Israeli Films Out of Competition
Israel, 2024
Director:
Language and Subtitles:
Hebrew
Participants
Festivals & Prizes:
Meshi-Zahav - Chapter 1
Yehuda Meshi-Zahav (“Golden Silk”) was one of the most powerful and well-connected men in Israel. Having moved from the margins of Jewish Ultra-Orthodox society to the heart of the Zionist consensus and founded one of the largest charities in Israel, he was warmly accepted by journalists, politicians, and... the police. Throughout those year, however, he sexually assaulted dozens of victims – men and women of all ages and social sectors. Rumors of his acts were rife, but the rabbis kept silent, his friends looked aside, the authorities were negligent, and the victims afraid. Only the persistence of Haaretz journalists Shira Elk and Aaron Rabinowitz managed to break the silence, denied him the Israel Prize, and exposed the man who will be forever remembered as Israel’s most ruthless sex predator. After Meshi-Zahav took his own life, it turned out that their discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg