Defamation

In his exploration of modern Israeli life, filmmaker Yoav Shamir travels the world in search of the most recent manifestations of antisemitism, uncovering some startling answers in his documentary Defamation. As a Jew born and raised in Israel, Shamir claims he has never experienced antisemitism first-hand, prompting him to embark on a journey to find it. He follows American Jewish leaders to European capitals as they warn government officials of the rising threat of antisemitism, and accompanies Israeli high school students on a trip to Auschwitz.

What Shamir discovers often surprises him. For instance, he joins a group of Israeli students on a trip to Poland in an effort to open their eyes to the realities of the Holocaust. However, the young people have been so conditioned by their leaders to expect hostility from local citizens that they begin to perceive antisemitic attitudes where none may actually exist. Ultimately, Shamir’s nuanced and provocative documentary Defamation becomes less an examination of gentile attitudes towards Jews and more an exploration of the internal conflicts taking place within the Jewish community itself.