sephardic / MIZRACHI JEWRY (a-k)

915.332

ABOUT THE JEWS OF YEMEN: A VANISHING CULTURE  (1986)

Abo

Presents the 2,000-year history of the Jews of Yemen and looks at Yemenite life in Israel today. Until 1949, Jews were forbidden to move from their ghetto in San’a. In 1950, with the aid of Operation Magic Carpet, the Yemenite Jews were transported by plane to Israel. The bulk of this documentary focuses on Yemenite celebrations and customs, including preparation of the bride and the pre-wedding ceremony. The film also shows Yemenite birth customs, songs, Pesach rituals, silversmithing, and the preparation of traditional Yemenite foods. A fascinating film capturing the ways of an old culture as they are preserved and practiced today.

1 hr. 20 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

910.03

ABRAHAM'S PEOPLE  (1981)

Abr

Interviews scholars who trace the history of the Sephardim in the Middle East until the end of the 19th century and their regrouping in Palestine.

53 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

940.53

AUSCHWITZ: THE FINAL WITNESS  (1999)

Aus

Holocaust documentary which focuses on three survivors who were sondercommandos—Jewish prisoners whose job it was to clear out the gas chambers and burn the bodies in the crematoria. Very few sondercommandos survived the war. Two brothers and their cousin return together to Auschwitz and describe their experiences as sondercommandos. All three were Greek Jews who were transported to Auschwitz/Birkenau in 1944 and were the only members of their families to survive. Their testimonies are invaluable as they are rare, eyewitness accounts of what happened in the gas chambers and crematoria. Note: The film has three separate parts and the screen goes blank for 1-2 minutes between each section. Includes some graphic testimony.

53 min.  AGE: 16 to Adult

910.39

AYER: OUR SPANISH HERITAGE (2000)

Theodore Bikel appears in and narrates this brief children’s video about the history of the Sephardim, the Jews of Spain. Jews have lived in Spain since Biblical times, and the movie traces their history until the Spanish expulsion in 1492. Colored still shots illustrate this history. The movie begins and ends with scenes in which Bikel plays a grandfather who is telling his grandchildren about their Sephardic roots. The children sing part of the Ladino Chanukah Song, “Ocho Kandelikas,” which also ends the video. An effective, brief introduction to Sephardic history for young people.

12 min.  AGE:  12 to Adult

940.53

BECAUSE OF THAT WAR  (1989)

Bec

An extraordinary film in which two of Israel’s leading rock musicians, Yeheda Poliker and Ya’acov Gilad, tell of their experiences growing up as children of Holocaust survivors, interspersed with their songs and their parents stories of how they survived the Holocaust. Poliker’s father was a Greek Jew—the only one of fifty extended family members to survive—and he describes the fate suffered by many Greek Jews. Gilad’s mother—a Polish Jew who survived Treblinka, Majdanek and the death march—is an active speaker on the Holocaust, as well as a writer and poet on the subject. Note: The testimony of both parents is quite painful to listen to in parts. Teachers must preview before showing.

In Hebrew with subtitles. 1 hr. 30 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

French farce revolving around Jonas, a young Sephardic father, set during the Pope’s 1997 visit to Paris. At his son’s bris, Jonas is handed a tissue containing the foreskin and told that he must bury it within 3 days - according to the North African Sephardic custom of his wife’s family. Jonas works as part of a duo that entertains at Bar Mitzvahs and while on the job, he realizes that the tissue containing the foreskin is missing. A series of comic mishaps occur, one after the other, that lead Jonas on a mad chase through the streets of Paris as he races to complete the task. Along the way, he encounters an ex-teacher with a crush on him; a jealous gangster husband; a group of Christian missionaries and an attractive Russian woman who believes the KGB is after her.

In French with subtitles.  1 hr. 32 min.  AGE:  14 to Adult

956

THE DHIMMIS: TO BE A JEW IN ARAB LANDS  (1975)

Dhi

Black and white film footage is used to depict the life of Jews in Arab countries. This film shows how Jews were evicted from their homes in Arab lands and how they fled to Eretz Yisrael, often with only the clothing on their backs. Traced here is the too-often-untold history of the centuries of persecution Jews survived while living in Arab lands. A total of 821,000 Jews were forced to flee Arab countries, with 590,000 arriving in Israel. It is interesting to note that under Omar the second caliph, Jews were confined to ghettos and forced to wear a yellow patch on their clothes.Through film footage, photos, maps and interviews, this documentary provides a country-by-country description of Jewish life as it existed in Arab lands. Note: This is a valuable vehicle for depicting the Jewish historical experience in Moslem civilization.

