Three Cities in the News |
| Posted by Administrator (admin) on Jul 16 2007 |
Israel's 'lone soldiers' topic for documentary filmmakers
Portland Jewish Review, May 1
ELTERMAN |
A casual encounter with a friend has led to the launch of a new film project about diaspora Jews with no concrete links to Israel who enlist in the Israel Defense Force.
"Lone Soldiers" is the title co-producers Tamir Elterman and David Alexander chose for a film currently in production about such individuals.
Elterman was in Portland in April. His non-profit production company, Three Cities Productions, is looking for some angels to help complete the project.
"A good friend from college was sitting in a bar with me," Elterman said. "He said he was going to join the IDF. It struck David and me as interesting."
The pair did a little research and found that lone soldiers in Israel are "an international thing," they come from many countries to defend Israel.
The Washington Post's Molly Moore reported on the death of one such soldier last summer and gave national exposure to the term that describes them.
IDF Staff Sgt. Michael Levin of Philadelphia was killed Aug. 1 in Lebanon.
"In life, Levin was considered a 'lone soldier'—the melancholy moniker Israel gives foreign-born soldiers who come to the country without their families, often with the sole purpose of serving in the military," wrote Moore.
Elterman said lone soldiers choose their path for various reasons including strong pro-Israel inclinations, a desire to follow in a relative's footsteps or simply for adventure.
He said there are 4,000-6,000 lone soldiers serving in Israel at any given time.
Elterman and Alexander posted inquiries on the Internet to locate individuals in America who were planning on going to Israel to enlist in the IDF.
The two filmmakers hope that their film will shed light on the relationship between diaspora Jews and the state of Israel.
Some others share their hope. The Israeli Consulate in New York, the IDF, the aliyah group Nefesh B' Nefesh, among others, have leant their support to the project.
Persons wanting to help make the project a reality can view a four-minute trailer for the film online at http://www.three-cities.org.
One may make an online donation at the same Web address.
link to the article by Paul Haist: http://www.jewishreview.org/Archives/Article.php?Article=2007-05-01-3257
Last changed: Jul 16 2007 at 2:46 PM
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