Blacks and Jews (film)

Blacks and Jews
Directed byDeborah Kaufman, Alan Snitow
Written byDeborah Kaufman, Alan Snitow
Produced byDeborah Kaufman, Bari Scott, Alan Snitow
CinematographyAshley James
Edited byVeronica Selver
Music byDavid Slusser
Release date
  • 1997 (1997)
Running time
85 min.
LanguageEnglish

Blacks and Jews is a 1997 documentary film that examines the relationships and conflicts between Black and Jewish activists, from the 1991 Crown Heights Riot to Steven Spielberg's controversial visit to the predominantly Black Castlemont High School after some students laughed during a screening of Schindler's List.[1][2]

The film focused on incidents such as the 1960s blockbusting of the then-largely Jewish Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side of Chicago and a rabbi's efforts to maintain stability in the community and of a Hasidic father and son who were protected by a Black journalist during the 1991 riots in Brooklyn that took place in the wake of the death of Gavin Cato by a Hasidic driver.[3][4]

Blacks and Jews was directed by Deborah Kaufman and Alan Snitow. The 90-minute film was aired as part of PBS's Point of View series.[3]

The film was shown as part of the 1997 Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.[5]

  1. ^ PBS
  2. ^ "Laughter at Film Brings Spielberg Visit". The New York Times. 13 April 1994.
  3. ^ a b Goodman, Walter. "Of Blacks and Jews, and Calls for Talk", The New York Times, July 29, 1997. Accessed January 12, 2008.
  4. ^ Freedman, Samuel G. "Two Tales of Once-Great Expectations", The New York Times, July 20, 1997. Accessed January 12, 2008.
  5. ^ Ebert, Roger. "No longer invisible Sundance standouts reflect black indie tradition", Chicago Sun-Times, February 2, 1997. Accessed January 12, 2008.