The movie, “A Time of Favor”, whose writer seemingly
attempts to present “the conflict of conscience versus obligation”, is
essentially a libelous indictment. Filled with caustic innuendoes about
the activities of the “Temple Mount Faithful” on the one hand, and the
character of Yigal Amir on the other, it constantly projects to viewers
the sense that the religious settlers in Judea, Samaria and Gaza are
capable of any evil.
“A Time of Favor” tells the story of a romantic
triangle. One central character is Menahem – a handsome, knitted-kippa
wearing paratroop platoon commander, who is dispatched by the rabbi of the
“hesder” yeshiva in which he studied to establish a platoon of “hesder”
yeshiva students. The second central character is Pini – a Torah genius, a
close friend of Menahem and the rabbi’s favorite disciple. The third
central character is Michal – Rabbi Meltzer’s rebellious daughter,
designated for Pini but desirous of Menahem. The overwhelming influence of
the rabbi’s teachings on Pini on the one hand, and his unrequited love for
Michal on the other, lead him to attempt to bomb the Temple Mount, the
mountain with the golden-domed mosque at its peak and the Western Wall at
its foot – by utilizing those under Menahem’s command and means at his
disposal. Menahem is suspected of belonging to a nationalist underground
organization and successfully battles to prove his innocence. It seems
that the writer’s inability to philosophically come to terms with the
profound spiritual component of religious Zionism, left him with no
alternative but to negate it totally. When he finally allows Rabbi Meltzer
to interject a statement with even a hint of spirituality: “The Temple is
not merely a building, the Temple Mount is not merely a place – it is an
idea” – the statement is portrayed as cunning demagoguery which can only
be countered by a sophisticated GSS officer with the ultimate retort: “One
does not steal so many crates of ammunition for an idea.”
