Arabs attack Israeli director at French film festival
Yariv Horowitz beaten unconscious by group of Arab teens just before winning best film award for 'Rock the Casbah' which focuses on first Intifada
Yariv Horowitz, the director behind Rock the Casbah, a movie focusing on a group of soldiers serving in Gaza during the first Intifada claims that he was attacked this week in France by a group of Arabs during a film festival. Since horowitz refused to file a complaint with local police, the circumstances surrounding the attack remain unclear.
The film is set in 1989 and focuses on 18-year-old Tomer, a soldier stationed in Gaza, who is sent to avenge the death of his fellow soldier and comes to some realizations about the political situation surrounding Israeli occupation. Rock the Casbah was screened on the second day of the Aubagne international film festival in southern France.
Horowitz was accompanied by Israeli musician Asaf Amdursky who also won an award for the movie's original score.
"After the screening we went to get some money from an ATM machine when a group of Arab teens started yelling and cursing at me. I cursed right back and then they beat me up. They threw me on the floor and kicked me. I lost consciousness and only woke up a few minutes later."
Horowitz refused medical care and did not file a complaint with local police. "I didn't want to spend all night at the (police) station. I don't know if the attack was racially motivated , but wither way it's annoying: In Israel I was criticized by the right and in France the Arabs beat me up."
After recovering from the blows he received, he returned to the festival area in “good condition”.
After the violent incident, Horowitz's day saw a marked improvement as Rock the Casbah won the Special Prize of the Jury for Best Picture.
