RSS
New Documentary on History of Zionism to Counter ‘Erasure of the Jewish People’
Pro-Israel rally in Times Square, New York City, US, Oct. 8, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Jeenah Moon
Oriental rugs, Bauhaus furniture, and Mediterranean sweets adorned a stage featuring one college student and a former member of Israel’s parliament, known as the Knesset. The suavely-set docuseries preview was the latest attempt by a group of Zionist organizations, most prominently the Tikvah Fund, to create greater public knowledge about the history of Zionism.
On Dec. 12, the University of California, Los Angeles’ Hillel Center held a preview of the new documentary expanding on the history of Zionism. Featuring former Israeli politician Einat Wilf and her 23-year-old former Georgetown University student, Zoe Tara Zeigherman, the five-part documentary series will be featured on over 30 college campuses across the country before a wider release next month.
The documentary breaks down the history of the Jewish state’s establishment and its aftermath into five parts: emancipation and political Zionism; socialism and labor Zionism; religious Zionism and anti-Zionism; Islamic and Arab anti-Zionism amidst the creation of Israel; and Soviet, anti-imperialism, and left-wing anti-Zionism.
The series is unique in the thoroughness of its attempt to blend historical narratives with contemporary political analysis. “The series ends in our contemporary moment and a discussion of left-wing anti-Zionism,” Zeigherman told The Algemeiner. However, “it discusses this movement through its roots in Soviet anti-Zionism.”
Zeigherman, a London-born graduate of Georgetown University in Washington, DC, added that the film seeks to highlight the similarities between contemporary anti-Zionism and the “anti-Zionist propaganda machine that was so heavily invested in the Soviet Union, especially after the Six-Day War [of 1967].”
In the episodes, which range in length from 30-40 minutes, Wilf examines the history of Zionism in a way that the directors sought to make digestible for the average college student.
After serving in the Knesset as a representative of the Labor and the Independence parties from 2010 to 2013, Wilf has since pivoted to activism and academia, authoring several books and, most recently, teaching courses at Georgetown.
The impetus for the documentary, Zeigherman told The Algemeiner, was the miseducation of her peers. During the tumultuous summer of 2020, Zeigherman recalled that her peers viewed Jews as “actually white and oppressors in a kind of oppressed-oppressor narrative used as a comprehensive worldview.” The result, she observed, was “the erasure of Jewish history and an erasure of Jewish people.”
Her alienation amongst progressive voices ultimately led Zeigherman to seek out the voices of progressive Zionist pundits online. Among them was Wilf, who by sheer coincidence was set to teach at Georgetown the following semester. The former Israeli politician’s course was “transformative” for Zeigherman “as a student, for me, as a Jew,” she explained. “I was finally able to root my understanding of myself in knowledge, in history.”
This month’s screening took place as a preview ahead of a wider audience release set to occur in Jan. 2024.
According to the documentary’s product manager, Yael Zeldin, its broader release will be intended “to become an integral part of the curriculum for Israel education.”
Zeldin told The Algemeiner that agreements are in place with Hillel chapters “to be viewed across the country,” but that she hopes it will also be featured in “synagogues, Jewish Community Centers, and anywhere else where its screening can be of educational value.”
The series is produced by Levana Studios, and a trailer for the documentary can be found on its website.
The public release will include a series of YouTube videos that break up the interviews into soundbites, with the intention of such a format resonating with a younger generation that often watches short videos on social media.
The post New Documentary on History of Zionism to Counter ‘Erasure of the Jewish People’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood
Britain’s Foreign Secretary David Lammy leaves Downing Street, following the results of the election, in London, Britain, July 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Toby Melville
i24 News – The United States has warned the UK and France not to unilaterally recognize a Palestinian state at a UN conference scheduled for June 17 in New York, the Middle East Eye reported Tuesday.
France and Saudi Arabia will co-host this conference on the two-state solution, with Paris reportedly preparing to unilaterally recognize Palestine. France is also pressuring London to follow this path, according to sources from the British Foreign Office.
French media reports indicate that French authorities believe they have the agreement of the British government. Meanwhile, Arab states are encouraging this move, measuring the success of the conference by the recognitions obtained.
