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The Testament is a multilayered film about identity, truth, and the silence of time. Yoel, a religious Jew and Holocaust researcher whose work drives him to uncover buried war crimes, discovers by chance some disturbing information about his own mother’s past. Two mysteries come together in his troubled search for facts and meaning. The director, Amichai Greenberg is a graduate of the Maale School for Film in Jerusalem . Following the film, a discussion with be led by Stuart Weinstock, an adjunct professor of film at Columbia University. Cost: $15, $20 at the door.

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Past Events

December 9th @ 8pm

The year is 2002. Seventeen people are killed when a bus explodes at Megiddo Station near Tel Aviv. Sixteen of them are identified. But who is Number 17?

In this surprisingly entertaining film, director David Ofek is the sleuth, determined to solve the mystery of the missing victim. Over six months, with a mix of persistence and even humor, Ofek follows (and nudges) those in charge, encouraging them to deploy all their forensic ingenuity and close the case. In the process, we see a portrait of everyday Israelis determined to maintain their normal behavior no matter what.

Tickets for the evening are $15 in advance/$20 at the door

Saturday April 1st @ 9pm

As vice-president of Hungary’s far-right extremist party, Csanad Szegedi espoused anti-Semitic rhetoric and Holocaust denials, and founded the Hungarian Guard, a now-banned militia inspired by a pro-Nazi group complicit in the murder of thousands of Jews during WWII. But Szegedi’s life was soon upended when his maternal grandparents were revealed to be Jewish. His beloved grandmother, an Auschwitz survivor, had hidden her faith, fearing further persecution.

Keep Quiet depicts Szegedi’s three-year journey to embrace his newfound religion. But is his transformation genuine? Or does he simply have nowhere else to turn?

December 10, 2016 @ 8pm

Leningrad, 1970. A group of young Jewish dissidents plots to hijack an empty plane and escape the USSR. Caught by the KGB a few steps from boarding, they are sentenced to years in the Gulag and two are sentenced to death; they never got on a plane.

It started as a fantasy, Operation Wedding, as outrageous as it was simple: Under the disguise of a trip to a local family wedding, the hijackers would buy every ticket on a small 12-seater plane, so there would be no passengers but them, no innocents in harm’s way. The group’s pilot, who once flew for the Red Army, would take over the controls and fly the 16 runaways into the sky, over the Soviet border, on to Sweden, bound for Israel.

45 years later, filmmaker Anat Zalmanson-Kuznetsov reveals the compelling story of her parents, Sylva and Edward Kuznetsov, leaders of the group, "heroes" in the West but "terrorists" in Russia, even today.

Guest Speakers

Israel Zalmanson

Israel was a member of Operation Wedding and is Sylva Zalmanson’s younger brother. He was only 21 years old at the day of the arrest and he was sentenced to 8 years in the Gulag, which he served in full.

Glenn Richter

Glenn is a longtime active member of LSS and one of the founders of the Student Struggle for Soviet Jewry, which fought for the liberation of the Leningrad Trial defendants. Glenn was one of the film's history advisors and was involved in the process of its production from the beginning.

In a period during which we remember the Shoah, mourn the losses of Yom HaZikaron, and celebrate the birth of the State of Israel …

Lincoln Square Synagogue is pleased to present two very special films that capture all these bittersweet notes, while affirming the goodness of people and the inner strength that sustains us.

Both films were directed by Yael Katzir, who will introduce them and answer questions following the screening.

Shores of Light

An untold story of light after darkness

At the end of World War II, thousands of Holocaust survivors arrived in Southern Italy on their way to the Land of Israel Seventy years later, a group of Israeli women trace their parents’ recovery in a DP camp in Salento, where they found compassion, healing, and the will to create new life.

The Violins of War

A poignant film about creating meaning and beauty amidst violence

Against the backdrop of the second Lebanon War, a master violin workshop for young violinists around the world plays on, exemplifying the power of music and the Jewish and Israeli determination to persevere against all odds. Featuring soloists Ida Haendel and Shlomo Mintz.

December 19, 2015 @ 8pm

A film about music, romance and the Israeli spirit

The city of Sderot, located less than a mile from Gaza, is often associated with Kassam rockets and underground bomb shelters. But in Israel it is also known as the City of Music, home to a large number of musicians—many the children of North African immigrants—whose unique rhythms have transformed Israeli music while giving voice to their anger, despair and dreams of peace. Crossing the line between observer and participant, filmmaker Laura Bialis reveals the city’s heart and soul. 

