How Jewish diaspora can maintain a bond with Israel.
How Jewish diaspora can maintain a bond with Israel.
Much has changed after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. The waves caused by this horrific event, are reverberate through emotional, physical, and any sphere of life of Jewish state.
The tsunami of the antisemitic and anti-Israeli propaganda, by various means of media, resulted in paradoxical reaction to the terrorist’s barbarism. Instead of empathy to the victims suffering of October 7 atrocities, the level of Jew hatred in the Western world has risen to the unprecedented level. At this challenging for the Jews times, it is outermost consequential to maintain strong connection between Israel and Jewish diaspora.
This bond was evident in the commemoration of the third anniversary of October 7 disaster by Jewish Federations in many cities of Canada and United States, including Calgary Jewish Federation. There are other outlets of expression of support and connection with Israel, and one example is The Annual Calgary Jewish Film Festival at the Beth Tzedec Congregation.
This year festival is presenting the 26th annual exhibition of selective documentaries and narrative films. Many features have originated in Israel or are related to the Jewish state. The theme of never forgotten Holocaust is a part of the occasion as well.
The event is accompanied by masterfully and artily designed booklet which contains the names of community people and organizations who contributed to the realization of the event as well as its program.
This year festival starts with Israeli drama film “Our Loves”, the work of the seasoned director and writer, Avi Nesher. The director based the narrative of “Our Loves” characters on the interviews of several people he conducted himself. The movie opens with the quote: “Love is always immersive, anytime and anyplace, but it is more intense the nearer it comes to death,’ lines by Gabriel Garcia Marquez from his novel “Love in the Time of Cholera,” setting the stage for the protagonists’ stories. At the beginning of the film, on October 5, we meet the movie main characters at the secular rock/pop concert. What unites these people on October 6, is their failing relationship and their conviction that they are going through the worst day of their lives.
Various circumstances causing the mental anguish afflicting the protagonists, is depicted in the plot summary: Milly, played by Magi Azarzar, a policewoman who is in relationship with the same-sex partner, Sandra, played by Hadas Yaron. Milly is afraid to reveal her homosexual love to her mother, Yvonne, played by Evelin Hagoil. The retired policeman Shabi, played by Shalom Michaelshvili, an overbearing and aggressive person, who is dealing with a contentious divorce and bulling his son Oz, played by Itamar Pinto, to testify against his mother. This makes Liri, Shabi’s daughter, played by Noa Cohen, to despise him. At the same time, Shabi will do everything to rescue Liri. She moved to Kibbutz to live with her boyfriend Matan, played by Nevo Katan. Matan’s parents, Katya, played by Lena Fraifeld, and Gadi, played by Lior Miller, are in a process of breaking up. Katya wants to try living on her own and is moving into youth section of the Kibbutz, near Liri and Matan. Nicco, played by Yaniv Biton, is employed as a security guard at the Nova Music Festival. Sapir, played by Daniel Gimpel, came to the festival to get over the breakup with her boyfriend. He abruptly called to announce the ending of their relationship which might’ve led to a marriage, an outcome of great importance to observant religious woman. Sapir’s girlfriend succeeded to convince her to attend the Nova Music festival despite it is Shabbat and Simchat Torah. Sapir takes a pill with encouragement her girlfriend, who bought it from a drug dealer Yoyo, played by Leib Levin, who keeps his stash in his underwear. The pill hallucinogenic effect makes Sapir to join the rest of the crowd in trace-induced state.
Yet at 6:29 a.m. on October 7, the world of the protagonists of the movie has changed dramatically-they are facing a life-or-death choice. The characters, who just several hours ago were feeling they are going through the worst time of their lives, are fleeing from danger to avoid the inevitable demise or being captured as hostages. The emotional pre-October 7 wounds took a backseat to the extreme situations they were suffering from Hamas’s unimaginable brutality. From now on, they follow a path which lead to redemption and new beginnings.
The interviews of actual human beings are the backbone of the Avi Nesher’s script of the movie, Our Loves. The protagonists of the feature are playing people many of whom are still alive. Right after leaving the screening of the movie, I mentally allowed myself to imagine the possible future lives of these real people.
Shabi, a macho, ultimate soldier and military commander, at the end of the movie became a caring and loving father of his daughter and son. May be by now the real person, played by Shalom Michaelshvilli, had reconciled with his family and called off the court case to possess the family house. I wish this house is occupied by mother, father and two siblings.
I hope the obedient religious person, presented as Sapir, had been engaged to the former drug dealer who by now, under the healthy influence and will power of the person like Sapir, has reformed himself.
I would be feeling much satisfaction for the real person, role of who’s played by as Milli’s mother Yvonne, is busy taking care of the grandchild.
I would love to see real women, played as Liri and Katya, in good health, with Katya’s character living near a married couple of her son and Liri.
The film conveys another genuine message that Israelis, like people everywhere, have troubles, predicaments, and conundrums leading to the feelings of hopelessness and despair. The disaster of October 7 upended this; they realized the horrific assault on Israel by Hamas takes precedent over their misgivings and anxieties and morphs their fate to the better.
For us, the viewers of the movie, Our Loves, provides the impetus to look at our own life from a different perspective and to acknowledge that there are things of more significance and constancy than the problems we encounter in everyday life: Things like expression of love and appreciation to family members and friends; not to procrastinate with the visit of a person in critical condition, and striving to maintain connection to Israel.
The movie, Our Loves, is the first feature film of The Annual Calgary Jewish Film Festival. Yet it made such a profound impression on me that validates being the only subject of the article.
As the festival will proceed, I will keep you updated on the rest of the documentaries and narrative films of the festival.