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West Bank shorts added to L.A. Israel Film Festival

In a small Israeli jail cell, a 17-year-old settler hears the air raid siren that signals the beginning of the Sabbath. From her pocket, she pulls out two travel-friendly candles. When the last of the matches in her small box breaks, her cellmate, a vegan left-wing activist who was on the other side of that morning’s protest, hands the young religious girl her lighter.

Israel’s bad boy of cinema gets L.A. fest

“My country, Israel, is full of contradictions and volcanic eruptions. We fluctuate between extremes. One morning you say peace is at hand and all problems will be resolved. The next day, it’s the apocalypse.” The thumbnail description comes from Amos Gitai, who, more than any other Israeli filmmaker, has explored the emotional peaks and valleys of his people in more than 40 feature films and documentaries.

Box-office politics

The Liberty Film Festival, now in its third year, aims to present and promote the work of conservative filmmakers who, according to the organizers, are ignored, persecuted and otherwise absent from \”Hollywood.\”\n\nI put Hollywood in quotes because its meaning, as the evening at the Luxe Bel Air Hotel wore on, was elusive.

Hip Cynics for Export

In Israel, no one wants to be a friar — a sucker, a patsy, a flunky, a tool.

It\’s the Israeli equivalent of the Chinese never wanting to lose face. And in Israel, this primary motivation explains much of the country\’s machismo — and perhaps even its political situation.

Vintage Israeli posters, MethodFest, ‘Bush Is Bad’

Theater with a historical lesson comes to The Other Space at Santa Monica Playhouse, with the guest production of \”Black and Bluestein.\” The dramedy written by Jerry Mayer takes place in early \’60s St. Louis, and tells the story of Jewish homeowner Jeff Bluestein and the issues he faces while deliberating whether to sell his home — in a largely white Jewish neighborhood — to a black family.

A Blizzard of Flicks for Jewish Eyes

At the Sundance wintertime festival, which began Jan. 19 and runs through Jan. 29, Jewish viewers can check out a blizzard of flicks.

Calendars Remove Anti-Israel Day

The annihilation of Israel is the raison d\’etre of the \”holiday\” that the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Khomeini created after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. It is marked with anti-Israel demonstrations in some Islamic countries, as well as in cities with large Muslim populations outside the Islamic world.

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Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.

More news and opinions than at a Shabbat dinner, right in your inbox.