$10 in advance/$15 at the door

February 28, 2015

The story of a group of World War II pilots, mostly American, who volunteered to fight for Israel in its 1948 War of Independence. As members of “Machal”—volunteers from abroad—this ragtag band of brothers risked their citizenship, their futures and even their lives to help a fledgling nation under attack. They not only turned the tide of the war but also laid the groundwork for the Israeli Air Force. The film, produced by Nancy Spielberg, is the first major feature-length documentary to tell this inspiring but little-known story.

Following the film, we will hear from Rabbi Dr. Benjamin “Benny” Lau, Head of the Israel Democracy Institute’s Human Rights and Judaism in Action project and rabbi of the modern Orthodox Ramban Synagogue in southern Jerusalem.

“Rav Benny,” as he is known by students, is a noted thinker and bridge-builder, who speaks widely across Israeli media about Jewish and modern values. A Torah scholar and activist for social equality, Rabbi Lau is also the Director of Beit Morasha’s Center for Judaism and Society and its Institute for Social Justice.

A noted author, he has published scores of books and research articles on the Jewish heritage. His prolific writings focus on Jewish philosophy, issues of Halakhah and society, and the connection between Biblical, Mishnaic, and Talmudic sources and contemporary social and political realities.

Motza'ei Shabbat, November 8, 2014 at 8pm in the Beit Midrash

PONEVEZH TIME

What is it really like to be a full-time yeshiva student at the renowned Ponevezh Yeshiva? For the first time, the world’s largest ultraorthodox seminary opens its doors to a camera crew. Ponevezh has a reputation as an elite institution of Torah learning, but among the 1200 students who choose to inhabit its world of constant study and prayer are also some fragile, confused young men. The filmmaker, a former student of the yeshiva (and one of the writers of the popular Israeli series Shtisel), captures authentic moments of commitment and hope along with sadness and loneliness in a place where an individual can be swept away by the crowd.

THE DREAMERS

Ruchama and Tikva, two haredi women, embark on a journey to fulfill their dream of making movies. But they must struggle to find a balance between profound commitment to their religious community and loyalty to individual creativity. 
A compelling story of a teacher and a wig-maker struggling to make their voices heard within the strictures of their world.

Thursday, June 19 @ 6:45pm

The Ma'aleh School of Television, Film & the Arts in Jerusalem is the only film school in the world devoted to exploring the intersection of Judaism and modern life. Join us for an evening of short films made by Ma’aleh graduates offering three very different views of the Israeli experience.

Barriers is an intense drama about a young officer at a checkpoint who has only seconds to make a life-or-death decision.

Cornerstone is a documentary that probes the world of the Beit Midrash for those at its edges. What happens when you are stuck between success and failure, faith and doubt?

Getting Serious is a romantic comedy where she’s a “dos” (seriously religious) and he's “dati lite” but pretends to be more committed to win her heart. Can he pull it off?

The films will be presented by Ohad Domb, a graduate of Ma’aleh, who will speak about the school’s unique mission in exploring religious life in Israel. Ohad has worked as a location producer for the popular TV series Srugim and Shtisel and will answer questions about those series as well.

Saturday night, November 9, 2013 @ 7:00 pm

The riveting story of Jakub Wexsler, a Catholic priest from Lublin, Poland, who seeks to “return” to a Jewish life in Israel after discovering that his Jewish parents perished in the Shoah. The only problem is, he can’t completely renounce his former beliefs. This presents a painful dilemma for his Israeli hosts, who just aren’t sure how to classify him.

The documentary raises poignant questions about faith, identity and the continuing reverberations of the Holocaust. Followed by a discussion about religious and psychological issues raised by this film.

Saturday night, February 8, 2014 @ 7:30 pm

A new Israeli TV series by the creators of Srugim.

Set in Jerusalem’s Geula neighborhood,  Shulem and Akiva Shtisel, father and son, find themselves “roommates” since the mother has died.

While Shtisel spotlights various elements of Haredi life, it also delves into all the struggles that everyone endures – the need for laughter and love, dealing with death, and the desire for companionship.

Due to popular demand we will be screening the remaining episodes of Shtisel on the following dates:

March 23: episodes 7 & 8

March 30: episodes 9 & 10

April 6: episodes 11 & 12