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An engrossing peek inside the Mideast peace talks during the Clinton administration, Dror Moreh’s “The Human Factor” demonstrates some of the key reasons the task has been so daunting. The documentary, which features such boldface names as Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat, Bill Clinton and Benjamin Netanyahu, focuses on a lesser-known corps of career U.S. diplomats tasked with mediating the negotiations.
The primary voices here are Clinton’s point man Dennis Ross, who Moreh interviewed for a reported 40 hours, Daniel Kurtzer, Martin Indyk, Aaron David Miller, Gamal Helal and Robert Malley. Together they recount the achievements and failings, biases and regrets that occurred during what many believe was the best chance for peace among Israel, the Palestinian Authority and neighboring Arab countries such as Syria. Though as one subject notes, the word “peace” itself sets up false expectations and unrealistic aspirations.