Set at the end of the 1960’s, this movie, which was a great success in Israel, portrays the travails of the Northern African immigrants who were sent to dilapidated towns “at the end of the world” as Israel struggled to settled the masses arriving at its borders. Uprooted from their native lands, having lost their former social and familial structures, and struggling to raise children in a society they themselves do not understand, the characters in this gorgeous movie struggle to find love, meaning and the prospect of a better future. An honest, charming and sad look at the story of Israel’s Northern African immigrants, now a defining portion of our political and social map.
The Syrian Bride (2004)
Our common perceptions notwithstanding, Israel is not only a country of Jews. There are Chritians, Moslems, and Druze, as well. Amal, a Druze woman in an Israeli village, is about to marry a Syrian man and cross the border. When she does, she will never be able to return. The movie tells a personal story of love frustrated by politics and diplomats, with charm and grace. One of the first films that exhibited the great strides recently made in the Israel film industry.
Ushpizin (2004)
Moshe and Mali Bellanga are dirt poor and childless, having joined the Breslov Hassidic community in Jerusalem as adults. Their powerful faith is tested by their childlessness, and by their poverty, as well. Their love, and their marriage, are severely tested when Moshe pays an extraordinary sum for a gorgeous etrog in preparing for the Sukkot holiday. “Friends” from his former life, now escaped convicts, soon visit, and matters get extraordinarily complicated. The Hardei community is the source of much contention in Israel, largely because Haredim do not serve in the army. But this touching film, in which the actors themselves are Hardeim and married to each other, casts an entirely different, and loving, light on this poorly understood community. A beautiful film.
Campfire (2004)
It’s the early 1980’s, and a single mother decides to move with her two daughters to a religious-Zionist settlement in the “occupied territories.” The movie casts a not always flattering lens on the passions and beliefs of the community, shown through the trials of the two teenage daughters and the way they are treated by a host of characters. Painful, sometimes funny, and always poignant.
Yossi and Jagger (2002)
Many movies had dealt with the Israel Defense Forces. But this is the first, to my knowledge, to address the trials and tribulations of a gay couple serving in the IDF. It’s a haunting, beautiful and sad movie, and raises harrowing questions about the real costs of the “macho” environment of the IDF. A classic in Israel, and a wonderful window on yet another dimension of Israeli life that is not often part of our discourse about Israel and its challenges.
Broken Wings (2002)
Israel is not all about war, army, immigration. Sometimes it’s just about regular people trying to live regular lives. This film, about a single mother raising her teenage children alone, isn’t at all critical of Israel. Indeed, it’s not “about” Israel. But because it takes place in Israel, it offers a window into parts of Israeli life, even while dealing with a subject much more universal. Memorable and beautifully done.
Foreign Sister (2000)
Foreign workers are a major dimension of Israeli life, and not a necessarily pleasant one. Israel has allowed thousands of people to enter to work here, but their status is often grey, and their conditions sometimes deplorable. This movie actually addresses the case of foreign workers in reasonable conditions, and even so, points to the underbelly of Israel’s underclass, an issues Israel is eventually going to have to confront. See this movie, and you’ll understand the issue better than ever before.
Atzum
There are thousands of fabulous organizations in Israel, doing wonderful social justice work. One of the great ones, a small start up run by (my friend) Levi Lauer, addresses three important issues: victims of terror, righteous gentiles and human (sex) trafficking. Check out their web site. And if you want to make a contribution, there can’t be a better place than here.
http://www.atzum.org/
Bema’aglei Tzedek
Bema’aglei Tzedek is another great organization that focuses on social justice. Some of the issues central to the organization include decreasing the number of Israeli families living under the poverty line; increasing the accessibility of public spaces to the disabled; and preventing the trafficking of women. The organization awards a seal of approval to businesses and restaurants that respect the rights of their employees and are accessible to those with disabilities.
A Tale of Love and Darkness / Amos Oz (2004)
Amos Oz’s autobiography captures the flavor of life in Palestine before Independence in ways that virtually nothing else I’ve read does. The passages that describe the events of November 29, 1947, the day of the UN vote on Israel’s creation, and his discussions with a Kibbutz member of whether the Arab “enemy” is really a “murderer,” are literally unforgettable. The entire book is a masterpiece.
Dr. Daniel Gordis is Senior Vice President of the Shalem Center, where he is also a senior fellow. The author of numerous books on Jewish thought and currents in Israel...
The Jewish State must end, say its enemies, from intellectuals like Tony Judt to hate-filled demagogues like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Even average Israelis are wondering if they wouldn't be better off somewhere else. 
