Barry Avrich’s controversial “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” begins with a clip from a 1958 news program. Edward R. Murrow is pointing to a map of Israel, just a decade from its founding. The images of the area that would become a peaceful kibbutz named Nahal Oz are barren. In the present day, it is verdant and peaceful. Its residents talk about the sense of community that makes all of it feel like home. Although it is just across a shallow ravine from Gaza, the Israeli military was so confident it was safe that they removed the soldiers who had been there for security, assuring the residents that “not even a butterfly can pass the fence without us knowing” and that if there was a problem, military support would be there in minutes. On October 7, it took eight hours.
Avrich’s focus is Noam Tibon, a retired Major General with 35 years of military service, and, he would tell you, most of all, a father and grandfather. Noam lives in Tel Aviv with his wife, Gali. His “little family” includes son Amir, daughter-in-law Miri, and two young granddaughters, and they all live in Nahal Oz. Noam’s nickname in the family is “911” because he is always the first call for any problem. Everyone is confident that he can fix it.
On October 7, 2023, Nahal Oz was invaded. Avrich is careful to use the word “invaders,” never Palestinians or Hamas (except in identifying the source of bodycam footage) in one of the film’s efforts to remain as apolitical as possible. Every home in the kibbutz has a safe room. In the past, they have been used for brief mortar attacks, over in a few minutes. But this time, it is a prolonged onslaught. Militants with machine guns entered Nahal Oz and broke into homes.
Amir and his family quickly locked themselves in their safe room and called their personal 911, Noam. In less than ten minutes, he had grabbed a pistol, and he and Gali were on the way to Nahal Oz. This documentary uses archival footage, bodycam footage from the invaders, interviews with survivors, and Noam personally retracing his journey to tell the story of that day.
This film’s focus is the family and the audacious rescue mission to keep them safe. It is the story of a grandfather doing whatever it takes to rescue the people he loves. Some viewers will argue that failing to address the underlying reasons for the attack or the response from Israel over the two years since is irresponsible, even slanted. Noam and his family want to tell their story apart from any exploration of the issues that led to the attack or the continuing assaults on Gaza. Those who consider that heartless or naïve may wish to avoid it.
Those who do watch will see a stirring story of courage and dedication. Noam says, “I’m going to use all my experience, all my knowledge, all my values to save my family.” We see how each of those elements comes into play as he assesses risks, obstacles, and opportunities each step of the way and more than once has to decide whether to delay his arrival to rescue someone else (he always does). When there are no other cars on the road, Noam understands that there is “something terrible about this quiet.” He has the ability to observe and analyze everything around him while remaining calm.
We learn more about the attacks on the Supernova Music Festival, three miles from Nahal Oz and the subject of the award-winning documentary “We Will Dance Again.” There are people fleeing the festival and “it became part of the mission.” He runs into former colleagues from the IDF, including his superior officer, and we see how they immediately size up the situation and the abbreviated communication that is the result of years of training and shared experience. Gali uses her own professional experience as a teacher and school principal to command the soldiers who are trying to stop her. The rescue is as tense as a Liam Neeson thriller, with the classic movie trope of grabbing an automatic weapon from a dead body. Even the people in the real-life story can only say, “It felt like a movie.”
As much as the film’s efforts to remain apolitical can be questioned, Noam and Gali are never less than heroic when it comes to their personal courage to save their family. We experience the sharp pain of a sad loss, a young father and a beloved neighbor and friend. But the larger story, the one about the failure of the Israeli military to respond quickly, about the normalization of having to have a safe room in every home, about the culture of a country where every citizen serves in the military, and about the return to Murrow’s perceptive warning 70 years ago is what we will carry with us.
