THE UGLY DUCKLING (JV-448)
This is a classic children's story of an ugly duckling whose inner beauty helps transform him to the most beautiful swan in the pond.
34min., color, 1991. K, P, E.United Jewish Federation MetroWest: Kehilla Mission, March 1990 (JV-502)
25min., color. S, A.UNCLE MOSES (JV-172)
The story of Jews from Poland who live and work in New York City's Lower East Side, where many of the Jewish immigrants settled in the beginning of the 20th century. Their lives are dominated by working in a sweatshop under the tight control of their manager. But one day, love opens the manager's eyes and heart to the world around him, and the film follows him to a happy ending.
80 min., black & white, 1932. Yiddish and German w/English subtitles. A.UNDER THE DOMIM TREE (Etz Ha-Domim Tafus) (JV-575)
Part-two follow-on to Summer of Aviya (1988), this is a powerful coming-of-age story, based on the autobiographical memoir by Gila Almagor, which tells the poignant and sometimes harrowing story about a group of teenagers living in a youth village for orphans who survived the Nazi concentration camps along with other troubled Israeli youths in the 1950's. During the day, the students seem like any other normal teens, but when night falls, painful memories of the horrors of the Holocaust resurge. When life becomes unbearable, the teens find refuge under the beautiful Domim Tree, the only place where they feel at peace.
96min., color, 1995. Hebrew w/English subtitles. S, A.THE UNFORGETTABLE PEN PAL (JV-244)
An animated children's story about prejudice and discrimination when pen pal friends finally meet one another at a professional basketball game and encounter prejudice where they least expect it. They learn the negative effects of prejudice and the importance of forming intelligent opinions about others.
30min., color, 1989. K, P, E. Animated.THE UNQUIET DEATH OF JULIUS AND ETHEL ROSENBERG (JV-697)
On June 19, 1953, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the so-called "atomic spies," were executed at Sing Sing Prison. Their deaths only reinforced many Americans' belief in their innocence. In this first comprehensive documentary, Alvin Goldstein looks at the facts and procedures of the Rosenberg case. Interviews with jurors, FBI agents, lawyers for both sides, and the two sons of the Rosenbergs combine with documentary and newsreel footage in a tragic human drama which is "a superb recreation of history, painting with bold strokes the temper of the times." (Boston Globe).
83min., color, 1974. S, AUNSETTLED LAND (JV-116)
A makeshift camp in the Sinai Desert in the year 1919 is the site where a band of young European Jews plant crops in the sweltering heat. They are attacked by Bedouin tribesmen who claim this land for their own. The settlers fight for their lives, their crops and their dream of a new nation. This is a shattering story of young men and women willing to sacrifice everything to defy their destiny and change history.
109min., color, 1988. S, A.VARIAN FRY: The Artist's Schindler (JV-749)
Varian Fry is an American who, in 1941, was sent by the American Emergency Rescue Committee to Vichy France. He was charged with finding many of the century's famous artists and intellectuals, helping some 2,000 escape from Nazi-occupied France. Among those he saved were Max Ernst, Marc Chagall, Andre Breton and Marcel Duchamp. He is the only American to receive the Righteous Among The Nations award given by The Israeli Yad Vashem Memorial Museum.
50min., color, 1997. S, A.VICTORY AT ENTEBBE (JV-420)
The Hollywood movie version of the hijacking of Air France Flight 139 with its 256 passengers, of whom 106 were Jewish, relates the true story of this tragic event.
119min., color, 1976. S, A.VIDEO BIO: "REQUIEM - THE HOLOCAUST" (JV-298)
This video provides an introduction to the music of the Requiem: The Holocaust, which is on CD (JA-133). David Axelrod, the composer, explains his motivations and then the method he has used. Divided into four sections: Kristallnacht, Trains, Auschwitz, and Gas Chambers, the music is interspersed with a Greek chorus of voices in prose-poetry form.
6min., black & white. S, A.VIDEO GUIDE TO JEWISH TEACHING (JV-394A, JV-394B)
These two guides, prepared by the Commission on Reform Jewish Education, cover: planning, opening activities and lesson planning; motivations for teaching; challenges for interactive learning; and the relevance of Jewish learning. The second guide covers creating a learning environment; developing rapport with students; making a lesson plan; classroom management; and family education.
43min., color, 1995. A.VIDEO VIGNETTES: Special Training (JV-255)
Produced by ADL, this video presents three reenactments of real-life situations, each designed to illustrate how stereotyping can lead to biased treatment. It provides educators with an effective teaching tool for sensitizing participants to the subtleties of prejudice.
