The first dramatic mini-series ever to be based on current events in Judea and Samaria is to be launched this month. The show, called Hill 769, takes place in an imaginary outpost in the Samarian Mountains and stars actors from Samaria itself. The first three episodes of the series have already been produced and more are on the way.
Jerusalemite Yehezkel Laing, a graduate of the Maaleh Film School and Nissan Nativ Acting School, is the director of the series. In a statement to the media Laing explained the show's subject matter.
"From the deep Biblical and spiritual history of the area to the present day return and struggle to hold on to the land in the face of tremendous opposition, the Jewish communities in Yesha provides a virtual goldmine of exciting storytelling material. There is so much natural human drama that takes here I am surprised no one thought of it before."
But to learn more about the series, Israel National News interviewed Laing about his project:
Q: Why did you create this series?
A: I think Israelis are tired of the Hollywood imitations coming out of Tel Aviv and are looking for something with Jewish content. In the past year we have seen the Jewish music revolution which started a decade ago amongst observant Jews cross over and capture the hearts of Israel's leading secular musicians. Now I believe it is time to do the same thing for the visual arts. I believe people want culture which connects them to their roots instead of alienates them from them it and that is what we hope to provide. We are excited to bring a new and different voice to the Israeli entertainment scene.
Q: What has been the response?
A: The response has been tremendous. We received widespread media coverage with stories appearing in the Ha'aretz newspaper, Hebrew-language NRG (Maariv) website, Channel 2 TV website, and they even did a feature story about us on CNN. Leftwing viewers of the series have even written us back telling us how the show has changed their views of the residents of Yesha.
All this requires money and religious Jews are traditionally apathetic to cultural projects.
The belief that a political revolution is possible without a cultural revolution preceding it is to my mind naïve. The rise to power this year of the radical American left can be traced directly to the cultural revolution of which liberal Americans are so proud - Woodstock. If Bibi will become Prime Minister its only thanks to the fact that last year his friend Sheldon Adelson last year launched the pro- Bib newspaper Yisrael Hayom which today has a 25% market share.
Why are observant Jews so unwilling to donate funding to positive Jewish media? Why are we so materialistic when it comes to donations? Is the plaque on the building wall so important? Isn't it time we learned the lesson of Gush Katif when we saw that all the buildings we paid for simply knocked down.
How long will we allow those hostile to us to define us to the world? How long will we allow them to portray ourselves as far right nutcases who have no rights to the Land of Israel? How long will we allow them to portray Arab terrorists as freedom fighters and Jews loyal to the Torah as law breaking fanatics?
I believe its time to build inside peoples hearts and minds. In Channuka we are taught about the importance of pisumei nissa – publicizing the miracle. If our ancient forefathers understood the importance of positive Jewish media surely modern Jews can too.
Q: But there are groups out there fighting negative depictions of Israel.
A: Groups like Honest Reporting and Camera are doing very important work but to my mind they are missing the main point. Asking leftist Jews or anti-Israel gentiles to portray Yesha residents honestly is ultimately doomed to failure. Lets stop asking others to do what we should be doing ourselves. We must create our own media organs and stop asking others to do the work for us.
Q: But aren't there Jewish media projects out there today?
A: Books and videos about Bible personalities or Hasidic masters from the 18th century are cute but isn't it time to show that the Torah applies to the modern world? The real question is whether we will continue to depict the Torah as a "tidbit" which reduces Judaism to deciding whether the chicken on our plate is kosher or not or whether apply Torah wisdom to the major issues of our age: Economic, Social, Political and more. I believe the Torah has the ability to redeem the world but to do that we need to first apply it to the world. Instead of running away into fantasy I believe Jewish art must grapple with current events. My show deals with the very issues which are being discussed on the front pages of newspapers around the world. It's time to stop running away and stand and deliver.
Q: And what does Judaism have to offer?
A: As the clash of civilizations reaches a boiling point I believe more and more people will be looking for the centrist solution Judaism offers. The secular materialistic West and the fundamentalist Muslim East both can not provide the complete solution our age requires. These radical societies do not have the sophistication need to solve the world's problems. I believe Judaism offers a sane centrist solution to the worlds problems.
Q:Some say your message is too strong.
A: The Israeli left puts out dozens of films each year with strong anti-Zionist or anti-Jewish messages. In the past year alone Israelis have been "treated" to a flood of such films including:
§ Beaufort – A movie based on the first Lebanese war about the impossibility of beating our enemies.
§ Waltz with Bashir – An animated movie also based on the first Lebanese war and also about the impossibility of beating our enemies.
§ Disengagement – The expulsion of the Jews from Gush Katif from the point of view of an Israeli policeman who helped expel Jews.
§ Sodot – Lesbian relationships in the Haredi community
§ Garden of Eden Now – Israeli Arab conflict from the perspective of a suicide bomber
§ Etz Limon – Security forces cut down an Arab lemon tree for “security” reasons
And the list goes on and on…..And the pro-Jewish response? Zero. Nothing. Not a single film is made to counter all this hostility. Believe it or not the Haredi public also has a flourishing film industry putting out dozens of films a year (mostly for children) all with strong pro-Haredi messages. Pro-Israel Jews should not to be embarrassed to say what they believe.
Q:Why now?
A: In light of the increasing media attacks against the residents of Judea and Samaria I think this project is timelier than ever. But all this work requires a lot of money. The current episodes were made on a shoestring budget and it shows.
I hope there are Jewish philanthropists out there who recognize the importance of providing alternative voices in the Israeli media who will lend their resources to forwarding this important project. I's time for the world to hear the truth about Jewish life in Judea and Samaria.
The series, which is produced in conjunction with the 12 Tribe Films Foundation, will be broadcast with English subtitles starting February 12th on the Israel National News TV website. Viewers can watch the episode by clicking here .