August 9, 2004 "The Silence of the Sirens" to Be Shown at the Library of Congress on Oct. 12

"The Silence of the Sirens," a film dramatizing the events leading up to the Yom Kippur War in 1973, will be shown at noon on Tuesday, Oct. 12, in the Pickford Theater of the Library of Congress, third floor of the James Madison Building, 101 Independence Ave. S.E., Washington, D.C.

The film showing, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Library's Motion Picture, Broadcasting and Recorded Sound Division and the Hebrew Language Table in cooperation with the Israeli Embassy. Tickets are not required, but space is limited.

Written by Motti Lerner and produced by Riki Shelach, "The Silence of the Sirens" was the winner of the Israeli Academy award for the best television feature film in 2004. The film depicts the process of decision-making that led to one of the biggest military fiascos in Israeli history.

Early in 1973 reports surfaced regarding the intention of Egypt and Syria to wage a war against Israel. During that summer Israel's highest ranking officers estimated a low probability of war. Others, such as Minster of Defense Moshe Dayan and Chief of Staff Lt. General David Elazar believed otherwise. They issued an alert, believing war to be imminent. As the summer passed without incident, Israel's military intelligence wrongly concluded that the threat was unlikely. On Oct. 6, 1973, on the Jewish Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), Egyptian and Syrian military forces launched a combined assault against Israel.

A native of Israel, Motti Lerner has been a playwright and screenwriter for major Israeli theaters and television channels for more than 22 years. His plays have been produced in the United States, England, Germany, Austria and Australia.

Lerner attended Hebrew University in Jerusalem, where he studied mathematics and physics. He subsequently attended theater workshops in London and San Francisco, where he honed his craft. Active in Israel's peace movement, he focuses his works mostly on political issues. He currently teaches playwriting at Tel Aviv University.