Draws on newly available documents from the National Archives in Britain to chronicle the historical events and key campaigns that led to the creation of Israel.

For forty years, book by book, one librarian saved our nation. This is her story. Books were the one constant in a life full of trauma and turmoil, and Ruth Rappaport always turned to them for reassurance, renewal, and solace when she had no one and nothing else ... Above all, this book is a tribute to a teenage girl who understood the power of forbidden books: that by reading them she would find a way to liberate herself. She devoted the rest of...

"Years after photographer William Harrington participates in a 1920s project to redesign Jerusalem with British parks against a backdrop of growing nationalist unrest, his revelations about long-buried secrets transform the life of his former employer's daughter." --

This documentary examines a critical yet overlooked moment of transformation in Palestine, long before the Balfour Declaration and British Mandate period usually considered the matchstick for today's ongoing struggles. It was a time when identities were fluid and few Arabs or Jews living there could imagine the conflict that would engulf their region for the next century. 1913: Seeds of Conflict explores the crumbling of Ottoman rule and the rise...

"Raised in a wealthy family in Sepphoris with ties to the ruler of Galilee, Ana is rebellious and ambitious, a relentless seeker with a brilliant, curious mind and a daring spirit. She yearns for a pursuit worthy of her life, but finds no outlet for her considerable talents. Defying the expectations placed on women, she engages in furtive scholarly pursuits and writes secret narratives about neglected and silenced women. When she meets the eighteen-year-old...

"The story of a ragtag unit known as the Arab Section, which was conceived in Palestine during World War II by British spies and Jewish militia leaders, and which eventually became the nucleus of the Mossad, Israel's vaunted intelligence agency"-- "Four young outsiders go undercover in this gripping, untold story of global significance. Journalist and award-winning author Matti Friedman's tale of Israel's first spies reads like an espionage novel--but...