, there was no faking it. "Israel looks like nowhere else: the Bauhaus
The Staatliches Bauhaus (), commonly known as the Bauhaus (), was a German art school operational from 1919 to 1933 that combined crafts and the fine arts.Oxford Dictionary of Art and Artists (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 4th edn., 200 ...
architecture in Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
, the physiognomy of its people, who come from all over the world, and most of all the Wall
A wall is a structure and a surface that defines an area; carries a load; provides security, shelter, or soundproofing; or, is decorative. There are many kinds of walls, including:
* Walls in buildings that form a fundamental part of the supe ...
. I knew I couldn't recreate those things. The trouble was, it is virtually unknown for a British TV crew to shoot in Israel. We were starting from zero."
The early scene of the flat in Leeds was created in an Israeli studio.
[DVD commentary, at 04:10] Everything else was shot on location in and around
Jerusalem
Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...
,
Haifa
Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
,
Tel Aviv
Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...
,
Jaffa
Jaffa, in Hebrew Yafo ( he, יָפוֹ, ) and in Arabic Yafa ( ar, يَافَا) and also called Japho or Joppa, the southern and oldest part of Tel Aviv-Yafo, is an ancient port city in Israel. Jaffa is known for its association with the b ...
,
Caesarea
Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...
,
Acre
The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial
Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism.
Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to:
Places
United States
* Imperial, California
* Imperial, Missouri
* Imp ...
,
Givat Brenner
Givat Brenner ( he, גִּבְעַת בְּרֶנֶר, lit. ''Brenner Hill''; ar, غفعات برينر), is a kibbutz in the Central District of Israel. Located around south of Rehovot, it falls under the jurisdiction of Brenner Regional C ...
,
Ein Hod
Ein Hod ( he, עֵין הוֹד) is a village in Haifa District in northern Israel. Located at the foot of Mount Carmel and southeast of Haifa, it falls under the jurisdiction of Hof HaCarmel Regional Council and has the status of community set ...
,
Peqi'in,
Ramla
Ramla or Ramle ( he, רַמְלָה, ''Ramlā''; ar, الرملة, ''ar-Ramleh'') is a city in the Central District of Israel. Today, Ramle is one of Israel's mixed cities, with both a significant Jewish and Arab populations.
The city was f ...
and
Beit Jimal[Series on-screen credits] in a 68-day schedule involving 180 different locations.
Ben Gurion Airport
Ben Gurion International Airport, ; ar, مطار بن غوريون الدولي , commonly known by the Hebrew-language acronym (), is the main international airport of Israel. Situated on the northern outskirts of the city of Lod, it is the ...
stood in for Heathrow, and the bombed rubble of the
King David Hotel
The King David Hotel ( he, מלון המלך דוד, Malon ha-Melekh David; ar, فندق الملك داود) is a 5-star hotel in Jerusalem and a member of The Leading Hotels of the World. Opened in 1931, the hotel was built with locally qua ...
was filmed against a
blue screen in a car park in
Petah Tikva
Petah Tikva ( he, פֶּתַח תִּקְוָה, , ), also known as ''Em HaMoshavot'' (), is a city in the Central District (Israel), Central District of Israel, east of Tel Aviv. It was founded in 1878, mainly by Haredi Judaism, Haredi Jews of ...
.
[Peter Kosminsky on The Promise, his drama about Palestine](_blank)
''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', 4 February 2011 Part of the
Old City in Jerusalem stood in for
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
in the West Bank, the Hebron-set scenes were filmed in Acre,
[Rachel Cooke]
Peter Kosminsky: Britain's humiliation in Palestine
''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', 23 January 2011 while Gaza was represented by the Israeli-Arab town of
Jisr al-Zarqa.
[Peter Kosminsky: Episode 4 Q&A](_blank)
Channel 4 website, 27 February 2011 The paratroopers' base at
Stella Maris had been a challenge to find, but eventually the monastery at
Beit Jimal was used and proved very accommodating. Period military vehicles were also a challenge to source without shipping them in at prohibitive expense; the tracked armoured vehicle used in the series was an amalgam of parts from five different vehicles found in a junkyard, cobbled together into one that worked. A faux
Israeli checkpoint
An Israeli checkpoint ( he, מחסום, ''mahsom'', ar, حاجز, ''hajez''), is a barrier erected by the Israeli Security Forces, primarily today part of the system of West Bank closures in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The checkpoints a ...
was built entirely from scratch.
