Israelism

Erin Axelman and Sam Eilertsen's documentary is a film by and about those young Jewish Americans the political Right likes to refer to as "self-hating Jews." The movie presents a critical view of Israel's treatment of Palestinians but is more focused on the way American Jews are educated about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It centers on two Jewish Millennials who have come to revise their stance on the issue as they've learned more about the conflict and the way the powerful AIPAC lobby has all but defined America's perception of Israel and its blanket support of Israeli policies. Simone and Eitan were each raised to defend the state of Israel no matter what, Simone by speaking on college campuses across the US, and Eitan by joining the Israeli military. But as they got older and witnessed Israel's mistreatment of Palestinians with their own eyes, they began questioning what they had been taught in their synagogues and Hebrew schools and by American media.

While it's no great shakes as a documentary, Israelism does an effective job of laying out the growing generational gap between younger Jewish Americans and those of previous generations when it comes to Israeli policies, especially now that Israel has a largely unchecked prime minister who governs in ways that seem strikingly similar to the political Right in America, and Donald Trump specifically. While the documentary has itself become a controversial hot-button topic across the country, especially on college campuses, there is nothing in the movie that can honestly be viewed as antisemitic unless one considers anything that criticizes Israel to be antisemitic. But that sentiment is like those on the Right who claim people "hate America" if they point to American intervention, exploitation, theft of resources, and political interference in other nations as a possible root cause for acts of terrorism against the US. These issues are complex and should not be divided into simplistic notions of being either "for" or "against," which far too many on all sides of most political divides end up doing.

Israelism was made and released before the horrendous Hamas attacks of October 6th, in which 1,139 people were massacred (including 695 Israeli civilians, 38 of them children), and the subsequent military response by the Israeli government against Hamas and the Palestinian people, which looks to many like an unending American-funded genocide. The current conflict has elevated the tensions and emotions this movie explores so much that the backlash against the film has become all the more fervent than when it made the festival rounds earlier this year. Israelism has been banned from many campuses. Locally, I saw how letters from prominent alumni concerned about this film led directly to the end of the long-running Bright Lights screening series at Emerson College, even though the successful, sold-out screening was free of incident and concluded with a civil and intellectually spirited audience discussion. It goes without saying that most of the people calling for a ban on this film have not seen this film.

The extreme reaction to a movie that espouses no radical perspectives nor advocates for violence of any kind goes a long way toward underlining the points the movie is trying to make. Though it takes a clear position on the ways Americans are educated about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Israelism feels designed to inspire nuanced conversation rather than force-feed an ideologically based counterposition. I believe people on all sides of the issue could benefit from seeing this movie. It may not change anyone's mind, but it should help those of opposing viewpoints learn where the other side comes from and not simply dismiss them as either hardline zealots or ignorant young people.