B&W. 29 min.  AGE: 13 to Adult

946

THE DISPUTATION: A THEOLOGICAL DEBATE BETWEEN CHRISTIANS AND JEWS (1992)

Dis

A re-creation of the Barcelona Disputation of 1263 between Rabbi Moses ben Nachman and Brother Pablo Christiani—a theological confrontation between Christianity and Judaism.

1 hr. 5 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

781.7

THE EMBROIDERED CANTICLES  (1991)

Emb

This film explores the matruz (embroidered canticles), a form of Moroccan–Jewish music that is composed both in Arabic and Hebrew. This genre of music reflects the link over centuries between Jews and Muslims in Moroccan society. The Hebrew in these songs is reserved for sacred matters, while the Arabic can be used for all other topics. The film includes interviews with scholars as well as with singers Rabbi Haim Look and Abdelsadek Chedara. Viewers will hear them sing matruz songs recorded from their concert in Paris.

In French, Arabic and Hebrew with subtitles. 26 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

910.4

THE ENCHANTING TRAVELS OF BENJAMIN OF TUDELA  (1991)

Enc

This animated video brings to life the travels of Benjamin of Tudela—a medieval Jewish traveler—as he journeys through the Jewish world of eight centuries ago in the Mediterranean and the Middle East. Study guide available.

9 min.  AGE: 8 to 12

910.039

FROM TOLEDO TO JERUSALEM  (1989)

Fro

Popular Israeli singing star Yehoram Gaon takes us through 500 years of Sephardic history with narration and song. He visits the Sephardic settlements of Amsterdam, Venice, Sarajevo, Salonica and Jerusalem.

Ladino with subtitles. 1 hr.  AGE: 14 to Adult

Curr

THE HERITAGE: AN ETERNITY OF LOVE (1994)

F

Her

Winner of 3 Israeli Academy Awards, this captivating drama follows

Her separate love stories in two distinct time periods. The first story takes place in Toledo during the Spanish Inquisition. It focuses on the Abarbanels, a prominent Sephardic Jewish family. The Abarbanels are eventually imprisoned, with the rest of the city’s Jews, and some members of the community are tortured. The Abarbanel’s beautiful daughter falls in love with a Christian soldier in the prison, a man of mysterious identity (who is not who he seems to be). The film goes back and forth between this story and a contemporary romance.

The second romance is between a 1990’s Israeli whose name is also Abarbanel, and a woman he meets when he travels to Toledo. The modern Abarbanel travels to Toledo for a convention. While there, he searches for a house that may have belonged to his ancestors. The same pair of actors play the two couples in love in both time periods. Note: The primary focus of the film is on the story during the Spanish Inquisition. This story is well done and gives viewers a good sense of the situation of the Marranos. Transitions between the two stories are artfully done. The video is quite informative as well as entertaining, and suitable for school use (grades 8 and up) as it contains no explicit content.

In Hebrew with subtitles.  1 hr. 20 min.  AGE:  13 to Adult

JHVC

F

THE House on Chelouche Street  (1973)

Hou

Set in Tel Aviv during the turbulent period at the end of the British Mandate, The House on Chelouche Street centers on a family that left a life of comfort in Alexandria to settle in Palestine. Klara, a beautiful young widow, cleans houses to earn a living and finds a job for her fifteen-year-old son, Sami, in a factory owned by her employer. Through Sami's eyes, we see the repression of the people under British rule, the prejudice of Ashkenazi Jews toward Sephardim, and a boy's struggles to make sense of the world around him and to make a better life for himself. His successes, losses, disappointments, and hopes are set against the simultaneous emergence of the State of Israel.

In Hebrew with subtitles. 1 hr. 51 min.  AGE: 14 to Adult

F

I LOVE YOU, ROSA  (1972)

I Lo

Rosa is a young Sephardic widow, beautiful and proud, who lives in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem in 1887. Her husband died and left her alone, surrounded by hostile family members who blame her for his death. According to Jewish law, she is bound to marry her late husband’s brother when he is of age (the brother is 12 years old). Rosa takes care of the young boy in her home, as if he were her own son. The boy loves Rosa and is determined to marry her—against his mother’s wishes—when he comes of age. An unusual love story. Stars Michal Bat Adam. Note: Two brief scenes include nudity.

