|
www.thejewishweek.com
|
||
|
NY Resources
 |
Home > Editorial & Opinion > Gary Rosenblatt
World War III, Coming To A Theater Near You
by Gary Rosenblatt Sitting in the darkened Jacob Burns Theater in Westchester the other night, watching “Waiting For Armageddon,” I had decidedly mixed feelings about what to say about the new documentary — as one of two respondents at a post-film program — when the lights went up.
But the 74-minute film is misleading. And it is particularly worrisome that it is playing in Jewish film festivals around the country, as it did in New York City in January, and in Westchester last week. One irony is that The Jewish Week was a co-sponsor of the evening’s program, along with the American Jewish Committee, whose inter-religious affairs director, Rabbi Gary Greenebaum, was my co-respondent, commenting on the film after the screening. Both of us questioned the wisdom of showing this film at Jewish film festivals without providing audiences with sufficient context, like emphasizing that the people shown in the film represent a distinct minority of Evangelicals in the U.S. (Neither of us, or our organizations, were involved in choosing the film as part of the March 12-April 2 Westchester Jewish Film Festival at the Burns Center, a high-quality annual event showcasing 28 films this year.) The film states at the outset that 50 million Americans are Evangelicals, believers in the New Testament prophecy of the world’s future, from the Rapture, when Jesus will instantaneously pluck believers into the clouds to be with him, to the Battle of Armageddon, the final battle between God and Satan. But almost everyone we meet in the film is a hard-core pre-millennialist, which is to say someone who believes strongly that these events are about to happen. And experts say that only between 10 and 15 percent of Evangelical Christians hold such beliefs. That’s like making a film about American Jews, many of whom believe in the coming of the Messiah, but only interviewing the fringe minority who believe He is coming tomorrow, or already came. The only Jewish religious figure in “Waiting For Armageddon,” who comments frequently in the film, is Rabbi Felix Rosen, associated with the Third Temple Mount group in Jerusalem. A wildly unrepresentative spokesman for Jewish thought, he describes his organization’s plans to rebuild the Temple and resume animal sacrifices, as in ancient times. One prominent Jewish expert on Christian theology labels the film as irresponsible, “frightening” and “a dangerous work of chutzpah.” Michael Cook, a rabbi and professor of New Testament at Hebrew Union College in Cincinnati, took exception to the filmmakers’ claims of objectivity and thorough research, asserting that the documentary is “amateurish to the point of embarrassment and its mis-conclusions even dangerous for the Jewish community.” Commenting on the film at a recent screening in Columbus, Ohio, Rabbi Cook worried aloud that “it will readily be used to discredit all Christian Zionists through a ridiculing misrepresentation and stereotyping in order to convince ... American Jewish communities to reject Christian Zionists as their friends.” That would be more than a shame because not only are Christian Zionists fervent supporters of the State of Israel, many of them are equally passionate about donating funds to Jewish causes. The most prominent example is an organization known as the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ), founded and led by Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein, and based in Chicago and Jerusalem. While Jewish charities here and around the world are reflecting the dizzying economic downturn, cutting staff and dramatically reducing budgets, IFCJ is doing remarkably well, providing extensive social services for Israel and Jews in the former Soviet Union. In fact, its funding is up about 40 percent over last year, when it contributed about $90 million to help Israelis and other Jews in need. Even more noteworthy is that the donors are Evangelical Christians, most of whose contributions are under $25. And their primary reason for giving, according to Rabbi Eckstein, is based not on End of Days theology but on the basic belief that, in essence, it’s a mitzvah to support Jews. The root of this conviction is the Biblical passage (Genesis, Ch. 12, v. 3), when God tells Abraham that those who bless Israel will themselves be blessed. Millions of Evangelicals take this literally, showing their love for the Jewish people by visiting the Holy Land, supporting the government of Israel and giving generously to Jews in need, in Israel and in other parts of the world. The IFCJ is a key partner, for example, with groups like the Jewish Agency for Israel and the Joint Distribution Committee. Steven Schwager, the Joint’s CEO, describes Rabbi Eckstein as “a lifesaver” in working with the Joint to fund a program that provides hot meals and education for impoverished youngsters in the former Soviet Union. Zev Chafets, author of “A Match Made In Heaven,” a sympathetic portrait of the relationship between Jews and Christian Zionists, says he toured Israel with members of Rabbi Eckstein’s fellowship and found none to be among “the hard-core believers” like those interviewed in the documentary. Several audience members at the Burns Center showing wanted more information on the filmmakers. “Who were they?” and “What was their motivation?” they wanted to know. A Burns Center official explained that the filmmakers, Franco Sacchi, Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, are award-winning professionals. Their statement, on the film’s Web site, says their goal was not polemical but rather to explore “the gap between the political/religious reality” of the Evangelicals’ influence on Mideast policy “and the general public’s understanding of it.” The filmmakers received a $50,000 grant from the Foundation for Jewish Culture to help complete their work. Elise Bernhardt, president and CEO of the foundation, says that such decisions are made by a panel of film experts whose criteria include the professionalism of the artists, the subject matter at hand and the depth and importance of the topic. “We want to support films that will get out in the world, and will get people talking about the Jewish experience in its complexity,” said Bernhardt, whose group has helped fund such highly praised films as “Trembling Before G-d,” on what it is like to be an Orthodox gay Jew, and “Waltz With Bashir,” the Israeli animated film depicting the psychological trauma of Israeli veterans of the 1982 Lebanon War. It was an Academy Awards finalist this year for Best Foreign Film. “People may have issues with these films, but we are interested in authentic,” high-quality productions, Bernhardt said. She added that the foundation plans to produce “field guides” to accompany future films, which would “give people more context” about the subject at hand. That might help, but in the meantime Jewish audiences and others will be watching a slick documentary that is confusing, if not deceptive. Rabbi Eckstein, who has not seen movie, said his impression is that “no mainstream Evangelicals” were interviewed, and that it is not that different than “doing a cynical film of science fiction folks predicting the end of the world.” In the end, “Waiting For Armageddon” may be of value as a kind of elaborate trigger film to elicit discussion about the complex relationship between Evangelicals and Jews. But seen out of context, it plays to the kind of religious stereotyping that Jews should be particularly sensitive about, and careful to avoid. And follow the Jewish Week on Twitter: start here. |
   |
Print this Page© 2000 - 2010 The Jewish Week, Inc. All rights reserved. Please refer to the legal notice for other important information.