Oliver Mayer-Rüth

German daily news program, the oldest still existing program on German television.

Where is the Middle East one year after Hamas' terrorist attack on Israel? Is there a prospect of peace? What could this solution look like? Or is the war spreading? These big questions are in the background of the two personal stories in this documentary. Israeli Gil Dickmann is fighting for the release of his cousin Carmel. She was abducted as a hostage in the Gaza Strip during the Palestinian terrorist attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Between fear, frustration and hope, Gil has become one of the spokespeople for the hostage families, who are putting pressure on the Israeli government of Prime Minister Netanyahu with numerous protests and actions. In the Gaza Strip, too, people are desperately hoping for such an agreement that could end the war and the deaths. 14-year-old Usaama lost 19 family members in an Israeli attack. He himself survived with serious injuries, but even after several operations he cannot walk.

For his supporters he is a “figure of light”; for his enemies he is an “agitator” and “Islam hater”. Opinions differ about Ahmad Mansour. Born in Israel to a Palestinian family, the nationally known psychologist Mansour fights against anti-Semitism and extremism in Germany. The devout Muslim warns against political Islam, does preventive work and at the same time criticizes Germany's migration policy. He seeks dialogue and yet, as a highly vulnerable person, he can no longer take a step in public without massive police protection. Journalists from "report München" were able to exclusively accompany Ahmad Mansour for months and in the documentary they show how he continues despite the constant pressure and death threats against himself and his family. Will he be able to talk to his harshest critics or will he, like so many others, give up in frustration?