In 2010, British journalist Louis Theroux traveled to Israel to interview ultra-nationalist Jewish settlers who believed in the religious and political necessity of settling the West Bank, as part of the BBC documentary “Ultra Zionists.” More than a decade later, last year, he revisited the region to explore the intensification of the Israeli settler movement after October 7th, in his new documentary, “The Settlers.”
During an appearance at CPH:DOX following a sold-out screening of the film, Theroux reflected on the “intensity” of being in the occupied territories during a time of conflict. When questioned about his interest in the topic, Theroux explained that his work often focuses on “human weirdness,” and how people can act in ways that appear illogical, immoral, or controversial.
He further commented, “Here you have a religious nationalist ideology being imposed in an area that’s been turned into a kind of prison in cahoots with a vast military apparatus. I’d never seen that sort of thing unfold out in the open and with no shame.”
In the documentary, the Israeli interviewees are depicted as outspoken and candid about their intentions to fully occupy the West Bank and encourage Palestinian relocation. The documentary prominently features Daniella Weiss, an Israeli politician who founded Nachala, a settler and far-right organization. Over the past thirty years, Weiss has been instrumental in establishing numerous Israeli outposts in the West Bank without legal authorization.
Throughout the film, Weiss ardently defends the rights of Israelis to settle in the West Bank, declaring, “We do for the government what they cannot do for themselves,” while also asserting her direct connection to Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. She controversially claims, “there is no such thing as settler violence,” suggesting that widely shared online videos are edited to misrepresent settlers’ reactions to provocations.
Louis Theroux at CPH:DOX
Theroux described Weiss’s firm stance toward Palestinians, calling her “the godmother of the settler movement,” and noting, “There’s just a kind of joy that pours out of her, a joy in her sense of mission that she has for this select group of people she prefers to represent.”
When asked why Weiss participated in the documentary, Theroux suggested, “Anyone who enters into a documentary [has] a reason for doing it,” adding that it could be due to narcissism, the need for publicity, or a desire to gain converts. He speculated that Weiss might see value in raising her profile, as she relies on international communities to support her work.
According to Theroux, since the documentary’s release on the BBC last year, Weiss has become a focal point for Western media, with interviews like one conducted by Piers Morgan. This has led to criticism that Theroux’s work sometimes gives a platform to controversial voices. When asked about this, the journalist expressed his dislike for the term “platforming.”
“It feels so broad, as though having someone on a live podcast is the same as spending weeks attempting to interview someone in an appropriate way and then shaping the story in a way that feels truthful and responsible,” Theroux said. “Those are two very different things. I have a podcast and my approach on the podcast is very different to the one I take when I’m making a documentary.”
Theroux emphasized his commitment to accurately portray the complexities of his subject in “The Settlers,” noting its importance to his creative team. Unlike his recent Netflix series “Louis Theroux: Inside the Manosphere,” he felt more proactive in this project.
“One of my frustrations in making the film was being aware that we weren’t able to document the very worst of what was going on,” Theroux admitted. “I’m doing stories about crazy people in America and porn movies and some subjects that are more obviously mainstream. Here, I am on something that people might perceive as less clearly for the mass market. The idea of me [pointing] my kind of documentary lens on the story… [My team] imposed on me how important it was that we did a good job.”
Theroux addressed criticism that “The Settlers” focuses primarily on Israelis in the West Bank with limited coverage of Palestinians. He acknowledged, “I can see that would be frustrating,” but emphasized that his film is one of many about the West Bank. He explained his goal is to reach large audiences with stories that highlight situations with moral urgency, adding, “the people with agency are the ones with the guns, right? They’re the ones who, for more than 60 years, have kept a region in which more than 3 million Palestinians live under military occupation.”
Reflecting on the emotional toll of working in conflict zones, Theroux remarked on the “regrettable privilege” of moving on from such projects, acknowledging that one can’t become too attached to changing the world.
“I have a great family, a wonderful wife, three amazing boys. I feel very blessed,” he continued. “I have the luxury of leaving. I don’t suffer. I’m not a war correspondent who comes home and either goes traumatized or thinks, ‘I have to get back out there.’ I enjoy doing the work and there’s a real sense of pride and purpose that goes with documenting something you feel deserves to be documented.”