[
Filming used conventional Super 16mm film, which was then processed and edited in England. The cinematographer, David Higgs, had been keen to try the new Red One high resolution digital camera. However, the team were concerned by the potentially limited ]contrast ratio
The contrast ratio (CR) is a property of a display system, defined as the ratio of the luminance of the brightest shade (white) to that of the darkest shade (black) that the system is capable of producing. A high contrast ratio is a desired aspec ...
using digital – a serious consideration in strong Mediterranean light – and that its potential bulkiness might inhibit Kosminsky's trademark hand-held
A mobile device (or handheld computer) is a computer small enough to hold and operate in the hand. Mobile devices typically have a flat LCD or OLED screen, a touchscreen interface, and digital or physical buttons. They may also have a physical ...
cameras following the action. It was also felt that relying on comparatively simple well-known technology would be sensible operating so far from home. Ironically, however, the reliance on film led to a number of scenes having to be re-mounted after fogging went undetected for a week when it was impossible to get daily film rushes back to London because of the air travel disruption caused by the eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull
Eyjafjallajökull (; ), sometimes referred to by the numeronym E15, is one of the smaller ice caps of Iceland, north of Skógar and west of Mýrdalsjökull. The ice cap covers the caldera of a volcano with a summit elevation of . The volcan ...
volcano in Iceland. Extensive use was also made of CGI and digital post-production
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
The ...
, including for the café explosion, the destruction at the King David Hotel, and the refugee ship of would-be immigrants. A particular challenge was how to realise the events at Bergen-Belsen. The film-makers considered and rejected a number of options, including live-action and CGI, before reluctantly deciding to fall back on black-and-white library footage from the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
in London, only to come to the view that the resulting sequence had more artistic and moral power than anything they might have been able to create.
Reception
United Kingdom
Overnight ratings for ''The Promise'' were 1.8 million for the first episode, followed by 1.2 million, 1.3 million, and 1.2 million for the subsequent episodes. Consolidated ratings, which include time-shifted and online viewing, generally added about a further 0.5 million.
The first episode was reviewed widely and generally very positively,[ Tom Sutcliffe]
The Weekend's TV
''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 7 February 2011
John Crace
TV review
''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 7 February 2011. "It's that rarest of TV beasts: a show that doesn't patronise its audience, (mostly) steers clear of cliches and trusts the characters to tell the story in their own time."
Andrew Billen
Andrew William Scott Billen (born 30 December 1957) is a British journalist, children's author, and staff feature writer on ''The Times'' newspaper.
Early life
Andrew Billen was born in London on 30 December 1957 and brought up in Brentwood, E ...
Weekend TV: The Promise
''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', 7 February 2011. "formidable". (paywalled).
James Walton
Review
''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'', 7 February 2011. "will richly deserve any gongs that come its way".
Matt Baylis, "Burning Bush of Genius", ''Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
'', 7 February 2011, Page 39; als
quoted
by ''Broadcast
Broadcasting is the distribution of audio or video content to a dispersed audience via any electronic mass communications medium, but typically one using the electromagnetic spectrum ( radio waves), in a one-to-many model. Broadcasting began ...
'', 7 February 2011. "This four-parter is a little burning bush of genius in the desert of well-intentioned TV dramas."
Caitlin Moran
TV column
''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'', 12 February 2010. "almost certainly the best drama of the year". (paywalled).
James Delingpole
James Mark Court Delingpole (born 6 August 1965) is an English writer, journalist, and columnist who has written for a number of publications, including the '' Daily Mail'', the '' Daily Express'', ''The Times'', ''The Daily Telegraph'', and ' ...
Grandfather's footsteps
, ''The Spectator
''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world.
It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
'', 12 February 2011
Hugh Montgomery
The Promise
, ''Independent on Sunday
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'', 13 February 2011. " n the 1940s sequences,Kosminsky balanced the demands of big-picture history and intimate human drama with a quite remarkable assurance. Contrastingly, the modern-day storyline was hobbled by an inertia that seemed at odds with its tumultuous subject matter."
although Andrew Anthony
Andrew Anthony is a journalist who has written for ''The Guardian'' since 1990, and ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', who ...
in ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' was more critical and A.A. Gill
Adrian Anthony Gill (28 June 1954 – 10 December 2016) was a British journalist, critic, and author. Best known for his food and travel writing, he was also a television critic, was restaurant reviewer of '' The Sunday Times'', wrote for '' Va ...
of ''The Sunday Times
''The Sunday Times'' is a British newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of News UK, whi ...
'' was unimpressed.
The ''Daily Express
The ''Daily Express'' is a national daily United Kingdom middle-market newspaper printed in tabloid format. Published in London, it is the flagship of Express Newspapers, owned by publisher Reach plc. It was first published as a broadsheet i ...
