The Optimists

Description

Synopsis

The decision to produce the film was sparked by Palestinian chemist Dr. Tariq Abu Hammad’s choice to leave his East Jerusalem village and relocate with his family to Kibbutz Ketura in

southern Arava, where he became the Academic Director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. The Arava Institute, founded 20 years ago at Kibbutz Ketura, advances cross-border environmental cooperation by bringing together Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians, and others in an academic program that teaches “nature knows no borders.” The decision to move forward with the film became final when we learned that the kibbutz was beginning a process to promote the construction of an Arab settlement nearby, which they interpret as the right expression of Israel’s Declaration of Independence.

Kibbutz Ketura was founded in 1973 by a group of pioneers from Young Judaea in the U.S. (a Zionist youth movement affiliated with Hadassah) who made Aliyah and settled in the desert. To this day, they maintain the spirit and structure of a collective community (only 20% of Israel’s kibbutzim have remained collective). In the documentary, we examine how the kibbutz funds its social initiatives and manages to preserve the essence of kibbutz life and mutual support. We focus on key figures in the kibbutz and at the Arava Institute, whose stories highlight different aspects of kibbutz life—the founders, the second generation, the businesspeople who run the kibbutz’s enterprises, new immigrants, and the religious and non-religious members of the kibbutz. We explore why Ketura has become a model, throughout the Jewish world, of religious tolerance, acceptance of others, and business entrepreneurship, and ask whether the kibbutz is trying to transform Israeli society, evaluating its chances of success.

The overarching question of the film is whether the optimism driving a few individuals and a small kibbutz can survive in Israel of 2018—not just economically, but also morally and socially. The underlying message of the movie is that the optimistic forces at work are much stronger than what is portrayed on the evening news, and they will prevail against all odds.

Director

Eliezer Yaari

Eliezer Yaari is an accomplished Israeli journalist and a lifelong Jerusalemite. He served as a fighter pilot in the Israeli Air Force before joining the Israel Broadcasting Authority, where he held various roles, including director of programming, chief news editor, and anchor. During his time at the IBA, he produced, directed, and edited numerous news segments and documentaries.