Look Into My Eyes

I just returned from the final day of the Jewish Film Festival. This is one of my favorite events of the year, and this year I almost missed the whole thing. When I first got the calendar of events, I circled those films that interested me, then proceeded to get busy and never got to see anything. Finally, on the last day of the event, I went to see Look Into My Eyes, a documentary by Israeli filmaker Naftaly Gliksberg.

Gliksberg travels from Poland to Paris, Germany and the U.S. to talk to ordinary people about Jews and whether anti-Semitism is on the rise. It is a startling personal journey of painful discoveries as he explores representations and impressions of Jews and Israelis around the world. As he visits individuals in various countries Gliksberg discovers that people's responses to his pointed questions are often a mixture of their own culture, some version of history, and a certain collective psychology.

Gliksberg is a former rabbi who gave it all up at age 29 (he looks like he's in his late 50's now) to become a filmmaker. Much of what he found is not new. One interesting fact I learned is that from studies of anti-Semitism in Europe they have found that most of the racism comes from the indigenous people, not from the immigrants. This is contrary to what I thought. Stereotypes of Jews were the same world wide. Rich, controlling the money, having horns,Gliksberg heard them all. There were also some who denied the Holocaust.

There was some talk of the media and how it effects our perception of anti-Semitism. An Israeli on the discussion panel mentioned that the reason Israeli news talks about anti-Semitism is that it sells newspapers and films. People like to hear about it. Many, including the ADL feel that constantly discussing the topic only fuels the fire. The work of the ADL is evident on most major college campuses. Believe it or not, many American students do not have an opinion about Jews by the time they reach college. As surprising as this is, it's a good thing. It's very difficult (maybe impossible) to change perceptions that have been developed over years of reinforcement. The Israeli professor on the panel, who is teaching at San Diego State this year, says he has NOT encountered strong anti-Semitic feelings amongst his students, and feels he has a chance to give his students facts and let them draw their own conclusions.

However, there are many militant groups around the world that are teaching their children something very different. Anti-Semitism, and racism in general, is reality and we need to hope that schools, churches, synagogues and parents are teaching our youth the facts. Give kids the facts and let them draw their own conclusions. This movie was powerful and provocative, and if you have an opportunity to see it, please do.