Saturday, December 14, 2013

Hashmatsa (2009)

English title: Defamation

Israeli documentary purporting to investigate the phenomenon of anti-semitism (this is dubious, see my clarifying comment below). Several angles are approached. A New York-based organization called Anti-Defamation League is more or less the main focus, and some of its activities are depicted. Another line of investigation consists of following a trip which takes some Israeli school kids to visit a former Nazi camp in Poland. Some American Jews are interviewed, as well as an Israeli opposition politician. Two scholars of names Norman Finkelstein and John Mearsheimer, respectively, who (separately) wrote books about pro-Israel activities in the U.S.A., are interviewed.

This is an informative film, and funny too, on occasion. As some IMDB users wrote in a criticizing tone, this is not effective as an investigation of anti-semitism per se, because it doesn't really go to places where it is most intense. This is not, however, valid grounds for criticizing the movie, save that (maybe) it misleads the viewer about its purpose. As an exposé of the misuse of anti-semitism, on the other hand, this is a good movie.

(I do not rate documentaries numerically.)

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