“We’re all animals fighting for scraps on the Serengeti.” One of the most celebrated trials of the twentieth century was when Israel put Adolph Eichmann on trial. Eichmann headed the SS Office for Jewish Affairs and was one of the key architects of the Holocaust. But before they could put him on trial, they had… [Read More]
Bringing Evil to Justice – 1on1 with Lior Raz (Operation Finale)
I recently had the opportunity to talk by phone with Lior Raz, who plays Isser Harel in Operation Finale, the story of the 1960 Israeli covert mission to capture Adolph Eichmann in Argentina. Since Lior is an Israeli, I focused on the importance of this story in Israel today. How much does the story of… [Read More]
The Zookeeper’s Wife – Providing Sanctuary
The Zabinskis’ decision to harbor as many Jews as they could was a courageous act—and a very illegal one. They were well aware of the threat that the Germans represented—both to the Jews and to those who harbored them.
Five Came Back – Hollywood Goes to War
For those who enjoy film, the names John Ford, Frank Capra, George Stevens, William Wyler, and John Huston will be familiar. All are Oscar-winning directors (with a total of 14 Oscars between them). They were also part of the World War II war effort as military filmmakers.
2017 Oscar Nominated Short Documentaries
Filmmakers often bring us the things we may read about in the news in a very personal manner. That is the case for all the films nominated for Best Short Documentary. Three of the films cover very similar territory but each has a different perspective
Denial – Does Truth Matter?
Is the truth just an annoyance that gets in the way of what we’d like to say and believe? Standing for the truth is the core of Denial, a true story courtroom drama about a professor who is sued by a Holocaust denier for libel.
Germans & Jews: Can They Live Together?
Does it seem odd that the fastest growing Jewish community in Europe is found in Berlin? When filmmaker Tal Recanati (a Jewish American) traveled to Germany and found a vibrant Jewish community that has grown in the seventy years since the Holocaust, she thought there was a story here that needed to be discovered.
Vita Activa: The Spirit of Hannah Arendt
We often think of philosophers as those who sit in ivory towers unaffected by the actual world. They think their thoughts about the nature of things without really understanding what matters. But often philosophy comes out of profound experiences.
Son of Saul: A Kind Of Hope
We are sometimes amazed at the depth of horror that marks the Shoah. Son of Saul shows us again the inhumanity of the Holocaust in a very personal way. The film from Hungarian director László Nemes is already garnering Best Foreign Language Film honors from critics groups…
