AIPAC Film Festival: Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish Nation

I had the chance to attend the AIPAC Policy Conference in Washington, D.C. earlier this week and was fortunate enough to attend several film screenings during breakout sessions while I was there. Please enjoy a brief summary and review below!

Body and Soul: The State of the Jewish Nation
Directed by Gloria Z. Greenfield


This film boasts a layered and clever title, one that has multiple meanings. Mostly, it’s the story of the Jewish people’s historical ties to the land of Israel, assembled from a scientific perspective. Its assembly is mostly chronological, dating back many years to empires and other conquerors who tried to expel the Jews from Israel and each time that some remained and others came back. The experts it chooses to back up its claims are united by the common thread of having PhDs and range from intellectual thinkers to religious leaders. More than anything, it’s a point-by-point exploration of the enduring nature of Judaism within Israel, and how one people survived many attempts by invaders and neighboring enemies to exterminate them. When the film’s timeline reaches near the present and arrives at the Balfour Declaration and the Holocaust, it becomes modernized but still leads back to the same themes of survival and unity. From the director of “Unmasked Judeophobia – The Threat to Civilization,” which screened at AIPAC two years ago, this is another meticulously assembled argument that, while not always deeply engaging, is resounding and strong with its message and all the evidence it puts together to support it.

Learn more about the film at www.bodyandsoulthemovie.com