ABSTRACT
On April 11, 1974, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine attacked the small village of Kiryat Shmona, killing 18 people, and Israel responded by bombing terrorist sites in Lebanon. The Little Drummer Girl can be divided into three overarching perspectives: the Israeli view, represented mainly by Kurtz, whose history encapsulates the recent history of the Jews; the Palestinian view, as delivered by Captain Tayeh and Khalil; and the middle ground, in the person of the agent-runner Gadi Becker. Adopting the Palestinian narrative also means adopting the Palestinian view of history. Israelis refer to the 1948 war as “the War of Independence,” but the Palestinians call it something else. But rather than focusing exclusively on Israeli reactions, the next scene provides a near mirror image: Palestinians in what is presumably a refugee camp rushing toward their own outdoor bar/restaurant to watch Jim McKay’s coverage of the event.
