On February 3, Esra Cinema Club devotees got a glimpse of another world when they watched this film by the well-known Israeli director, Aharon Goldfinger.

This was a crack in the wall in Mea Shaarim from which we viewed “how the other side live”. The documentary was two years in the making and was quite a feat for Aharon Goldfinger as the Natorei Karta doesn't have any contact with outside “Zionist” people. They don’t believe Israel should exist with Zionist Jews and don’t take any money from the state (pensions, health fund, social security etc.).

The two families – Yoel’s and Israel’s – are large, with many children, and Yoel’s wife is as ardent as he is about their way of life. Yoel has made it his life’s work to collect an archive of the Pashkavils, which are notices pasted to the walls of the conclave which tell the inhabitants the latest 'dos' and 'donts'. He is also a butcher, and has cows from which he supplies milk to the people (straight from the cows). No pasteurizing for these people!

Israel runs a printing firm and prints the Pashkavils that tell them not to read newspapers, watch TV, listen to the radio etc. Israel pays his taxes to the Jerusalem municipality, lives outside the conclave and looks as though he makes a nice living. One of his many jobs is to put a loudspeaker on the roof of his car and tell the inhabitants when the latest funeral, wedding or barmitzvah is.

In every society there are fanatics and the Natorei Karta is no exception, even to the point of demonstrating about Route 6 and the many excavations in Jerusalem. The Natorei Karta believes that the “Nazi Zionists” are building upon Jewish graves.

There are 7,000 Natorei Karta in Israel, and they see themselves as ‘pure’ Jews not tainted by the outside world and Zionism. Fortunately for them, Israel is a democracy and they have the right to live as they please.

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Warren
2011-12-05
Goldfinger produced the film, the director is Lina Chaplin http://www.go2films.com/en/Anthropology/Yoel-Israel-Pashkavils

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About the author

Sara Groundland

Sara came to live in Israel with her husband from Glasgow, Scotland in 1983. Her main interests are reading, walking and writing. She reviews the films shown at the ESRA Cinema Club, as well as wri...
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