The article explores several Israeli documentary films of the past fifteen
years which dare to touch on the under-researched subject of romantic
relationships between Israeli Jews and German non-Jews, in three different documentary sub-genres. The main premise here is that overall, the
heightened emphasis in Israel on Holocaust commemoration, the unique
insights of second and third generation survivor offspring, the rise of
globalization and the attraction felt by contemporary Israelis to Berlin
have inspired the production of films that tackle a subject once considered
taboo. Unlike current Israeli documentaries however, which treat political
and social issues like the plight of the Palestinians, immigrant workers,
asylum seekers, etc., and focus on “the other” or “the stranger”, the films
discussed here, burdened by Holocaust memory, foreground the JewishIsraeli side of the relationship, thus precluding an in-depth representation
of the German side.