1. "Routine Check" examines how group generalizations influence every-day life.
2. "The Art Exhibit" explores freedom of expression and social responsibility.
3. "Ethnic Humor" shows how jokes can perpetuate stereotypes.
The discussion guide provides group leaders with "how-to's" for generating honest, open discussion and includes detailed questions and suggested follow-up activities.
11min., color, 1993. S, A. Guide.VILNA: Fraidy Katz and Klezamir (JV-192)
Fraidy Katz and Klezamir perform the story of the Vilna Ghetto.
6min., color and black & white, 1992. A.VISAS AND VIRTUE (JV-707)
Haunted by the sight of hundreds of Jewish refugees outside the consulate gates, a Japanese diplomat and his wife stationed in Lithuania at the beginning of World War II must decide how much they are willing to risk. Inspired by a true story, Visas and Virtues explores the moral and professional dilemmas that Consul General Chiune "Sempo" Sugihara faced in making a life or death decision: defy his own government's direct orders and risk his career by issuing life-saving transit visas or obey orders and turn his back on humanity.
26min., color and black & white, 1997. S, A.VOYAGE OF THE DAMNED (JV-310)
With an unusual passenger list---some concentration camp victims, some wealthy tourists--the voyage was destined to go nowhere. Goebels' propaganda machine knew the ship could not dock in Havana, and when the rest of the world would turn the ship away, the Jews would have to return to Germany. Just as hope has all but vanished, word comes that some European countries may take them in.
137min., color, 1992. S, A.WAKE THE DAWN; The Story of Jerusalem's Holy Temple (JV-736)
Wake the Dawn is a video adventure into the history, meaning, and purpose of the Holy Temple. A tour of the famed Temple model at the Holyland Hotel reveal the wonders of this sacred building.
32min., color, 1989. E, S, A.WALK WITH SONG THROUGH ISRAEL (JV-72)
Favorite Israeli folk songs are sung by the Israeli singer, Gabi Berlin, as well as a journey through the landscape of contemporary Israel. The main song event was shot on location at Caesarea amidst the excavated ruins of the ancient port city as a blazing, setting sun hovers over the clear Mediterranean.
5min., color. Hebrew and English. E, S, A.THE WALL (JV-597)
Based on John Hershey's novel by the same title (1950), the film tells the story of the Jewish family Apt during the German occupation of Warsaw. In October 1940, the Germans rounded up the Jewish families of Warsaw and forced them into a walled-up area that became known as the Warsaw Ghetto. The film tells the story of its inhabitants. For the Apt family and their friends, it will be a time of love, marriage, birth, betrayal, hunger, fear, rage and sorrow. Within their family, as within the community itself, there are those who choose to stay, those who choose to flee, and those who have no choice but to fight for their lives. The formation of a resistance within the wall hardens their resolve to survive. On April 19, 1943, the Germans decide to level the ghetto. An operation they expect to take 24 hours takes over 28 days. By the time the ghetto falls, only a handful out of more than a million Jews that entered its walls will escape through the sewers beneath the city to join the Resistance.
135min., color, 1982. S, A.A WALL IN JERUSALEM (Un mur a Jerusalem) (JV-148)
This documentary traces the growth of Israel into the Jewish homeland using rare archival film footage and photographs of the historic events for Jews in the Diaspora, Palestine, and Israel during the 20th century.
91min., black & white, 1970. E, S, A.WALLENBERG: Between the Lines (JV-279)
Through diplomatic maneuvers and ingenious protests, Raoul Wallenberg stood fast against the savage Third Reich's bloodthirsty campaign to exterminate the entire Jewish population of Budapest. His heroic efforts and wrongful imprisonment by the Russians is vividly retold through interviews with colleagues, Holocaust survivors, newsreels and rare footage by Nazi camera crews and others.
85min., color and black & white, 1984. S, A.THE WANNSEE CONFERENCE (Wannseekonferenz) (JV-289)
The horror of the Holocaust began on January 20, 1942, when key members of the SS, the Nazi Party, and the government bureaucracy met secretly in Wannsee, a quiet Berlin suburb, to discuss "The Final Solution" over buffet lunch. Actual notes and letters were used to recreate the events of the meeting, showing the matter-of-fact manner in which this most hideous crime was set in motion.
