The Diaries of Yossef Nachmani (2005)

Overview

A look into the complex and contradictory personality of Yossef Nachmani, the man largely responsible for the first Zionist settlements in the Galilee. As director of the Jewish National Fund office in the Galilee, Nachmani acquired as much land from Arabs as possible to establish Jewish settlements upon it. The film focuses on events in Tiberius, Nachmani's hometown, a mixed community where Arabs and Jews coexisted harmoniously. Nachmani left behind a fascinating series of diaries that shed new light upon events in the Galilee during those years. Through these diaries, the film examines the critical early years of Zionism and the beginning of the Jewish-Arab conflict from his unique perspective. This provocative historical documentary is sure to become a significant document in the ongoing debate about the basic foundation myth of Israel.