In Hebrew with subtitles. 1 hr. 30 min.  AGE: 18 to Adult

940.54

IT WAS NOTHING... IT WAS EVERYTHING: REFLECTIONS ON THE RESCUE OF JEWISH

It

FUGITIVES IN GREECE DURING THE HOLOCAUST  (1997)

Documentary film which interviews Greek citizens who risked their lives to save Greek Jews during World War II. Nearly 90% of the Jewish community in Greece—almost 65,000 Jews—were annihilated during the Holocaust. Filmmaker Sy Rotter records the stories of these Righteous Gentiles who tell how and why they risked so much to save the lives of strangers.

28 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult

946.9

THE JEW  (1996)

Jew

A chilling tale of the Spanish Inquisition, this drama tells the true story of Antonio da Silva—a Portuguese Jew who converted to Catholicism and was accused of being a Marrano, a hidden Jew. Da Silva, a popular writer in 18th century Portugal, had been tortured by the Inquisition before converting. After becoming a devout Catholic, he is shocked when seized and imprisoned a second time. He must then decide whether to admit to being a Jew (as the authorities wish—even though he no longer practices Judaism) or submit to further torture under a decadent and corrupt monarchy—knowing each path leads to death. Note: Although a bit choppy and uneven, this film provides an authentic picture of the time period. Viewers experience the relentlessness of the Church in its mission to convert or destroy all Jews, and the terrifying atmosphere in which Jews had to live—many courageously practicing Jewish customs in secret, knowing how great the risk. Includes scenes of torture and brief nudity.

In Portuguese with subtitles. 1 hr. 25 min.  AGE: Adult

910.039

THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF FEZ & SALONICA  (1995)

Jew

Traces the histories of the Jewish communities in Fez, Morocco, and Salonica, Greece. The video is actually comprised of two short films from a series done by Beth Hatefutsoth, the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Israel, about Jewish communities in Exile. The first follows the history of the Moroccan Jewish community of Fez from the 8th century until the establishment of the state of Israel, focusing on communal and family life in the Mellah (the Jewish ghetto). The second looks at the cultural achievements and livelihood of the Jewish community in Salonica and at the life of a Jewish family there through a child’s eyes.

B&W. 29 min. (Approx. 15 min. each part.)  AGE: 12 to Adult

951

THE JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF KAIFENG AND SAN’A  (1995)

Jew

This video contains two short films—both produced by Beth Hatefutsoth, the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Tel Aviv. The first, originally called “Chinese Jews on the Banks of the Yellow River,” looks at the Jewish community of Kaifeng, China, founded about 1,000 years ago when Persian Jewish merchants settled there. These Jews were cut off from the rest of the world when China’s borders were closed. The second short film explores the lifestyle and history of the Jews of San’a, Yemen, up to and including their immigration to Israel after 1948.

29 min. (Approx. 15 min. each part.)  AGE: 12 to Adult

940.1

JEWISH COMMUNITIES OF THE MIDDLE AGES  (1994)

Jew

This video contains three short films produced in 1990 by Beth Hatefutsoth, the Museum of the Jewish Diaspora in Tel Aviv. The first segment is about the Babylonian Jewish community, for Babylonia became an important spiritual center for Jews after the destruction of the Second Temple. The second covers Spanish Jewry, including important personalities and cultures from the Golden Age of Spain. The third segment looks at the Jews of Ashkenaz, including cities such as Speyer, Worms, Mainz and Paris. The video examines the rise and fall of each of these great centers of Jewish learning. Note: Presentation is rather dry. Teachers should preview prior to classroom use.

30 min. (Three 10 min. segments.)  AGE: 13 to Adult

F

KAZABLAN  (1972)

Kaz

Popular Israeli musical known as the Israeli West Side Story. The film follows a Sephardic gang leader, Kazablan, from Morocco, who falls in love with Rachel—a beautiful, cultured Ashkenazic girl in 1960’s Jaffa. Both Rachel’s father and the community disapprove of the “mixed” dating between the two. Meanwhile, Yanosh, an older Ashkenazic man who is also in love with Rachel, is jealous and frames Kazablan as the thief who stole the village’s money. The community learns to look beyond cultural prejudices and to work together to save their village. The film includes lively, upbeat songs and over 1,000 dancers, actors and singers. Stars Yehoram Gaon and Efrat Lavie. Note: Includes one scene of “backside nudity.”

In Hebrew with subtitles. 2 hrs. 3 min.  AGE: 12 to Adult