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Audience responses

“An amazing visual presentation – the audience loved it! This documentary and the entire series is a gift to the Jewish people! Thank you! We are learning about our Jewish heritage in such a powerful and meaningful way.”
Rabbi Nitzan Bergman – Director of the WOW Program

“Last night I had the chance to view the new Faith & Fate film shown at the shul. Wow! The film is outstanding in its presentation of the history. It is both moving and informative, and the collection of images and film footage was riveting I must tell you that even if this was not a shul event I would strongly encourage all of you to take the opportunity to see it. You will not regret it!”
Rabbi Moshe Hauer – Bnai Jacob Shaarei Zion Congregation, Baltimore

“The film introduced me to a new perspective and moved me to look beyond what we have today in Israel. It also taught me how different were the experiences of the many Jewish communities both in Israel and in the Diaspora. The film brought up so much that I never thought about in the past. Keep up the good work.”
Harriet Schlein – Jewish Community Services

“A New Beginning was researched and written with scholarly integrity and presented with empathy for the dynamics of this crucial decade in 20th century Jewish history. As with the other segments of Faith and Fate, it will be welcomed by both scholars and students.” Dr. Jeffrey Gurock – Professor of Modern Jewish History, Yeshiva University

The drama of Jewish history continues with "Faith and Fate, Episode 7: A New Beginning: 1948-1957."

Picking up where "Episode 6: The Miracle of Israel" left off, "A New Beginning" tells the behind-the-scene stories of the absorption of the 850,000 Jewish refugees from Yemen, Morocco, Libya, Egypt and more. Nobody, after seeing the chilling terrors they faced and the glorious scenes of their rescue, can fail to be moved.

The film takes us back fourteen centuries to the prophet Mohammed, citing the verses of the Koran that feed the present-day Arab/Israeli conflict. The film also captures the beginning of the Cold War, showing the power plays that culminated in the Suez crisis. It also shows the fate of Jews behind the Iron Curtain, contrasting it with the challenge of freedom in 1950's suburban America.

The thread that runs throughout Faith and Fate: A New Beginning is the very human story of the impact of history on ordinary people.

Among the world experts interviewed are:
. Rafael Israeli, Professor of Islamic and Middle Eastern Studies, Hebrew University
. Dr. Jane Gerber, Director of the Institute of Sephardic Studies, City University of New York
. Zvi Gitelman , Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan
. Anita Shapira, Professor of Modern Jewish History, Tel Aviv University
. Geoffrey Gurock, Professor of Modern Jewish History Yeshiva University

"This period demonstrated a remarkable ascent from the ashes of the Holocaust to the establishment of a Jewish state and the beginning of a religious resurgence throughout the Jewish world. For the Jews in the Arab lands life was over and their ancient culture was under assault even in their new homeland. In America, Jews were facing the challenges of affluence, acceptance, and assimilation. In Russia, on the other hand, Jews were trapped behind the Iron Curtain. their religion banned and their status reduced to being second class citizens. While in Israel itself, a spirit of purpose, courage, tenacity and growing faith in the Divine dominated." - Rabbi Berel Wein