This initiative deeply divides Western allies. If France and the UK were to carry out this recognition, they would become the first G7 nations to take this step, causing a “political earthquake” according to observers, given their historical ties with Israel. The Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer threatened last week to annex parts of the West Bank if this recognition took place, according to a report in the Israeli newspaper Haaretz.
In the United Kingdom, Foreign Secretary David Lammy publicly opposes unilateral recognition, stating that London would only recognize a Palestinian state when we know that it is going to happen and that it is in view.
However, pressure is mounting within the Labour Party. MP Uma Kumaran, member of the Foreign Affairs Committee, said that the government was elected on a platform that promised to recognize Palestine as a step towards a just and lasting peace. Chris Doyle, director of the Council for Arab-British Understanding, believes that there is no legitimate reason for the United States to interfere in a sovereign decision of recognition, while highlighting the unpredictability of US President Donald Trump on this issue.
The post Washington Warns UK, France Against Recognizing Palestinian Statehood first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack
A small number of Jewish worshipers pray during the priestly blessing, a traditional prayer which usually attracts thousands of worshipers at the Western Wall on the holiday of Passover during 2020, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem’s Old City, April 12, 2020. Photo: Reuters / Ronen Zvulun.
i24 News – The Shin Bet security agency and Israel Police thwarted another Iranian attempt to recruit Israelis, according to a statement on Tuesday, arresting a resident of East Jerusalem for allegedly carrying out missions for the Islamic Republic.
Iranian agents recruited the suspect, who in turn recruited members of his family. He is a resident of the Isawiya neighborhood in his 30s, and is accused of maintaining contact with a hostile foreign entity to harm the state by carrying out a terrorist attack against Jews.
The suspect had already begun perpetrating acts of sabotage and espionage, including collecting intelligence about areas in Jerusalem, including the Western Wall and Mahane Yehuda Market. He also hung signs, burned Israeli army uniforms, and more in exchange for payment totaling thousands of shekels.
He was also charged with planning a terror attack in central Israel, including setting fire to a forest, and was told to transfer weapons to terrorist elements in the West Bank.
The suspect’s sought the help of family members, including his mother. A search at his home revealed sums of cash, a spray can used in some of his activities, airsoft guns, suspected illegal drugs, and more.
His indictment is expected to be filed by the Jerusalem District Attorney’s Office.
The statement said that the case is yet another example of Iranian efforts to recruit Israelis. “We will continue to coordinate efforts to thwart terrorism and terrorist elements, including those operating outside Israel, while attempting to mobilize local elements in order to protect the citizens of the State of Israel,” the Shin Bet and Police said.
The post Police, Shin Bet Thwart Suspected Iranian Attempt Perpetrate Terror Attack first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany
German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt holds a chart showing the development of antisemitic crime, during a press conference on Figures for Politically Motivated Crime in the Country, in Berlin, Germany, May 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Lisi Niesner
Cybercrime in Germany rose to a record level last year, driven by hacker attacks from pro-Russian and anti-Israeli groups, the BKA Federal Crime Office reported on Tuesday as the government said it would boost countermeasures to combat it.
“Cybercrime is an increasing threat to our security,” said Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt. “It is getting more aggressive but our counter-strategies are also becoming more professional,” he said.
Some 131,391 cases of cybercrime took place in Germany last year and a further 201,877 cases were committed from abroad or an unknown location, a BKA report said.
The actors behind the hacker attacks on German targets were primarily either pro-Russian or anti-Israeli, said the BKA, adding targets were mostly public and federal institutions.
Ransomware, when criminals copy and encrypt data, is one of the main threats, said the BKA, with 950 companies and institutes reporting cases in 2024.
German digital association Bitkom said damage caused by cyberattacks here totaled 178.6 billion euros ($203.87 billion) last year, some 30.4 billion euros more than in the previous year.
Dobrindt said the government planned to extend the legal capabilities authorities could use to combat cybercrime and set higher security standards for companies.
The post Pro-Russian, Anti-Israeli Hackers Pose Biggest Cybercrime Threats in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login