What Happens in Advocate?
The complete story of Advocate, from the first scene to the last, in 411 words (about 2 minutes). Spoilers throughout.
Spoilers ahead
The film follows Jewish-Israeli human-rights lawyer Lea Tsemel as she navigates through the Israeli judicial system in defense of Palestinians accused of terrorism. The film includes archival footage of past cases Tsemel was involved in over a five-decade long career; interviews with Tsemel and her family members, including her husband, Michel Warschawski and their daughter and son, as well as interns and associates at Tsemel’s law firm; and closely follows two contemporary cases represented by Tsemel and her co-counsel, Tareq Barghout.
The first case the film follows is that of 13 year old Ahmad, who together with his 15 year old cousin, Hassan, took to the street with knives. The episode led to the non-fatal stabbing of an Israeli teenager by Hassan, who was then killed by security forces. Though no evidence is presented that Ahmad participated in the stabbing, or planned to use his decorative knife to harm anyone, he is convicted on two counts of attempted murder. The second case is that of Israa Jaabis, who is charged with attempted murder for an act that is interpreted by Israeli officials as a suicide bombing gone wrong. Jaabis had set fire to her car, into which she had placed two butane tanks. She was severely injured, and a policeman was lightly injured. Tsemel learned from Jaabis’ relatives that she was depressed and unhappy in her marriage, and had attempted suicide twice before. Tsemel wondered if this time Jaabis had intended “suicide by cop” rather than a politically-motivated attack. However, the court was not convinced, and ruled that her sole intent was to kill.
Tsemel explains her commitment to representing Palestinian defendants, whether or not they committed the acts they are accused of, as her responsibility as a member and beneficiary of the conquering power, under which the Palestinians must live, and against which they are justified in struggling for their liberation. She says, “Israelis have no right to tell Palestinians how to struggle.” When the television interviewer says she cannot understand this attitude, she answers, “You should try to understand me because I am the future.” She calls herself “an angry optimistic woman”, and while she is seen by some as a hero and role model, she is seen by others as a traitor, and has long been the recipient of death threats and vilification, including various epithets by which she is known, including “devil’s advocate”.
The film incorporates animation in several parts, to protect the identity of various persons.
