Plot

When two young American Jews raised to unconditionally love Israel witness the way Israel treats Palestinians, their lives take sharp left turns. Their stories reveal a deepening generational divide over modern Jewish identity.

Israel is central to the political and cultural life of the American Jewish community. But it has also become a deeply divisive subject, as painful cracks have emerged within the Jewish community over the Israel-Palestine conflict, inspiring argument, protest and even censorship. ISRAELISM explores the past, present and future of the relationship between American Jews and Israel. Dozens of American Jewish thinkers, community leaders and activists share stories of falling in love with Israel, and competing visions for a Jewish future, while Israelis and Palestinians describe how their lives are affected by the decisions of a community half a world away. Israelism asks how and why Israel became the cornerstone of American Judaism, what the consequences have been, and what will happen as divisions continue grow.

Two young American Jews - Simone Zimmerman and Eitan - are raised to defend the state of Israel at all costs. Eitan joins the Israeli military. Simone supports Israel on 'the other battlefield:' America's college campuses. When they witness Israel's mistreatment of the Palestinian people with their own eyes, they are horrified and heartbroken - the Jewish institutions that raised them not only lied, but built their Jewish identity around that lie. They join the movement of young American Jews battling the old guard over Israel's centrality in American Judaism, and demanding freedom for the Palestinian people. Their stories reveal a generational divide in the American Jewish community as more young Jews question the narratives their synagogues and Hebrew school teachers fed them as children. The film also features voices like Jacqui, a Jewish educator who says "Judaism is Israel and Israel is Judaism", and former Anti-Defamation League President Abe Foxman, who claims voices like Simone and Eitan's represent a small minority. Thought leaders like Peter Beinart, Jeremy Ben-Ami, Noura Erakat, Cornel West and Noam Chomsky also weigh in. Directed by two first-time Jewish filmmakers who share a similar story to the film's protagonists, Israelism is produced by Peabody-winner and 4-time Emmy-nominee Daniel J. Chalfen (Bad Axe, Boycott), executive Produced by 2-time Emmy-winner Brian A. Kates (Marvelous Ms. Maisel, Succession) and edited by Emmy-winner Tony Hale (The Story of Plastic), Israelism uniquely explores how Jewish attitudes towards Israel are changing dramatically, with massive consequences for the region and for Judaism itself.—Tikkun Olam Productions