'' called it "...a little burning bush of genius in the desert of well-intentioned TV dramas...", ''The Daily Telegraph
''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally.
It was fo ...
'' said the programme would richly deserve any Baftas
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...
that came its way, and Caitlin Moran in ''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...
'' called it "almost certainly the best drama of the year". By the second episode Andrew Billen
Andrew William Scott Billen (born 30 December 1957) is a British journalist, children's author, and staff feature writer on ''The Times'' newspaper.
Early life
Andrew Billen was born in London on 30 December 1957 and brought up in Brentwood, E ...
, writing in ''The Times'', was concerned that both Len and Erin were meeting from the Arabs a "little too much kindness for the comfort of all of us hoping that Kosminsky will parcel out recriminations in exactly equal proportions"; but nonetheless applauded the "immersive and emotional" quality of the series.
The serial as a whole was praised by Christina Patterson
Christina Mary Patterson (born 1963) is a British journalist. Now a freelancer, she was formerly a writer and columnist at ''The Independent.''
Biography
Patterson was born in Rome to a Swedish Lutheran mother and Scottish Presbyterian father wh ...
in ''The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
'' who said it was "...beautifully shot and extremely well written. It is also extremely balanced...";
and Rachel Cooke
Rachel Cooke (born 1969) is a British journalist and writer.
Early life
Cooke was born in Sheffield, and is the daughter of a university lecturer.
She went to school in Jaffa, Israel, until she was 11, before returning to Sheffield, and atten ...
in the ''New Statesman
The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...
''
and ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', where she said it was "...the best thing you are likely to see on TV this year, if not this decade."
There was also praise from Stephen Kelly in ''Tribune
Tribune () was the title of various elected officials in ancient Rome. The two most important were the tribunes of the plebs and the military tribunes. For most of Roman history, a college of ten tribunes of the plebs acted as a check on the ...
'',
Harriet Sherwood and Ian Black, Jerusalem correspondent and Middle East editor of ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'' respectively,
and David Chater
David Chater (born 1953) is a British broadcast journalist. Chater has more than 35 years' experience in international television news, having worked for Independent Television News, Sky News and Al Jazeera English. He joined ITN in 1976, Sk ...
, previewing the serial for ''The Times'', who called it courageous and applauded its lack of didacticism.
London free newspaper ''Metro
Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to:
Geography
* Metro (city), a city in Indonesia
* A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center
Public transport
* Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urba ...
'' felt that the third episode dragged, having warmly received the first two parts; but then praised the series as a whole.
Previewing the final episode, ''The Times'' said it was "ambitious" and "packs a considerable punch";
'' Time Out'' chose the programme as its pick of the day, and gave it a four-star recommendation, calling it "brave filmmaking and a brave, entirely successful commission".
Andrew Anthony in ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' acknowledged some flaws, but found it still "an exceptional drama".
A press attaché at the Israeli embassy in London, however, condemned the drama to ''The Jewish Chronicle
''The'' () is a grammatical Article (grammar), article in English language, English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite ...
'' as the worst example of anti-Israel propaganda he had seen on television, saying it "created a new category of hostility towards Israel". The Zionist Federation and the Board of Deputies of British Jews
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after only the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established ...
both also lodged letters of complaint.
''The Jewish Chronicle'' itself took the view that rather than "attempt to tell both sides of what is a complex and contentious story", the series had turned out to be "a depressing study in how to select historical facts to convey a politically loaded message". Writing in ''The Independent'', novelist Howard Jacobson
Howard Eric Jacobson (born 25 August 1942) is a British novelist and journalist. He is known for writing comic novels that often revolve around the dilemmas of British Jewish characters.Ragi, K. R., "Howard Jacobson's ''The Finkler Question'' a ...
said that in ''The Promise'', "Just about every Palestinian was sympathetic to look at, just about every Jew was not. While most Palestinians might fairly be depicted as living in poor circumstances, most Israeli Jews might not be fairly depicted as living in great wealth... Though I, too, have found Palestinians to be people of immense charm, I could only laugh in derision at ''The Promise'' every time another shot of soft-eyed Palestinians followed another shot of hard-faced Jews." In an interview with Jacobson during Jewish Book Week 2011, Jonathan Freedland
Jonathan Saul Freedland (born 25 February 1967) is a British journalist who writes a weekly column for ''The Guardian''. He presents BBC Radio 4's contemporary history series ''The Long View''. Freedland also writes thrillers, mainly under the ...
, having seen the first episode of ''The Promise'', said Kosminsky used antisemitic
Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism.