85min., color, 1987. German w/English subtitles. S, A.THE WARSAW GHETTO (JV-112)
This British documentary reconstructs the 10-day resistance of a handful of Jews, cut off in a half-mile city area by Nazi forces. The video presents life within the walls of the Ghetto from on-the-spot records of German photographs. It is a very powerful film of courage with a message of hope and a warning for the future.
51min., black & white, 1969. S, A.WARSAW GHETTO FIGHTS BACK: The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, April-May, 1943 (JV-774)
A photographic chronicle of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising when Polish Jews decided to confront the Nazi war machine rather than being shipped off to the death camps.
22min., color and black & white, 199? S.A.WARSAW GHETTO UPRISING (JV-334)
This video utilizes archival film footage, authentic still photographs, along with actual ghetto survivor testimonies to help understand that brief and courageous chapter in Jewish history. Beginning with the Nazi invasion of Poland, viewers are led step-by-step through the deportations, life in the ghetto, the formation of a resistance organization and finally the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
22min., color and black & white, 1993. S, A.THE WAVE (JV-111)
This video is based on the true story of an experiment in Palo Alto, California in 1967. It was implemented by a high school teacher who performed an experiment to illustrate the attitudes which allowed the German people to embrace Nazism. The teacher, Burt Ross, thinks the best way to illustrate the attitude that allowed the Germans to deny responsibility for (and the very knowledge of) the Nazi atrocities is to create that atmosphere for his students. He begins his own Reich and drills ideas of power, discipline and superiority into his surprisingly willing students. This video poses some difficult questions for those who believe that "it can't happen here."
46min., color, 1981. S, A.THE WAY WE WERE (JV-199)
The story of the attraction of opposites, the love that binds two people together, and the differences that tear them apart. The painful conflict reaches its climax during the McCarthy era.
120min., color, 1989. A.WE MUST NEVER FORGET: The Story of the Holocaust (JV-449)
Produced by ADL, this educational video aims to dramatize for students the poisonous consequences of hatred and bigotry. It is especially designed to help young audiences understand the horror of the Holocaust and to learn its lessons for today. It is the personal story of Rosa Katz, a Holocaust survivor, who tells her haunting story with dignity and strength. Using historic documentary footage outlining the background of the rise of Nazism as well as the horrific actions of the Nazi regime and of testimony given by Holocaust survivors, the video urges the students to apply the lessons of the past to present-day outbreaks of prejudice.
35min., color, 1994. E, S, A. Study guide.WEAPONS OF THE SPIRIT (JV-113)
In the shadow of the German occupation, five thousand Jews were sheltered by five thousand residents of the French village Le Chambon-sur-Lignon, who were each guided by a sense of individual responsibility. The villagers, descendants of Protestants who were heavily persecuted in previous centuries, decided to resist the evil with "the weapons of the spirit." They doubled the population of the village with Jewish refugees, right under the Nazis' noses, and saved them. Pierre Sauvage, the director of this film, was born in Le Chambon to Jewish parents hiding there. He returned to the village and interviewed the villagers about their courageous deeds.
35min., color and black & white, 1989. S, A.WEST OF HESTER STREET (JV-158)
Thousands of Jewish immigrants landed at Galveston, Texas between 1907 and 1914 looking for the Promised Land. This is the story of a young Jewish peddler who journeyed from Russia to Texas.
58min., color, 1983. S, A.THE WETLANDS (JV-368)
Explore the richest and least understood of America's landscapes--its swamps and marshes. America's wetlands are disappearing at the rate of 300,000 acres each year. In this video, we are introduced to several people whose lives are devoted to saving the wetlands; these ordinary people are waging extraordinary campaigns to save these beautiful, productive wet places.
54min., color, 1988. S, AWHAT PAUL TOLD SALLY: "CHECKMATE" (JV-136)
A program meant to alert teenagers to the issues of inter-religious dating and marriage and draw them into a meaningful discussion of the Conservative Jewish view toward interfaith dating.
19min., color. E, S, A. Discussion Manual.WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE (JV-354)
This adaptation of Rabbi Harold Kushner's book deals with the lives of six men and women, some of whom have suffered the loss of loved ones, some the loss of health. These inspirational stories will be comforting to those who have borne emotional or physical pain in their lives.
41min., color, S, A.WHEN THE CHIPS ARE DOWN: Learning Disabilities and Discipline (JV-757)
Strategies for improving children's behavior by utilizing preventive discipline techniques to create a stable, predictable environment in which children with learning disabilities can flourish.
