Page - 108 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 05/01

ing debate – academic, religious, political, cultural, and public7 – and covering all the elements of that debate lies beyond the scope of this study. Israeli cin- ema can be considered, however, an arena for political and cultural transfor- mation, where Jewishness and Jewish identity have been reconstructed and renegotiated.8 Yaron Peleg argues, particularly in relation to Israeli films such as Ha-Mashgihim (God’s Neighbours, Meny Yaesh, IL 2012), that a “holistic Jewish identity” has been proposed as a means to resolve the conflictual identities of Israeli society. For Peleg this identity, a correction to historical Zionism, recon- ciles the opposed secular and sacred spheres9 and has been incorporated into and reflected in cinematic space. Peleg further argues that in this process “con- temporary Israeli society [is] trying to negotiate its tortured relationship with Jewishness (and not necessarily Judaism)”. While also considering the discus- sion of cinema as a medium that reflects societal tendencies towards creating a more holistic Jewish identity, this article looks principally at the ways in which films attempt to grasp the essence of the more complex reality of Israel, which consists of multiple microcosmic realities and identities. The films I discuss do not level those realities, denying one side or resorting to a simplistic reconcilia- tion. Madmony and Yacov’s Geula engages with a personal, embodied conflict (of a religious man stuck between his Orthodox community and the outside world), whereas Gitai builds a mosaic of conflictual points of view (from across the society) by exploring geographical space in order to address the diverse re- alties constituting the socio-political life of Israel. The intertwined questions of religion and identity(ies) are considered to the extent they serve the cinematic narratives. In their previous films both Gitai and Madmony were critically engaged with issues of religion and identity: Gitai through his Kadosh (Amos Gitai, IL/ FR 1999) and Madmony through his Makom be-gan eden (A Place in heaven, Joseph Madmony, IL 2013). In Madmony’s work, religion served as a point of reference for complex narratives on identities, divisions and communities. In A Place in Heaven Madmony creates an anti-narrative to explore the complex 7 Religion plays an increasingly important role, and whether viewed as a tool used by the far right or as an important part of the “reconciliation process” between the “secular and sacred spheres”, religion remains one of the pertinent issues of Israel. 8 For the historical context of Israeli cinema and representations of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship see Shohat 2010 and Shohat 2017. For further examination of the ways in which Jewishness and Jew- ish identity have been reconstructed and renegotiated through media beyond film, particularly televi- sion, see Talmon 2013. 9 As Peleg argues, “this is a historical corrective to the national engineering of Zionism earlier on […] and a fundamental paradox at the base of Zionism: the tension between religion and state. This ten- sion has been unravelling since the 1980s and Jewish religious elements, which were excluded under labor Zionism, are being gradually incorporated into the national mix”, Yaron Peleg, interview with the author, 01.08.2018. Also see Peleg 2016, and for further information Yadgar 2017. 108 | Milja Radovic www.jrfm.eu 2019, 5/1