Antis ...
tropes, misrepresenting Israel and Zionism as being a consequence of the Holocaust, whose imagery he had abused. Historian, Professor David Cesarani
David Cesarani (13 November 1956 – 25 October 2015) was a British historian who specialised in Jewish history, especially the Holocaust. He also wrote several biographies, including ''Arthur Koestler: The Homeless Mind'' (1998).
Early life ...
, accused Kosminsky of "deceit...massive historical distortion": omitting the Balfour Declaration
The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing its support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman regio ...
's promise of a Jewish national home; downplaying selfish British geo-strategy; and exculpating the British, "chief architects of the Palestine tragedy...making responsible...only the Jews"; turning a tricorn conflict of British, Arabs and Jews "into a one-sided rant." On the other hand, Liel Leibovitz
Liel Leibovitz (born 1976) is an Israeli journalist, author, media critic and video game scholar. Leibovitz was born in Tel Aviv, immigrated to the United States in 1999, and earned a Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2007. In 2014, he was Visiting ...
, writing for American online Jewish magazine '' Tablet'', took the view that, "contrary to these howls of discontent, the show is a rare and riveting example of telling Israel's story on screen with accuracy, sensitivity, and courage".
The broadcasting regulator Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
received 44 complaints about the series, but concluded in a ten-page report that it did not breach its code of conduct.[Ofcom adjudication](_blank)
, Ofcom
The Office of Communications, commonly known as Ofcom, is the government-approved regulatory and competition authority for the broadcasting, telecommunications and postal industries of the United Kingdom.
Ofcom has wide-ranging powers acros ...
, April 2011 (made accessible January 2012) Viewers complained that the drama was antisemitic, used upsetting footage of concentration camps, incited racial hatred, was biased against Israel and presented historical inaccuracies. But, Ofcom said: "Just because some individual Jewish and Israeli characters were portrayed in a negative light does not mean the programme was, or was intended to be, antisemitic... Just as there were Jewish/Israeli characters that could be seen in a negative light, so there were British and Palestinian characters that could also be seen in a negative light." Delivering his first keynote speech to the Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
in London on 23 May 2011, David Abraham, the Chief Executive of Channel 4, said: "At a time when other broadcasters are perhaps more conservative, it's more important than ever for Channel 4 to challenge the status quo, stimulate debate, take risks and be brave... I can think of no better example of how we continue to do that than in Peter Kosminsky's recent examination of the Israel/Palestine question in The Promise."
''The Promise'' was nominated for both the British Academy Television Awards 2011
The 2011 British Academy Television Awards were held on 22 May 2011. The nominations were announced on 26 April.
Graham Norton hosted the ceremony.
Nominations
Winners are listed first and emboldened.
Programmes with multiple nominat ...
and the Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...
Programme Awards 2011 in the category of best drama serial, but was beaten by two other productions broadcast on Channel 4, the TV adaptation of William Boyd's ''Any Human Heart
''Any Human Heart: The Intimate Journals of Logan Mountstuart'' is a 2002 novel by William Boyd, a British writer. It is written as a lifelong series of journals kept by the fictional character Mountstuart, a writer whose life (1906–1991) ...
'' and the drama serial ''Top Boy
''Top Boy'' is a British television crime drama series, created and written by Ronan Bennett. The series is set in the fictional Summerhouse estate in the London Borough of Hackney and focuses on two drug dealers Dushane ( Ashley Walters) and ...
'' respectively. Interviewed in ''The Jewish Chronicle'', ''Any Human Heart's'' director, Michael Samuels, said about ''The Promise'', "I respect it for having a point of view. You have to have that, otherwise you are not writing".
''The Promise'' also received a nomination, at the Banff World Television Festival
The Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is dedicated to world ...
, for Best Mini-Series of 2010/2011. On 10 May 2011, at the One World Media
One World Media is a non-profit organisation, registered in the UK as a charitable trust. It is based in London. The charities mission is to support strong vibrant and independent media that empowers citizens, promotes justice and contributes to in ...
Awards in London, ''The Promise'' won Best Drama of 2010/11.
France
The subscription channel Canal+
Canal+ (Canal Plus, , meaning 'Channel Plus'; sometimes abbreviated C+ or Canal) is a French premium television channel launched in 1984. It is 100% owned by the Groupe Canal+, which in turn is owned by Vivendi. The channel broadcasts several ki ...
aired the drama under the title ''The Promise: Le Serment'' over four weeks starting 21 March 2011, in a prime-time Monday evening slot that it tends to use for more serious or historical drama. ''Libération
''Libération'' (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Initially positioned on the far-left of France's ...