65min., color, 1997. A.WHEN THE WALLS COME DOWN: Operation Exodus (JV-137)
Operation Exodus was part of the general Campaign of the United Jewish Federation of MetroWest New Jersey, a second-line emergency fund-raising campaign established to provide $20 million for the resettlement and absorption of Soviet Jewish immigrants to Israel, and assistance in meeting their basic needs for the first year in the communities of Ra'anana and Rishon LeZion.
11min., color, 1990. E, S, A.WHO SHALL LIVE AND WHO SHALL DIE (JV-526)
This video attempts to find answers to very troubling questions concerning the policies of the US government, and the approach of the American-Jewish leaders concerning the destruction of European Jewry. Who Shall Live and Who Shall Die takes a hard look at the U.S. failure to open its doors to Jewish refugees from Europe, and the Jewish role in what follows. The film includes interviews with those active in and out of government in the 1940s: Peter Bergson, Nahum Goldman, and John Pehele of the War Refugee Board, whose views range from scathing indictments to rationales for what most agree was "too little, too late."
90min., black & white, 1994. S, A.WHO WROTE THE BIBLE? (JV-453A, JV-453B)
The Bible is the world's most widely read book, regarded as the Word of God by the faithful and a fascinating historical document by scholars. But what are the facts behind the creation of this immortal text? Probing the mysteries behind the origins of the Bible, this two-volume set chronicles new scientific research and theological insight into the origin of the Bible. Leading Biblical experts journey back to the land and the times of the Bible's very creation to probe its innermost mysteries. Did Moses write the Torah? What secrets does the oldest existing piece of the Bible reveal? What hints of its genesis can the Dead Sea Scrolls tell us? From ancient Qumran to Jerusalem and from Galilee to Egypt, the clues this inquiry uncovers will intrigue and inspire the faithful and the scholarly alike.
150min., color, 1994. S, A.WHY WON'T MY CHILD PAY ATTENTION? (JV-761)
Child psychologist Sam Goldstein provides an easy-to-follow explanation concerning the effects disruptive behavior has upon children of different ages and what parents can do to successfully manage these problems.
76min.., color, 1989. A.WITNESS: Voices from the Holocaust (JV-730)
A companion video to the book by the same title, this is a compilation of twenty-seven first-person accounts about life under the Nazis, in the ghettos and concentration camps, and their mixed emotions that accompanied liberation and persisted in the years following the Holocaust.
86min., color, 1999. S, A.WITNESS TO THE HOLOCAUST: The Trial of Adolf Eichmann (JV-527)
Compiled from portions of the court proceedings of the Eichmann Trial, plus eyewitness testimony and documentary evidence, this compilation of the trial provides a comprehensive examination of the Nazi attempt to carry out the Final Solution.
90min., color, black & white, 1987. S, A.A WOMAN CALLED GOLDA (JV-14A, JV-14B)
A lightly fictionalized account of Golda Meir's life, shot primarily on location in Israel. The biography chronicles her childhood, her relationship with her husband, her early adoption of the Zionist dream, her emigration to Israel, and her rise to the position of Prime Minister of Israel.
192min., color, 1982. E, S, A.THE WONDER OF ISRAEL-1994 (JV-411)
The video and poster-study guide have been provided to introduce students to a country that is an intriguing mix of old and new. Prepared by Kidsnet, this overview of Israel includes information on the geography, history and the government of Israel. A colorful map and study guide accompany the video. Comments from American teens are included, as is a Teacher's Guide.
20min., color, 1994. E, S. Guide.THE WONDER OF ISRAEL-1997 (JV-624)
Updated edition offers educators and middle/high schoolers an opportunity to explore the past, present, and future of a nation that is at once steeped in history and an innovative, modern-day presence. Study guide for topics on geography, government, archaeology, sociology, economics, environment, and culture. Discussion questions and suggested activities list is available.
20min., color, 1997. E, S, A.THE WOODEN GUN (Roveh Huliot) (JV-171)
Directed by Ilan Moshenson. Set in the tense atmosphere of Tel Aviv of the 1950's, this incisive film focuses on two rival groups of pre-teens whose behavior, motivated by their interpretation of the concepts of heroism, nationalism and friendship, raise hard questions. Portrayed are first generation Sabras (native-born Israelis) who are separated by a tremendous psychological gap from those who came to Israel from Europe, many of them Holocaust survivors.
