Maven's Jewish & Israeli Documentaries
The Best Documentaries with primarily Jewish and/or Israeli Themes. Recommended for both English Speaking Jews & non-Jews interested in the Traditions, History, Comedy, Arts and Culture of the Jewish People. Also see:
Maven's Jewish & Israeli Jewels for popular movies, Maven's Jewish Essentials, Select Jewish-Israeli non-English Movies and Animated Jewish & Bible Stories
Maven's Jewish & Israeli Jewels for popular movies, Maven's Jewish Essentials, Select Jewish-Israeli non-English Movies and Animated Jewish & Bible Stories
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- StarsTim Pigott-SmithKing HusseinShimon PeresDecision-makers from Israel, the Arab states, Russia and the US tell the inside story of the Arab-Israel conflict. Charts the evolution of tensions, violence and peace efforts from 1948 to 1998.
- StarsLiev SchreiberCarl ReinerSid CaesarAcclaimed filmmaker David Grubin traces 350 years of Jewish American history, from the arrival of the first Jews in 1654 up to the present day. THE JEWISH AMERICANS tells the story of the struggle of a tiny minority to make their way into the American mainstream while, at the same time, maintaining a sense of their own identity as Jews. Focusing on the tension between identity and assimilation, THE JEWISH AMERICANS is a quintessentially American story, which other minority groups will find surprisingly familiar.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsMichael DouglasAnkie SpitzerJamal Al GasheyThe Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.
- DirectorMenachem DaumOren RudavskyStarsLeonard NimoySarah Jessica ParkerZeldy AbromowitzHasidic Jews seem alien, and even hostile, to those outside their culture,which frequently includes other Jews. They dress differently, don't mingle between the sexes, speak Yiddish, and wear side curls, all in an attempt to rigorously follow the commandments of the Torah. They tend to keep to themselves, shunning television and the media so outside influences cannot corrupt their values and views. Yet filmmakers Oren Rudavsky and Menachem Daum were able to enter their world, and the result is the fascinating documentary A Life Apart: Hasidism in America. Using interviews with academics and members of the community and some historical footage, the filmmakers trace the growth of Hasidic groups in the United States. Groups formed around particular Rebbes (learned leaders) and they took their names from their Eastern European home cities (the Satmar Hasids, the Breslov Hasids, and so on). Leonard Nimoy and Sarah Jessica Parker narrate, explaining how this movement came to America and how it was able to flourish. Dissenting voices also appear, in the form of neighborhood people who are distressed at the Hasids' refusal to speak to members not in their community and of a young woman, Pearl Gluck, who left the community in order to pursue her writing and to follow a life of her own choosing. Many Hasids refuse to speak on camera, and we see many shielding themselves with hands or coats so as not to appear on film. But those who do appear are poignant in their discussions of why the Hasidic life is important to them. One man speaks to the directors, even as he acknowledges that he will never see the movie, but he will do it "in order to help a Jew make a living." One couple, Holocaust survivors, are not Hasidic, but their children are, and the reasonings of both the parents and the children are interesting. This film, shown on PBS, is a consequential look into a lifestyle many of us don't understand, and it may help in increasing an understanding.
- DirectorAndrew GoldbergStarsJudy Woodruff
- StarsSamuel WestLinda HuntGert HeidenreichThe history of the Final Solution phase of the Nazi Holocaust, particularly with the most infamous of the death camps.
- DirectorIra WohlStarsIra WohlPhilip WohlZero MostelIn this documentary, the director follows the day-to-day activities of his mentally ill, middle-aged cousin Philly, over a three-year period.
- DirectorDimitri CollingridgeStarsRichard Littlejohn
- StarsAbba Eban
- DirectorKaren PascalStarsSonja SmitsVera van der Wijk YehrosJan HofTwo Canadian women return to the Netherlands to recount the terrifying ordeal they experienced as children at the hands of the Nazis, and to connect with the individuals and families who risked their lives to save them.
- 20041h 37mUnrated7.8 (168)67MetascoreDirectorMenachem DaumOren RudavskyStarsAkiva DaumMenachem DaumRifka DaumMenachem Daum, the son of holocaust survivors, and a New York Orthodox Jew worries that both of his sons, full time yeshiva students who live with their families in Israel, are becoming seduced to intolerance by their religious studies. "All religions today are in danger of being hijacked by extremists." To open their perspectives just a little he sets off with his wife, Rifka, and both sons, Tzvi Dovid and Akiva, to visit the Polish towns where his parents grew up and to try to find the Catholic farmers who hid his father-in-law from the Germans. Enduring the bemused tolerance of his sons, Menachem persists until they find Honorata Matuszezyk Mucha who as a young woman brought food nightly to Rifka's father and his two brothers for 28 months until the end of World War II. The Daum sons perspectives widen a bit to allow for good Gentiles, but they also encounter some resentment from the Poles who heard no word from the three brothers after they left their hiding place, not even a postcard with a thank you. A lot of issues are surfaced but left unresolved in this well crafted documentary.
