To Die in Jerusalem

Two daughters lost in conflict. Two mothers searching for answers. Two nations divided by the land they share. TO DIE IN JERUSALEM looks at the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the eyes of two mothers who lost their daughters in one deadly act of violence.

The documentary recounts the heart-wrenching story of two teenage girls – 17- year-old Israeli student Rachel Levy, and her killer, 18-year-old Palestinian suicide bomber Ayat al-Akhras — who died together in a Jerusalem market in 2002. The horrific incident ignited international outrage and set in motion one mother’s journey to meet the mother of her daughter’s killer. More than four years later, they finally met in an emotionally charged encounter that underscores the deep roots of the Israel-Palestinian conflict.

Directed by Hilla Medalia, TO DIE IN JERUSALEM debuted THURSDAY, NOV. 1

(9:00-10:15 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO. On March 29, 2002 Ayat al-Akhras walked into a Jerusalem supermarket and detonated a concealed bomb, killing herself, Rachel Levy and a security guard. The suicide bombing triggered worldwide attention because the two girls bore an uncanny resemblance to each other: Both were attractive, intelligent students with a dark complexion and long brown hair who could be mistaken for sisters. Newsweek featured the two teenage faces on a striking cover that triggers memories to this day.

As part of her quest for answers, Rachel Levy’s mother, Avigail Levy, is determined to meet Um Samir al-Akhras, the mother of her daughter’s killer, face to face. Despite the fact that the two live just a few miles apart, it takes more than four years for the meeting to occur. After many failed attempts, they finally meet via satellite video conference in a heated and often confrontational face-off, illustrating the tension and resentment that persist on both sides.

“The film doesn’t suggest a solution to the conflict, but it unabashedly explores the difficulties, fears and gaps between opposing sides,” says Medalia. “However, as Avigail Levy and Um Samir al-Akhras agree to meet, a channel of communication begins to evolve, and with it, new hope for a better future.”

While Rachel Levy and Ayat al-Akhras shared many similarities, their lives and ideologies couldn’t have been more different. Levy lived in a Jerusalem neighborhood remarkably western in style and culture, with an atmosphere of openness, freedom, independence and abundance. In contrast, al-Akhras lived nearby within the bleak and crowded confines of the Deheisheh refugee camp, where death, fear, checkpoints and humiliations are commonplace. Embittered by the oppression she felt her people suffered at the hands of Israeli “captors,” al-Akhras gravitated towards extremist groups in the camp and enlisted to become a suicide bomber.

The impact of the suicide bombing remains as powerful today as when it happened. Both families remain hurt and broken. Avigail Levy continues to struggle daily and can’t comprehend how an 18-year-old girl could decide to end her life – a life filled with promise – and murder an innocent person. While Um Samir al-Akhras cries over the loss of her child, and doesn’t support her daughter’s actions, her feelings are tempered by pride that Ayat was willing to die for what she believed was a worthy cause: the liberation of Palestine.

Contrasting the lives and deaths of Rachel Levy and Ayat al-Akhras, and their mothers’ views and ideologies, TO DIE IN JERUSALEM offers a unique personal perspective of a longstanding conflict that is all too often overshadowed by political issues, revealing the complex obstacles to reconciliation.