91min., color, 1979. Hebrew w/English subtitles. E, S, A.THE WORLD AT WAR: Genocide (JV-540)
Volume 20 of this epic series deals with the period after 1933 when Heinrich Himmler was Reichsfuhrer of the SS. The new eminence of the National Socialist Party allowed him to set about realizing his dream of awakening the Germanic race within the German people. His aims lay in recreating an older "Aryan" Germany.
52min., color, 1982. S, A.THE WORLD OF SHOLOM ALEICHEM (JV-741)
Three plays of Sholom Aleichem are recreated by some of television's greatest stars: Zero Mostel, Nancy Walker, Charlotte Rae, Jack Gilford, and Gertrude Berg. The plays are "A Tale of Chelm," Bontche Schweig," and "The High School."
95min., black & white, 1959. E, S, A.THE WRITING ON THE WALL (JV-587)
A CBS School break drama, inspired by an actual event, tells the story of a rabbi who teaches three teenage boys about tolerance, compassion, perseverance, forgiveness, and repentance after an "innocent antisemitic prank" outrages their community.
45min., color, 1995. S, A.YEARS OF DESTINY (JV-794)
Israel's first decade is described through details of its accomplishments in development and immigrant absorption. Produced by Keren Hayesod.
27min., black & white, 1961. S, A.YENTL (JV-3)
This story of love and sacrifice is based on the Yiddish work by I. B. Singer. Set in Eastern Europe, 1904, Yentl, a smart, spirited, independent young woman, is forced to masquerade as a boy in order to pursue her thirst for knowledge at the yeshiva and discovers yet another kind of love.
134min., color, 1983. S, A.YIDDISH SING-ALONG: Lomir Ale Zingen (JV-38)
Songs in this video include folk-songs tracing the Jewish experience from the shtetl to America, plus gems from the Yiddish theater. Mike Burstyn tells the story behind each song in English, and a company of young performers sing, dance, and dramatize the songs as the words appear in English transliteration.
36min., color. Yiddish w/English transliterated subtitles. K, P, E, S, A.YIDL MITN FIDL (JV-16)
A classic Yiddish language musical comedy with Molly Picon as a shtetl girl who, disguised as a boy, goes off with her father and a band of traveling musicians into the pre-war Polish countryside.
92min., black & white, 1936. Yiddish w/English subtitles S, A.YITZHAK RABIN (JV-416)
Yitzhak Rabin's life was the life of modern Israel itself. Born in Jerusalem in 1922, he joined the Haganah underground army as a teenager and became a commander in the War of Independence. He was the architect of Israel's lightning triumph in the Six Day War and the nation's first native-born Prime Minister. But his greatest victory came when he achieved the unthinkable: the historic peace accord between Israel and the P.L.O. In this remarkable biography, rare film footage and interviews with Rabin's longtime friends and associates provide insight into the life and legacy of this extraordinary man.
50min., color, 1995. S, A.THE YOM KIPPUR WAR (JV-335)
At 2pm on Yom Kippur, in October of 1973, while the people of Israel stood in solemn prayer, the armies of Egypt and Syria invaded Israel. Although they were caught in a surprise attack, the Israel Defense Forces fought bravely to repulse the enemy. This video documents the battle, both on the home front and on the field of battle--in Sinai, the Golan Heights, in the air and at sea. We come to understand how this war threatened Israel's very existence.
28min., color and black & white, 1975. S, A.YOU CAN'T GROW HOME AGAIN (JV-369)
Rain forests are in the news. Burning of the forest habitat results in endangered or even extinct wildlife species and adds to global warming. Go on location to Costa Rica's rain forest with 3-2-1 CONTACT's Stephanie Yu and get a kid's eye-view of this habitat, meet some animals that live there, and find out what's being done to save rain forests. In search of the science behind the headlines, Stephanie visits people and places to get the scoop on the rain forest story.
60min., color, 1990. E, S, A. Closed-captioned for the hearing impaired."ZACHOR, WE REMEMBER: HATIKVAH, THE HOPE" (JV-299)
Produced by Nicole Ostrowsky, who quotes George Santayana: "The one who does not remember history is bound to live it again." This series of stills is transferred to video with very poor quality photographically but accompanied by a very touching commentary read by Ostrowsky.
16min., color, 1992. S, A."ZEH HU ZEH: Makat Bechirot" (This Is It: The Plagues Of Politics) (JV-259)
This video brings segments of one of the most popular Israeli TV programs "Zeh Hu Zeh." It focuses on the 1992 elections to the Knesset (the Israeli Parliament) and other humorous sketches dealing with the political life in Israel.
97min., color, 1992. Hebrew only. S, A.