'' called it "admirable", praising the "excellent director" for telling a "tragedy in two voices", while "pointing the finger at neither one side nor the other". '' Les Echos'' called it "exceptional, stunningly intelligent" and said the considered dialogue and tense, serious acting fully measured up to the ambition of the film.
TV magazine ''Télérama
''Télérama'' is a weekly French cultural and television magazine published in Paris, France. The name is a contraction of its earlier title: ''Télévision-Radio-Cinéma''. Fabienne Pascaud is currently managing editor. Ludovic Desautez is dep ...
'' called it "remarkable", confronting its subject "head on".
''Le Figaro
''Le Figaro'' () is a French daily morning newspaper founded in 1826. It is headquartered on Boulevard Haussmann in the 9th arrondissement of Paris. The oldest national newspaper in France, ''Le Figaro'' is one of three French newspapers of reco ...
'' said it was "magnificently filmed and masterfully acted... perfectly balanced... great television", and gave it a maximum rating of four stars out of four.
The ''Nouvel Obs
(), previously known as (1964–2014), is a weekly French news magazine. Based in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris, it is the most prominent French general information magazine in terms of audience and circulation. Its current editor is Cécil ...
'' and ''Le Journal du Dimanche
''Le Journal du dimanche'' (English: ''Sunday's newspaper'') is a French weekly newspaper published on Sundays in France.
History and profile
''Le Journal du Dimanche'' was created by Pierre Lazareff in 1948. He was managing editor of ''France ...
'' both identified the series as reflecting the viewpoint of the "British pro-Palestinian left", but the latter praised it as "nevertheless a historical fiction useful for understanding an intractable conflict", while the former commended its "epic spirit, rare on television". ''Le Monde
''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...
'' gave the series an enthusiastic preview in its TéléVisions supplement along with a lengthy interview with the director. ''Le Point
''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and news magazine published in Paris.
History and profile
''Le Point'' was founded in September 1972 by a group of journalists who had, one year earlier, left the editorial team of '' L'Express'', w ...
'' predicted Kosminsky would receive a "shower of awards... d also gibes". However, ''La Croix La Croix primarily refers to:
* ''La Croix'' (newspaper), a French Catholic newspaper
* La Croix Sparkling Water, a beverage distributed by the National Beverage Corporation
La Croix or Lacroix may also refer to:
Places
* Lacroix-Barrez, a muni ...
s reviewer was more hostile, considering that although there was "no doubt that the film ought to be seen", it "cannot be mistaken for a history lesson but a great partisan fiction", marred by bias and an "embarrassing" representation of Jews.
''L'Express
''L'Express'' () is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''Réussir''.
History ...
'' considered it beautiful but too long.
A letter of protest to the channel was written by the President of the Representative Council of French Jewish Institutions ( CRIF), arguing that "the viewer sees the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, however complex, only as a consequence of violence and cruelty of the Jews, who are represented as so extreme that if any empathy towards them is excluded." CRIF did not ask for the broadcast to be pulled, but rather to be balanced with a programme taking a different position, and for the fictional nature of the series to be made clear. The ''Jewish Chronicle
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
'' (''JC'') reported that CRIF president Richard Prasquier had met the president of Canal+, Bertrand Meheut. Prasquier reportedly told him that such a series "could only fan the flames of antisemitic violence" and Meheut reportedly promised that viewers would be provided with balanced information about the issue; The ''JC'' reported that Canal+ had agreed to broadcast a caption reading "The Promise is fiction" before each episode. The Confederation of French Jews and Friends of Israel (CJFAI) issued a call (publicised by CRIF) for a demonstration against the programme, which it described as "a vitriolic saga of murderous disinformation". The demonstration in front of the Canal+ offices on the night of the first showing was reported to have attracted a few hundred people, with CRIF represented by its vice-president. The Israeli embassy in Paris made no comment.
Arte
Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.
It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...
announced it would show the series over two Friday evenings, on 20 and 27 April 2012.
Australia
The serial was shown by SBS in a Sunday evening slot from 27 November to 18 December 2011. Critical reaction was positive, with ''The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'' selecting part one as its pick of the week, calling its character development and performances "compelling", and saying that the series "offers insight into the history of one of the world's most conflicted places". Press agency AAP wrote that "Foy shines amid a powerful storyline" and learns "a few harsh truths". ''The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' trailed the serial as "ambitious... both bracingly original and wonderfully gripping", offering a "profound veracity". The SMH's Doug Anderson called the serial "the best drama series on television at present... This is powerful stuff, distilling enormous difficulties to a deeply personal level", and the newspaper selected the series for its annual television review, writing that it was "gripping... it dazzled via a raw and complex portrait of conflict in the Middle East... Kosminsky's storytelling was mesmerising."
