TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets (2025)

-Written by Kyle Bain.  

For the first time in a long time a documentary managed to keep me engaged throughout its duration. TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets’s use of found footage (primarily footage from social media) works to keep it grounded, accessible, and more exciting than had it been the typical question and answer formula that has become redundant. What allows this to work so well is that the footage presented to viewers wasn’t filmed on a professional camera, by professional journalists–but rather by people just like you and me, creating something of an immersive experience, sometimes even becoming a bit invasive in the best ways. 

TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets discusses the ongoing issues regarding the conflict in the Middle East, specifically the details surrounding hostilities growing here in the United States as individuals take sides and express their concerns. 

I have to be honest, TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets does a horrific job of being objective–again and again presenting viewers with the argument that the Jewish hostages in Palestine need to be returned safely. Regardless of which side of the conflict you fall on (assuming you have a rooting interest in the first place), TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets tends to be a bit aggressive, and potentially abrasive as a result of its obvious beliefs. I think, however, this is, in some ways, what appealed to me about this documentary. TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets is unapologetic, and it never wavers in its presentation, doubling and tripling down on those beliefs and presenting viewers with a somewhat antagonistic approach toward filmmaking. Furthermore, as previously mentioned, Writer-Director Nimrod Shapira rarely shifts the tone of the film, maintaining a heavy, harrowing tone that transcends nearly the entirety of TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets. 

TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets almost feels like a human being, a character within this film, presenting the rest of the world with a series of compelling arguments and evidence to support itself. This living, breathing thing captivated me and implored me to experience a visceral response to the seeming lack of humanity that has plagued us as a species for so long (particularly in regard to this recent, world-altering conflict). 

A simple concept is TORN: The Israel-Palestine Poster War on NYC Streets, but it’s well executed; far better than many of the painstaking documentaries that have come across my desk in recent years. Shapira, Co-Writer Shay Mizrahy, and the rest of the team do an impeccable job of presenting their experiences and their findings to the world. And, while they will ruffle a lot of feathers, the unapologetic nature of their presentation is commendable. 

Directed by Nimrod Shapira. 

Written by Shay Mizrahy & Nimrod Shapira. 

Starring Dede Bandaid, Elisha Fine, Chen Levy, Nitzan Mintz, Nina Moglinik, etc. 

8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING