Defamation (2009) Hashmatsa (original title)

Director:

Yoav Shamir

Writer:

Yoav Shamir (writer)

Release Date:

26 August 2010 (Germany)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Intent on shaking up the ultimate 'sacred cow' for Jews, Israeli director Yoav Shamir embarks on a provocative - and at times irreverent - quest to answer the question, "What is anti-Semitism today?"

Plot Keywords:

Israeli | Anti Semitism | Jew | Author | Auschwitz

Awards:

3 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Uri Avneri	...	Himself
Yaakov Bleich	...	Himself (as Rabbi Bleich)
Gianfranco Fini	...	Himself
Norman Finkelstein	...	Himself (as Professor Norman Finkelstein)
Abraham Foxman	...	Himself
Abraham Hecht	...	Himself (as Rabbi Hecht)
Isaac Herzog	...	Himself - Minister in Charge of Anti-Semitic Affairs
Dov Hikind	...	Himself - Assemblyman
David Hirsch	...	Himself - Sociology Professor
Charles Jacobs	...	Himself (as Dr. Charles Jacobs)
Teddy Katz	...	Himself - Gush Shalom
Noah Klinger	...	Himself - Journalist
Joel Levi	...	Himself - ADL Regional Director New York
Benjamin Lifschitz	...	Himself - Reporter
John Mearsheimer	...	Himself
Arieh O'Sullivan	...	Himself - ADL Spokesman
Dina Porat	...	Herself - Professor
Harvey Prince	...	Himself - ADL, Los Angeles
Suzanne Prince	...	Herself - ADL, Los Angeles
Stephen Walt	...	Himself
Bob Wolfson	...	Himself - ADL Regional Director

Directed by
Yoav Shamir

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Yoav Shamir		writer

Produced by
Sandra Itkoff	....	producer
Karoline Leth	....	producer
Knut Ogris	....	producer
Nynne Selin	....	line producer

Original Music by
Mischa Krausz

Cinematography by
Yoav Shamir

Film Editing by
Morten Højbjerg

Sound Department
Neal Gibbs	....	sound editor

Visual Effects by
Peter Höhsl	....	visual effects artist

Editorial Department
Kenneth Laugaard Andersen	....	assistant editor
Søren Gamborg Knudsen	....	assistant editor
Nicolai Griffens	....	assistant editor
Elin Pröjts	....	additional editor
Stephen Vittoria	....	editor: Theatrical Trailer

Other crew
Daniel Karpantschof	....	researcher
Jordan Savel	....	production coordinator
Signe Vinther	....	production coordinator
Jaime Wolf	....	legal counsel

Production Companies

• CINEPHIL
• Knut Ogris Films
• Reveal Productions
• SF Film Production
• Yoav Shamir Films (Israel)

Distributors

• First Run Features (2009) (USA) (theatrical)
• Thim Film (2009) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Dogwoof Pictures (2009) (UK) (all media)
• Sony Music Entertainment (2010) (Japan) (TV)

Also Known As:

"Hashmatsa" - Israel (original title)

Runtime:

91 min

Country:

Israel | Denmark | USA | Austria

Language:

Hebrew | English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Certification:

Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

605 Third Avenue, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

CINEPHIL

Quotes:

Uri Avneri:None of them fights anti-Semitism. They fight criticism of Israel. These are two totally different things. There's hardly any anti-Semitism in the US. It's a myth.

well worth seeing

my daughter and I just watched this movie today on cable, without the benefit of any context. while it was clear that the filmmaker sided with the Mearsheimer-Walt types, I still thought it was worth watching.

to me, any time Norman Finkelstein is allowed to go on camera and give his noxious views, that's a good thing. in fact, the whole movie affirmed the idea that "anti-Zionism" is just an excuse for anti-Semitism. I think this is the opposite of what the filmmaker wanted to prove, but there it is.

if you do see this film, please remember to take it with a grain of salt. example: Finkelstein says that there is no American anti-Semitism but there IS anti-Muslim feeling. according to FBI statistics, anti-Jewish hate crimes occur 8 TIMES AS OFTEN as anti-Muslim crimes. but Finkelstein doesn't back up his assertions with facts, since he wouldn't be able to.

the problem of anti-Semitism has been with us for thousands of years, and it isn't going away any time soon. this movie contributes to the conversation if watched with an open but skeptical mind.