Israelism, an award-winning, full-length documentary film, zeroes in on the ways American Jewish youth is inculcated to uncritically support the Jewish homeland. From Jewish day schools to summer camps, to free 10-day Birthright trips to Israel, the film explores the multiple ways that Jewish institutions instill a belief that religious observance and Zionism are two sides of the same sparkly coin. 

The film centers on two activists. The first, Simone Zimmerman, repeatedly visited Israel as a child and teenager. Over time, she began to wonder why she never met any ­Palestinians and why she was discouraged from exploring the West Bank and Gaza. “What is so horrifying they can’t let me see it?” she asked herself.

An eventual visit to these areas, ­Zimmerman tells the filmmakers, was eye-opening and led to deep investigation to separate fact from fiction. She describes her research into the founding of Israel and its history and development since 1948 as emotionally cataclysmic and that by 2014, she knew she needed to act. The result was the creation of the organization IfNotNow. 

Since Oct. 7, the group has played a pivotal role in opposing the ­brutality of the Israeli military in Gaza. While their mission has taken on increased urgency since the fall, IfNotNow’s goals have always been far-reaching. According to its website, over the past decade IfNotNow has continually mobilized progressive Jews to oppose “U.S. support for Israel’s apartheid system” and has supported social justice and equality for Palestinians.

The second activist profiled is Eitan (his surname not revealed), a young man who joined the Israeli military after graduating from an Atlanta high school and who later found himself ashamed of his complicity in abusing, denigrating and oppressing Palestinians in the West Bank.

The pair offer an articulate denunciation of the pervasive conflation between criticism of Israel and anti-Semitism. What’s more, they address the urgent need to combat domestic and international white-supremacist movements that are actively promoting anti-Jewish hate. 

The film also introduces a range of other voices, both ­Jewish and Palestinian. Among the Jewish interviewees, viewers meet Jacqui Schulefand, director of engagement at the University of Connecticut’s chapter of Hillel, the largest Jewish ­college-campus organization in the world, and Abraham ­Foxman, emeritus director of the Anti-Defamation League, each of whom is an unabashed supporter of Israel. Others, such as Jeremy Ben-Ami, President of the nonprofit liberal advocacy group J Street, express criticism of Netanyahu and the current Israeli government but do not oppose Zionism itself.

Palestinian Perspective

The film also includes Baha Hilo, a Palestinian tour guide who grew up in Bethlehem, and Sami Awad, executive director of the Holy Land Trust, a global peace organization. In one of the film’s most moving segments, Awad talks about visiting Auschwitz and grappling with the “inherited trauma” in the Jewish community, something he says makes the desire for safety and security understandable, even reasonable.

That said, Awad stresses that these legitimate needs should not come at the expense of the Palestinian people. Furthermore, he bristles at Israeli characterizations of ­Palestinians as less than human, something he believes allows mistreatment and bigotry to flourish.

“There is something deeply wrong here,” Zimmerman tells the filmmakers. “We’ve been told that the only way Jews can be safe is if Palestinians are not safe. It’s a lie.” 

Not surprisingly, as Israelism unfolds, it sho­wcases a litany of horrors — the demolition of Palestinian homes; physical and psychological abuse at checkpoints by ­Isreali soldiers; and the denial of adequate food, water and electricity in areas that West Bank settlers have taken as their own. Nonetheless, the film is not relentlessly grim.

“There can be no liberation with occupation,” peace activists repeat time after time at demonstrations and sit-ins depicted throughout the film. 

Their actions speak loudly. In fact, by periodically disrupting the everyday operations of the Anti-Defamation League, Birthright and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), these Jewish activists have put ­Zionist entities on notice that dissent is alive and well in their community.

Zimmerman calls this a “tipping point” moment and stresses that ­IfNotNow and other ­Jewish groups will ­continue to support the ­Palestinian community and to work to promote the teaching of the 1948 Nakba and its ongoing impact. They’ll also oppose, she says, the ethnic cleansing at the heart of ­Israel’s creation and endless warmongering.

Zimmerman knows that IfNotNow, alongside ­Jewish Voice for Peace, T’Ruah, and Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, are up against mighty and well-heeled foes. 

While I wish the documentary  looked into the role of ­Christians United for Israel in galvanizing pro-Israel views in the evangelical and fundamentalist communities, this does not detract from ­Israelism’s power and importance. All told, the film is a must-see for progressives — Jewish and otherwise — who want to understand how Zionism is perpetuated and how it can be countered. 

Israelism
Directed by Eric Axelman and Sam Eileatsen
Edited by Tony Hale
Tikkun Olam Production, 2023

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