The Moral Voices of Bravery

“I could not work to make sure that Black people in Mississippi had the right to vote and then turn around and be supportive of a state where every citizen does not have equal rights before the law.”
– Dorothy Zellner

Jews Step Forward is a confessional documentary featuring 24 Jewish activists who “deconstruct Zionism” against a backdrop of searing, on-the-ground images and footage of atrocities perpetrated by Jewish citizens and military against Palestinian men and women.

Directed by Marjorie Wright, Jews Step Forward premiered in 2015, and has screened at a number of prestigious institutions and film fests, including Mexico International Film Festival 16IFF, Washington National Cathedral, and Hollywood International Independent Documentary Awards, where it won Award of Recognition in July 2016.

The Origin of Jews Step Forward

Director Marjorie Wright traces the origins of Jews Step Forward to her own “eureka moment” of breaking through “Hasbara” (Israeli public diplomacy) during the First Intifada, the Palestinian uprising against Israeli military occupation of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. From 1987–1993, Palestinian citizens staged a series of protests, riots, and even terrorist attacks, which were answered by the deployment of 80,000 Israeli soldiers, ultimately resulting in nearly 2,000 dead Palestinian people and nearly 200 dead Israeli soldiers and civilians.

Marjorie Wright was raised as a Christian Zionist: a Christian who believed that Jews were “God’s chosen people,” and had a divine mandate to the land of Israel. Her views changed dramatically during the 1980s, in particular thanks to a mainstream American article which recounted how Israeli soldiers would break the bones of Palestinian children who threw stones – a form of punishment and disincentive.

According to Marjorie Wright, that moment showed “how symbolic that is of disproportionality between Israelis and Palestinians in this conflict.”

What Is Hasbara?

Hasbara refers to Israeli public diplomacy. Translated from Hebrew as “explaining,” Hasbara encompasses a multi-pronged, state-sponsored messaging campaign that reinforces a narrative of the Israeli state as moral, justified, and blameless.

In more blunt terms, Hasbara has been defined as propaganda by noted speakers such as Ron Schlieffer, expert in psychological warfare. Through official government channels such as the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (MFA), as well as NCOs such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC )and the Anti-defamation League (ADL), the Israeli government effectively disseminates united messaging on issues as disparate as Eurovision to the ground invasion of the Gaza Strip.

The Moral Voices of Bravery and Justice

Expounding upon her own “eureka moment,” Marjorie Wright then interviewed 24 Jewish activists about their own “eureka moments” that caused them to break with “Hasbara.”

Each of these interviewees began as a devoted follower of the state of Israel – one who believed fervently in the Hasbara promulgated by the Israeli government and believed that Jewish people had a divine right to settle the land of Israel.

In the documentary, each activist traces their 180-degree reversal from fervent believer to activist who deconstructs their internalized Zionism to become Jews who support Palestinians.

The interviewees represent a thorough cross-section of Judaism in America, pulling from Jewish activists across the socioeconomic, religious, and generational spectra. From young Rabbis to Holocaust survivors in their 80s, Jews Step Forward shows how Jewish people from all walks of life came to deconstruct Zionism after independently discovering the harm it has caused, and turn to support Palestine.

Hedy Epstein, Holocaust Survivor

Hedy Epstein, born in 1924, escaped Germany in 1939 via Kindertransport to England. The rest of her family wasn’t so fortunate; they were all killed at the Auschwitz concentration camp. After the war, Hedy Epstein returned to Germany to work on the Nuremberg Trials, setting in motion a career focused on aiding refugees and fighting discrimination.

She traces her own turnaround to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon in 1982, which caused her to actively oppose the Israeli state’s actions. She suffered many reprisals: the Israeli army teargassed her during one protest, and the security forces detained her at the Ben Gurion Airport in 2004, cavity searching her and labeling her a terrorist.

Mark Braverman, Kairos USA

Mark Braverman grew up in the United States, believing Israel to exist as “the only safe haven for Jews.” However, through meeting Palestinian people, he began to enlarge his perspective. Today, he is a leader in Kairos USA, a Christian group dedicated to taking a “bold, prophetic stand against the unjust policies that oppress Palestinians and sicken Israeli society.”

In Jews Step Forward, Mark Braverman states, “the role of occupier is leading Israel down a road of political disaster, and the Jewish people down a road of spiritual peril…..the greatest crisis in Jewish history since the Babylonian exile…Our task is to rescue Judaism from an ideology that has hijacked the faith, continues to fuel global conflict, and has produced one of the most systematic and longstanding violations of human rights in the world today…..I am a proud Jew. I love Israel. And I am heartsick about her.”

Reclaiming Jewishness

The rising voice of Jewish activism for Palestine and increasing Palestinian support echoes previous strains of Jewish Liberation Theology that campaigned against both segregation and apartheid. Director Marjorie Wright says that this Jewish solidarity around Palestinian rights (and rights of the oppressed worldwide) has become a spiritual tie for Jewish activists, the way that Zionism once tied them to their faith.

Rabbi Alissa Wise, a featured activist, says, “One of the dangers of Zionism is that belief, that we’ve reached that place of redemption, of Mashiach….and I see Zionism eclipsing the spiritual and ethical work that is our heritage.”

Another featured activist, Dorothy Zellner says, “They have hijacked our Jewishness, and they have made it into a place, a country — so our Jewishness became a place.”

Jews Step Forward: An Award-Winning Film

Jews Step Forward has screened at numerous film festivals and prestigious institutions and has won several awards.

• Best Human Rights, War & Peace Documentary Feature, 16IFF
• Winner, Award of Merit, Impact Documentary Awards 2016
• Silver Palm Award, Best Documentary Feature, Mexico International Film Fest 2016

Where Can I Watch Jews Step Forward?

While there are no planned screenings of Jews Step Forward at the present, there are still ways for people to watch this powerful documentary.

Interested parties can request to host a screening through this link.

Or you can watch the full documentary on YouTube.

“Few are willing to brave the disapproval of their fellows, the censure of their colleagues, the wrath of their society. Moral courage is a rarer commodity than bravery in battle or great intelligence. Yet it is the one essential, vital quality for those who seek to change a world that yields most painfully to change. Each time a person stands up for an idea, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, (s)he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current that can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”

— Robert F. Kennedy

Ready to Step Forward?

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