The US-based distribution company Menemsha Films has acquired worldwide rights, exclusive of Scandinavia, to a comedic documentary film from Canadian filmmakers and award-winning comedy duo Jamie Elman and Eli Batalion, The Algemeiner has learned.

The film, titled “Swedishkayt: YidLife Crisis in Stockholm,” follows the performers from Montreal as they travel around Stockholm, Sweden, and learn about Jewish identity and culture. “Through meshugenah encounters and eye-opening revelations, these two (gefilte) fish out of water explore 250 years of Swedish Jewish culture, from the earliest immigrants to today’s Yiddish renaissance, including discovering how Yiddish came to be a protected government-recognized language in Sweden,” according to a synopsis of the film provided by Menemsha Films. “Along the way, they dive into a cultural revival that is as unexpected as it is joyous.”

Menemsha Films will premiere “Swedishkayt” at international film festivals next year, starting with its world premiere at the Miami Jewish Film Festival in January, followed by a theatrical release in North America.

“When we first discovered that, of all places, Sweden is the new mecca of Yiddish language and culture, we knew we had to share this crazy secret with the rest of the world,” said Elman and Batalion. “We were excited to dip into the Yiddish scene in Stockholm for this film, and are delighted to work with the mensches at Menemsha Films, who have proven their ability time and time again to take Jewish
projects to wide audiences.”

Batalion and Elman co-created the first Yiddish-language sitcom “YidLife Crisis,” an award-winning web series that explores religious and cultural Jewish life in the modern world. The show has featured celebrity guest appearances by Mayim Bialik and Howie Mandel. It has amassed over 4 million online views and led to Battalion and Elman having sold-out live performances across North America and Europe.

“We have been huge fans of YidLife Crisis for many years, and it is our privilege to bring these comedy icons to a larger audience around the world,” said Neil Friedman, founder and president of Menemsha Films, in a joint statement with Menemsha Films Executive Vice President Heidi Oshin.

The comedic duo has released previous projects like “Swedishkayt” that chronicle their travels and exploration of Jewish identity, including the “Global Shtetl” series, “Narishkayt: YidLife Crisis in Krakow,” and “Chewdaism: A Taste of Montreal.” Together, they have over 25 years of credits across television, theater, music, and film, including “Mad Men” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” They have written, directed, and produced short and feature films that have appeared at major film festivals including Sundance, Toronto, Berlin, and SXSW.

Watch the trailer for “Swedishkayt: YidLife Crisis in Stockholm” below.



Hezbollah raised the specter of civil war with a warning on Friday there would be “no life” in Lebanon if the government sought to confront or eliminate the Iran-backed terrorist group.

The government wants to control arms in line with a US-backed plan following Israel’s military campaign against Hezbollah, which was founded four decades ago with the backing of Tehran’s Revolutionary Guards.

But the Islamist group is resisting pressure to disarm, saying that cannot happen until Israel ends its strikes and occupation of a southern strip of Lebanon that had been a Hezbollah stronghold.

“This is our nation together. We live in dignity together, and we build its sovereignty together – or Lebanon will have no life if you stand on the other side and try to confront us and eliminate us,” its leader Naim Qassem said in a televised speech.

Israel has dealt Hezbollah heavy blows in the last two years, killing many of its top brass, including former leader Hassan Nasrallah, and 5,000 of its fighters and destroying much of its arsenal.

Lebanon‘s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Qassem’s statements carried an implicit threat of civil war, calling them “unacceptable.”

“No party in Lebanon is authorized to bear arms outside the framework of the Lebanese state,” Salam said in a post on X carrying his statements from an interview with the pan-Arab Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper.

The Lebanese cabinet last week tasked the army with confining weapons only to state security forces, a move that has outraged Hezbollah.

DIALOGUE POSSIBLE

Qassem accused the government of implementing an “American-Israeli order to eliminate the resistance, even if that leads to civil war and internal strife.”

However, he said Hezbollah and the Amal movement, its Shi’ite Muslim ally, had decided to delay any street protests while there was still scope for talks.

“There is still room for discussion, for adjustments, and for a political resolution before the situation escalates to a confrontation no one wants,” Qassem said.

“But if it is imposed on us, we are ready, and we have no other choice … At that point, there will be a protest in the street, all across Lebanon, that will reach the American embassy.”

The conflict between Hezbollah and Israel, which left parts of Lebanon in ruins, erupted in October 2023 when the group opened fire at Israeli positions along the southern border in solidarity with its Palestinian ally Hamas at the start of the Gaza war.

Hezbollah and Amal still retain influence politically, appointing Shi’ite ministers to cabinet and holding the Shi’ite seats in parliament. But for the first time in years, they do not hold a “blocking third” of cabinet posts that in the past enabled them to veto government decisions.

Hezbollah retains strong support among the Shi’ite community in Lebanon but calls for its disarmament across the rest of society have grown.

South Sudan and Israel are discussing a deal to resettle Palestinians from war-torn Gaza in the troubled African nation, three sources told Reuters – a plan quickly dismissed as unacceptable by Palestinian leaders.

The sources, who have knowledge of the matter but spoke on condition of anonymity, said no agreement had been reached but talks between South Sudan and Israel were ongoing.

The plan, if carried further, would envisage people moving from an enclave shattered by almost two years of war between the ruling terrorist group Hamas and Israel to a nation in the heart of Africa riven by years of political and ethnically-driven violence.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this month he intends to extend military control in Gaza, and this week repeated suggestions that Palestinians should leave the territory voluntarily.

Arab and world leaders have rejected the idea of moving Gaza‘s population to any country.

The three sources said the prospect of resettling Palestinians in South Sudan was raised during meetings between Israeli officials and South Sudanese Foreign Minister Monday Semaya Kumba when he visited the country last month.

Their account appeared to contradict South Sudan‘s foreign ministry which on Wednesday dismissed earlier reports on the plan as “baseless.”

The ministry was not immediately available to respond to the sources‘ assertions on Friday.

News of the discussions was first reported by the Associated Press on Tuesday, citing six people with knowledge of the matter.

Wasel Abu Youssef, a member of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said the Palestinian leadership and people “reject any plan or idea to displace any of our people to South Sudan or to any other place.”

His statement echoed a statement from the office of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Thursday. Hamas did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel, who visited the South Sudanese capital Juba this week, told Reuters that those discussions had not focused on relocation.

“This is not what the discussions were about,” she said when asked if any such plan had been discussed.

“The discussions were about foreign policy, about multilateral organizations, about the humanitarian crisis, the real humanitarian crisis happening in South Sudan, and about the war,” she said, referring to her talks with Juba officials.

Netanyahu, who met Kumba last month, has said Israel is in touch with a few countries to find a destination for Palestinians who want to leave Gaza. He has consistently declined to provide further details.

Netanyahu’s office and Israel‘s foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the information given by the three sources on Friday.