- StarsSimon WiesenthalStephen RashbrookHans MünchUnder the guidance of Simon Wiesenthal, documents the year-long process leading up to 'the Final Solution' using newly accessible Eastern European archives, first-hand eyewitness accounts and world renowned historians.
- DirectorTed NewsomStarsAdolf HitlerOskar SchindlerDocumentary describing the rise of Nazi Germany and the resultant Holocaust, with a focus on the lives of two Germans with vastly different attitudes and agendas, Oskar Schindler and Adolf Hitler.
- DirectorDaniel AnkerStarsGene HackmanNorma BarzmanJack BennyThe history of Hollywood's handling of the Nazis and its later depiction of the Holocaust they perpetrated.
- DirectorRichard TrankStarsMichael DouglasEhud BarakShimon PeresIn Search of Peace: 1948-1967 chronicles Israel's first two decades, offering new insights on the origins of the Middle East conflict. Combining a rich tapestry of rare archival film and photos, the film offers a unique global perspective on one of the seminal events in the 3,500-year history of the Jewish people. Featuring the voices of Edward Asner, Anne Bancroft, Richard Dreyfuss, Miriam Margolyes and Michael York. "An unabashedly emotional and stirring inspirational history of Israel..." - The New York Times
- DirectorHerb KrosneyStarsMartin GilbertDavid Ben-GurionSir Martin Gilbert, author of over sixty books and the host of A&E's JERUSALEM, hosts this gripping account of Israel's difficult first years. Filled with rare footage, photographs, and interviews with participants in the War of Independence, this is the definitive document of one of the turning points in modern history. Extraordinary footage filmed by Bernard Beecham, a British soldier, shows the reality of life in the fledgling nation, when all efforts were devoted toward winning the war.
- DirectorAllen EstrinTerror bombing after terror bombing, day after day. Never has a nation had to endure such attacks. A sidewalk café becomes as dangerous as a military outpost. A simple trip to the supermarket becomes a horror of flying nails, glass and death. How do Israelis deal with this pervasive terror? How do they explain their near-solitude in the world? How do they really feel about Arabs? These are some of the questions that one of America's most respected thinkers, Dennis Prager, went to Israel to find answers to.
- DirectorCarl BykerMitch WilsonStarsF. Murray AbrahamRene AuberjonoisJake BorowskiIn 586 B.C., the Babylonians lead almost all that remains of the tribe of Judah - the Israelites - to exile in Babylon. Only a few generations earlier, the northern tribes of the Israelites were taken into exile and vanished forever. Now the Judeans, too, seem destined to disappear. They fight back, however, by writing a book. Using Judean stories from the past to explain present disastrous situations, the book becomes the earliest edition of the most influential work in history: the Bible. This episode introduces the early and profoundly influential figures of Judaism: Abraham, who is the first to recognize the concept of one God; Moses, who receives the Ten Commandments from God; and David, whose sins teach the Israelites that no one is above the law of God.
- StarsD. Paul ThomasAdolf HitlerSusan CanedyA history of the Nazi movement in the United States.
- DirectorJason HuttStarsDmitriy SalitaJimmy O'PharrowIsrael LiberowFor the last 60 years, the term "Jewish boxer" has been an oxymoron. But Dmitriy Salita, a 25 year-old Russian immigrant is making history as a top professional boxer and a rigorously observant Jew.
- DirectorLisa KorsStarsIda AbudyLilian AbudyHerbert HexterThree teenage girls decide to become Orthodox Jewish against the wishes of their secular parents. In a twist on teenage rebellion, these girls wish to study Torah, dress in conservative skirts and keep Kosher while their parents wish them to go out, date boys and live a less cloistered life.
- DirectorCarla Blair
- DirectorElliot BerlinJoe FabStarsSandra RobertsDagmar Schroeder-HildebrandTom BosleyAs a part of their study of the Holocaust, the children of the Whitwell, TN Middle School try to collect 6 million paper clips representing the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis, and grows to include millions of others killed.
- DirectorIlana TrachtmanStarsLior LieblingPraying with Lior asks whether someone with Down syndrome can be a spiritual genius. Many believe Lior is close to God -- at least that's what his family and community believe -- though he's also a burden, a best friend, an inspiration and an embarrassment, depending on who is asked and when. As this documentary moves to its climax, Lior must pass through the gateway to manhood - his Bar Mitzvah.