The Jews: A People's History / Nina Koshofer

Product Description
This five-part documentary explores 4,000 years of Jewish history, starting with the origins of the Jewish people in the Middle East right through to present day Judaism. The series researches the roots of the Jewish people, seeking clues about Judaism at the archaeological excavation sites, the centers of culture and in the written evidence of the Jewish Diaspora.

'The purpose of the documentary is to give the public deeper insight, beyond the Holocaust and Israeli politics, into the Jewish people', Nina Koshofer, director of the documentary, said. 'We wanted to enlighten people on the historical development of Jews and their faith. We chose people with whom the public could identify.'

Koshofer has focused most of her attention on known personalities. 'We also want to show the diversity of the Jewish people the rich and the poor, the famous and unknowns... We also wanted to try and answer the question that perhaps never really can be answered who is Jewish and what is Jewish ....' Koshofer added.

Koshofer is aiming to show that the answers to many questions are as varied as the number of Jews who live in the world today. 'One cannot portray Jews as one idea or ideal.'

PART ONE: Exodus

1. Introduction
2. The Book of Exodus
3. The Ten Commandments
4. The Promised Land
5. The Shrine in Shiloh
6. King David
7. The City of David
8. Religious Customs
9. The Gihon Tunnel
10. Exiles in Babylon
11. The Torah
12. Influence of Greek Culture
13. Judas Maccabeus and Chanukah
14. King Herod the Great

PART TWO: Diaspora

1. Introduction
2. The Crucifixion of Jesus
3. Yochanan ben Zakkai
4. Destruction of the Temple Mount
5. Early Synagogues
6. Masada
7. Rabbi Judah Hanasi and Bet Shearim
8. The Mishnah
9. The Babylonian Talmud
10. The Islamic Empire
11. Jewish Community in Baghdad
12. Maimonides and Sephardic Jews
13. Moroccan Jews
14. Maimonides in Egypt

PART THREE: Stigma

1. Introduction
2. King Charlemagne
3. The Ashkenazi Jews
4. Jewish Religion and Women
5. The First Crusade
6. The Jewish Quarter In Cologne
7. Thomas of Monmouth and St. William
8. Hatred and Suspicion
9. Identifying Symbols and Clothing
10. The Black Death
11. The Iberian Peninsula
12. Jews Convert to Christianity
13. The Spanish Inquisition

PART FOUR: The Star of David

1. Introduction
2. Dona Gracia Mendes
3. The Ghetto of Venice
4. Jews Living in Secret
5. Martin Luther
6. Gracia Mendes in Constantinople
7. The Jewish Quarter in Krakow
8. The Kazimierz Community
9. The Star of David
10. The Golem
11. The Chmielnicki Revolt
12. The Jewish Community in Amsterdam
13. The Sephardic Jews
14. Jewish Wedding Ceremony

PART FIVE: Zion

1. Introduction
2. Moses Mendelsshon
3. The Czernowitz Jews
4. Mary Antin
5. Shtetls of the Ukraine
6. Hasidism
7. Immigrants in America
8. Jewish Community of New York City
9. Theodor Herzl and the Zionists
10. German Jews
11. World War I and Anti-Semitism
12. The National Socialist Movement
13. The Yad Vashem Memorial~ The Jews: A People's History / Nina Koshofer