There was a campaign by Palestinian solidarity groups to encourage support for the series. The editor of the Australians for Palestine website wrote, "Although people had written to SBS commending it for showing "The Promise", anaging DirectorMr Ebeid received only one supportive letter addressed to him personally...Many more are needed in defence of the series for the hearing."[AFP letter in support of ''The Promise''](_blank)
Australians for Palestine, 14 December 2012
The Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council and the Friends of Israel Western Australia urged viewers to complain, reiterating negative comments that had been made in the UK. Senator Glenn Sterle
Glenn Sterle (born 3 January 1960) is an Australian politician. A former trade union organiser, he has been an Australian Labor Party member of the Australian Senate since 2005, representing the state of Western Australia.
Career Trucking bus ...
joined the criticism, calling the series "derogatory" and "anti-Semitic". In January 2012 the Executive Council of Australian Jewry The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, or ECAJ, is an official peak national body representing the Australian Jewish community. It the umbrella organisation for over 200 Jewish organisations across Australia which are ECAJ's constituent or affi ...
(ECAJ) filed a 31-page complaint with the SBS[Complaint to the SBS Ombudsman](_blank)
, Executive Council of Australian Jewry The Executive Council of Australian Jewry, or ECAJ, is an official peak national body representing the Australian Jewish community. It the umbrella organisation for over 200 Jewish organisations across Australia which are ECAJ's constituent or affi ...
, 5 January 2012 claiming that the series "unrelentingly portrays the entire Jewish presence throughout the country, including modern-day Israel, as an act of usurpation by Jews who, without exception, are aliens, predators and thieves and who enforce their usurpation by brutal, racist policies akin to those inflicted by the Nazis upon the Jewish people", and compared it to the infamous Nazi film '' Jud Süss''. The ECAJ rejected the relevance or validity of the British Ofcom inquiry, and called for a halt to DVD sales while the complaint is investigated. The ''Australian Jewish News
''The Australian Jewish News'' (''AJN'') is a newspaper published in Darlinghurst, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Since 2019 it has been a local partner of ''The Times of Israel''.
History
The ''AJN'' is descended from ''The Hebrew Stand ...
'' headlined this complaint as "TV series ''The Promise'' akin to Nazi propaganda".[Jewish outcry on SBS series](_blank)
''The Age
''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria (Australia), Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Austral ...
'', 17 January 2012. Earlier versio
SBS fields complaints over series set in Israel
''SMH'
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society
The Australian Jewish Democratic Society (AJDS), a secular organisation, was formed in Melbourne, Australia, in 1984 to promote free discussion and action on Jewish and general social and political issues. It grew out of a profound concern at th ...
stated "We agree with the ECAJ that the Jewish characters portrayed are generally unsympathetic in comparison with the Arab characters. But we fundamentally disagree that this bias amounts to anti-Semitism... in our view ''The Promise'' is a worthwhile contribution to the debates about the intractable conflict". It also made available the full text of the OfCom decision as a contribution to open debate, prior to which only parts had been available because Ofcom had not published it.
The SBS Complaints Committee met on 17 January, and found no grounds that the programme had breached its code. In particular, it found "that the characterisations in ''The Promise'' did not cross the threshold into racism, and in particular that it did not promote, endorse, or reinforce inaccurate, demeaning or discriminatory stereotypes". Complainants were advised that they could take their concerns to the Australian Communications and Media Authority
The Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) is an Australian government statutory authority within the Communications portfolio. ACMA was formed on 1 July 2005 with the merger of the Australian Broadcasting Authority and the Austr ...
.[SBS Ombudsman Response to Complaints about The Promise](_blank)
via '' Galus Australis'', 23 January 2012
SBS rules that "The Promise" does not vilify Jews or Israelis
JWire, 1 February 2012 In response, the ECAJ said that it stood by its position, but would not be appealing.
A further complaint was made to SBS on 1 February 2012 by Stepan Kerkyasharian, Chair of the New South Wales government's Community Relations Commission, noting "concern that the series negatively portrays the WHOLE of the Jewish People. Such a portrayal cannot be justified in ANY context." He urged SBS "to reconsider the representations from the Jewish Community with due regard to the potential destructive consequences of racial stereotyping". In contrast, Hal Wootten
John Halden Wootten QC (19 December 1922 – 27 July 2021) was an Australian lawyer and legal academic and the founder of the University of New South Wales Faculty of Law, of which he was the Foundation Chair and its inaugural Dean. Wootten se ...
, Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales (UNSW), also known as UNSW Sydney, is a public research university based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It is one of the founding members of Group of Eight, a coalition of Australian research-intensive ...
and former president of the Indigenous Law Centre
The Indigenous Law Centre (ILC), formerly the Aboriginal Law Research Unit and Aboriginal Law Centre, is part of the UNSW Faculty of Law, Law Faculty at the University of New South Wales. It develops and coordinates research, teaching and informa ...
, considered the ECAJ position to be misguided: "There is a striking irony in a Jewish organisation's striving to show that every Jewish character is a demon and every Arab character a saint. One by one, the ECAJ's submission proceeds to do a hatchet job on every Jewish character of any importance, rejecting the humanity with which Kosminsky endows each of them, and substituting an anti-Semitic stereotype of its own manufacture... The ECAJ reaches the opposite conclusion only by itself imputing unfavourable attributes to the Jewish characters, judging them by harsh and unrealistic standards, interpreting their conduct in the worst possible way, and making quite absurd comparisons."
Responding, ECAJ Executive Director Peter Wertheim said: "Professor Wootten denies that ''The Promise'' makes and invites judgements, but this contention is belied by the strident comments made by other defenders of the series in posted comments on the SBS and other websites, and is as low on the scale of credibility as the stream of non-sequiturs that have been put forward in its defence, including posts asserting that ''The Promise'' could not possibly be antisemitic because Kosminsky is Jewish, or because it was filmed in Israel and included Jewish actors, or because it was nominated for a BAFTA award."
On 14 February 2012, Michael Ebeid
Michael Ebeid is an Australian business executive. He was CEO and managing director of the Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) between June 2011 and October 2018.
Ebeid has nearly three decades of experience in media, technology and telecommuni ...
appeared before an Estimates
{{otheruses, Estimate (disambiguation)
In the Westminster system of government, the ''Estimates'' are an outline of government spending for the following fiscal year presented by the cabinet to parliament. The Estimates are drawn up by bureaucrat ...
Committee of the Australian Senate and was questioned about the commercial arrangements and decision-making of the SBS.[Transcript](_blank)
Environment and Communications Legislation Committee, Australian Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the Bicameralism, bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives (Australia), House of Representatives. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Chapter ...
, 14 February 2012 He accepted that the series conveyed a negative view of Israel and said he would not claim that it tried to be balanced. But he rejected claims of negative stereotyping. It had not been his decision to buy the series, but asked whether in hindsight he would have made the decision, he answered that he probably would. Senators Scott Ryan and Helen Kroger
Helen Evelyn Kroger (née Madden; born 11 March 1959) is a former Australian politician. She was a Liberal member of the Australian Senate representing the state of Victoria from 2008 to 2014. She was the president of the Victorian division of ...
both later issued press releases critical of the series. Senator Kroger stated that "SBS appears to have put a business decision ahead of independent assessments which determined that it was offensive to the Jewish community." Kroger's comments were taken up by ''The Australian
''The Australian'', with its Saturday edition, ''The Weekend Australian'', is a broadsheet newspaper published by News Corp Australia since 14 July 1964.Bruns, Axel. "3.1. The active audience: Transforming journalism from gatekeeping to gatew ...
'', along with an op-ed written by two members of the Australia/Israel and Jewish Affairs Council, and she expanded further in an online piece for News Ltd website ''The Punch
''The Punch'' is a Nigerian daily newspaper founded On August 8, 1970. Punch Nigeria Limited was registered under the Companies Act of 1968 to engage in the business of publishing newspapers, magazines and other periodicals. It was designed to i ...
''. Senator Ryan rejected Mr Ebeid's claim that because ''The Promise'' was fiction, it was subject to different considerations: "Some of the biggest slanders in history have been works of fiction", he said. "Depictions...include Jewish children stoning Arab children, blood-thirsty soldiers, conniving double-agents and members of an extremely wealthy, cosmopolitan family. Like it or not, these three depictions are antisemitic stereotypes..." On the other hand, the committee's chair Senator Doug Cameron said he had "enjoyed" the programme, and quipped in closing that he hoped the session had helped ''The Promises DVD sales.
Other countries
As of January 2012 the serial has also been sold to SVT Sweden, YLE Finland, DR Denmark, RUV Iceland, RTV Slovenia
Radiotelevizija Slovenija ( en, Radio-Television of Slovenia) – usually abbreviated to RTV Slovenija (or simply RTV within Slovenia) – is Slovenia's national public broadcasting organization.
Based in Ljubljana, it has regional broadcastin ...
, Globosat Brazil, and TVO Canada.
