6pm Thursday THE JEWISH JOURNEY: AMERICA - Documentary
A look at Jewish American life from the earliest arrivals in the mid-17th century through the impact of the Nazi regime in World War II, the creation of Israel, and the new challenges of 21st century assimilation. Explore the personal stories many faced as they migrated to America, whether for economic opportunity or to escape persecution.
The Jewish Journey: America begins by exploring what it meant to be part of a tight-knit Jewish community in this diverse range of countries, and what prompted those families to leave their enclaves for America. Some left the warmth of multi-generational Eastern European shtetls or cities for the experience of life in a land with seemingly unending horizons. As the film explains, contrary to common belief, most of these Jewish families and those from Russia came not to escape persecution, but for economic opportunity.
Others made the “Jewish Journey” from the Islamic World. In these lands many Jews had to leave when the politics and treatment of Jews changed with the creation of Israel in 1948, and for other political and economic reasons in the years and decades that followed. More recently, Persian Jews who left Iran in the late 1970s recall hiding their identity under the Ayatollah’s regime until they could escape.
Whatever the reason, these families and those who came in other waves made a leap of faith in search of the American Dream. For them, staying was not an option, yet leaving meant unimaginable heartbreak as parents said goodbye to children they knew they would never see again. As historians and first to fourth generation Americans relate in the film, the risk came with the hope that this trek by foot, train, boat or plane would be rewarded with a better life for themselves and future generations.
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