Israel at the Movies:
Your Guide to 8 Israeli Films
Which film is best suited to my use?
The movies covered in this guide range from feature film to documentary and from historical classic to blockbuster hit, but each was selected as a quality film with artistic merit above and beyond its educational value. Here you will find brief synopses of the movies, organized by the guide’s four unit themes using the navigation below.
Outsiders & Integration into Society | Jewish-Arab Relations |
Religion in Israeli Society | Interpersonal Relationships
Unit 2: Jewish-Arab Relations
“Channels of Rage” and “The Syrian Bride”
“Channels of Rage”
Appropriate for:high school students and older
About the Movie: This movie is a documentary which follows two popular rap artists, one Israeli and one Palestinian, and the deterioration of their personal relationship in the wake of the Second Intifada in 2000. The documentary demonstrates how a political situation can have a profound impact not only on music and the arts, but also on the life of the individual. The film also introduces the audience to many elements of Israeli culture and the music scene, including left-wing Israeli rock star Aviv Geffen.
Use This Movie to Explore:
Cinema | Use of documentary format in portraying Arab-Israeli tensions in Israeli society
History | The effects of the Second Intifada on Israeli society
Culture | Learning about Israeli and Palestinian musicians and their music
“The Syrian Bride”
Appropriate for: high school students and older
About the Movie: A Druze bride is on her way to marry a Syrian man with the full knowledge that, once she crosses the border into Syria, she can never come back to Israel to visit her family again. Through this story, the movie explores the nature of borders, real and imagined, and the power they have over our lives. This movie is subtle in that it does not directly address any of the burning political questions it exposes, such as whether the Golan Heights should be under Israeli or Syrian control. Rather, it follows one family over a single day, gently exposing the complicated connections between them and the nature of the community to which they belong.
Use This Movie to Explore:
Cinema | Cross-cultural collaboration in movie production
History | The importance of the Golan Heights
Culture | Druze society