DR Denmark broadcast the series in an early evening slot on the DR2
DR2 (DR To) is the second television channel operated by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR) in Denmark. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more "highbrow" programmes than the more mainstream and popular DR1. Like ...
channel over the Easter weekend 2012, under the translated title ''Løftet som bandt'' ("The Promise that bound").
In Germany it was shown on ARTE
Arte (; (), sometimes stylized in lowercase or uppercase in its logo) is a European public service channel dedicated to culture.
It is made up of three separate companies: the Strasbourg-based European Economic Interest Grouping ARTE, plus ...
Channel on 20 April (Part 1 and 2) and 27 April (Part 3 and 4).
In Sweden it will be shown on channel SVT1
SVT1 (SVT Ett; commonly referred to as Ettan) is the primary television station of the Swedish public service broadcaster Sveriges Television in Sweden.
History
Television in Sweden officially launched on 4 September 1956 with the launch of '' ...
on Wednesday nights at 10pm from 2 May.
In Canada, TV Ontario had scheduled the programme for Sunday evenings, from 15 April to 6 May; but the channel has since decided to present a geology series with Iain Stewart in this slot, with ''The Promise'' held over to a later date.
The series was screened in April 2012 by the Tel Aviv Cinematheque
Tel Aviv Cinematheque (also called: Doron Cinema center) is a cinematheque and movie archive, opened in Tel Aviv on 12 May 1973.
The Cinematheque, located at HaArba'a Street 5, has five screening halls. The Cinematheque programming includes Is ...
and the Jerusalem Cinematheque
The Jerusalem Cinematheque is a cinematheque and film archive in Jerusalem. History
The Jerusalem Cinematheque was founded in 1973 by Lia van Leer. It was originally located in Beit Agron in the center of Jerusalem. A new building overlooking the ...
in Israel, and in May 2012 by the Haifa Cinematheque
Haifa Cinematheque is a cinematheque located in Haifa at the Auditorium of Haifa in the Carmel Cente.
History
Haifa Cinematheque was established by Lia Van Leer in the early 1950s together with her husband Wim. Initially the Van Leers held cine ...
, with five showings in the month for each episode in Tel Aviv, two in Jerusalem, and one in Haifa. In Tel Aviv the first screening of Part One was on 9 April, culminating with a final screening of all four parts on 26 April. In Jerusalem the series was scheduled with the four parts shown over two days, on 14/15 and 29/30 April. In Haifa the episodes were screened on successive Thursdays, from 10 to 21 May.
In the United States a screening of the series was presented at the Jewish Community Center
A Jewish Community Center or a Jewish Community Centre (JCC) is a general recreational, social clubs, social, and Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization serving the Jewish community in a number of cities. JCCs promote Jewish ...
in Manhattan, New York in November and December 2011, with the first part shown as part of the "Other Israel" film festival, and the remainder of the series shown in weekly episodes over the following three weeks.
In May 2012 it was announced that the series would be a featured offering on the internet television service Hulu
Hulu () is an American subscription streaming service majority-owned by The Walt Disney Company, with Comcast's NBCUniversal holding a minority stake. It was launched on October 29, 2007 and it offers a library of films and television serie ...
from 11 August, and it has been available on demand from Hulu.[Kristin Brzoznowski]
eOne's The Yard & Mentorn's The Promise Land on Hulu Slate
TV USA.ws, worldscreen.com
See also
* British-Zionist conflict
* 6th Airborne Division in Palestine
Notes and references
External links
*
Official website
, including some video-interviews in English
''The Fabulous Picture Show – The Promise''
– Q & A with film's director hosted by Amanda Palmer on Al Jazeera English (video, 15:19 min (9:25–25:06))
Peter Kosminsky: A film-maker's eye on the Middle East
Article in ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
'', 28 January 2011
Peter Kosminsky: Britain's humiliation in Palestine
Feature in ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'', 23 January 2011
Palestine
ParaData website, Trustees of the Airborne Forces Museum, Duxford. Documents from the 6th Airborne Division's real-life stationing in Palestine.
* Yoav Etiel
Jisr al-Zarqa on the way to Hollywood
, ''Magazin'' no. 209, 30 April 2010. Article on ''The Promise'' and '' A Bottle in the Gaza Sea'' both filming in Jisr al-Zarqa for Gaza. Behind the scenes photos
page 1
page 2
page 3
{{DEFAULTSORT:Promise, The
Films directed by Peter Kosminsky
2010s British drama television series
2011 British television series debuts
2011 British television series endings
Channel 4 television dramas
Drama television series about the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Period television series
2010s British television miniseries
English-language television shows
Television shows set in Israel