Jewish History in Film: First Israeli film to achieve international success - 'Sallah Shabati'

Jewish History in Film is a new series exploring how our culture and history is represented in films from all over the globe. Israeli cinema is such an overlooked contribution to the film world, birthing such great movie makers as Ephraim Kishon, Ari Folman, Amos Gitai, Dror Shaul, and many more. This series will focus on Israeli cinema and introduce our readers to films they may not have heard of in the past.

"Sallah Shabati," released in 1964 and directed by Ephraim Kishon, was not only the first Israeli film to have achieved international success, but also introduced the world to Chaim Topol, most notable for his portrayal of Tevye in the 1971 adaptation of "Fiddler on the Roof." It is also a razor-sharp satire, true to its time and to the incredibly painful process of immigration during the first decade of Israel's statehood. Before the establishment of Israel, there were around 600,000 Jews already living there who were met with an influx of more than one million immigrants, most of whom were Jews facing eviction from the surrounding Muslim countries after Israel was established. Ideologically, millions of homeless Jews immigrating to their original homeland was quite desirable. However, realistically, this was a task that Israel was underprepared for.

Where were these new immigrants going to live and work? The ma'abarot, or absorption camps, that were established for the immigrants became overcrowded, some were even displaced up to 20 years. As you can imagine when people are faced with continual unemployment and disappointment, crime ran rampant. The State of Israel did not seem like the Promised Land that they had hoped for.

Not only were these immigrants faced with logistical problems whenever it came to unemployment and housing, they were also faced with cultural conflicts. Most of these immigrants were Sephardim, originating in the Middle East and North Africa, whereas the rest of the population was Ashkenazim, originating in Eastern Europe. Misunderstandings arose, not only culturally but economically as well. The tension and resentment among these two groups took its toll on the early years of Israel's establishment, its effects still lingering to this day.

Another addition to the mixture were the Kibbutzim, shown in some detail in this film, which were a group of communities started in the early 1900s and founded on a combination of socialist and Zionist ideologies. Property did not belong to one individual but to the community as a whole and everyone would contribute to the common treasury. All decisions were voted on by the community at community meetings. The Kibbutzim were a vital part of the founding and establishment of Israel, many of Israel's finest thinkers and leaders had originated in these communities. The Kibbutzim still exist in some form today, only a small handful still following the traditional model.

Director Ephraim Kishon himself immigrated to Israel in 1949 as a young man with his first wife, escaping the communist regime in Hungary. Before then, he had survived several concentration camps by the skin of his teeth. At one camp, he was lined up with the other prisoners as the guards shot every tenth person, passing him over. "They made a mistake," said Kishon in his book, "The Scapegoat," "they left one satirist alive." He escaped the concentration camps and spent the remainder of the war disguised as a Slovakian laborer.

Kishon had lived in a transit camp next to Haifa called Sha'ar Ha'Aliyah before moving to Kibbutz Kfar Hahoresh, his experiences and observations during that time had, no doubt, inspired the satire of "Sallah Shabati."

The name Sallah Shabati is a play on the Hebrew phrase Sliha She'bati, which translates to "I apologize for coming." It is as if his very presence is a burden to the state of Israel. Like nearly everyone we see in the film, Sallah arrives in Israel with a sense of ownership and entitlement toward the land. Everyone in the film seems to believe that somehow everything will work out in their favor - the rich tourists in their way with their 'forests' they paid for, the politicians with their voter payoffs, and the Kibbutzim and their ideological endeavors. They have a right to be here, they have a right to everything working in their favor. Watching Sallah step on each of these groups' toes with his schemes certainly fuels the comedy of the film.

Sallah is not the typical protagonist one would root for. His excessive drinking, gambling, and distaste for any and all work certainly causes much frustration to his family and people around him. He is the type of man who is set in his ways - all the wrong ways. He refuses to acknowledge the women in the room; is all too eager to sell his daughter to those willing to pay his price; and he treats his wife as if she is an irritating fly in his eyes. Yet, somehow, we cannot help but root for him.

As we follow Sallah on his journey to find work as a cobbler, even though he has never even touched a shoe in his life, and get his family out of the one room shed they were placed in, we find him slowly unearthing the cracks in the canvas of this new land. Kishon spares no punches when it comes to the kibbutzniks. Sallah's confusion over one driver's explanation of the kibbutznik's ideals makes for a classic moment in the film. The very idea of shared possessions and labor is simply unheard of for our protagonist, one scene's example:

"Driver: Big guy – a kibbutznik!

Sallah: But his trac ... his vehicle is bigger.

Driver: It's not his, it belongs to the kibbutz.

Sallah: And who does the kibbutz belong to?

Driver: To the kibbutznikim, who else?

Sallah: So why isn't that his?

Driver: It's not his! ... Well, it's his, but it's not his.

Sallah: Mister, do you even hear what you're saying?

Driver: Sure! Look at 'em ... living together, eating together, working together ... all the property belongs to everyone.

Sallah: Really? To everyone? And our house is there too?

Driver: No, no. It's a little further up.

Sallah: Baruch Hashem."

"Sallah Shabati" is not only an entertaining comedy but also a window into the beginnings of the Jewish state. Though often flawed and filled with conflict, the different ideologies and perspectives represented here were vital in the shaping of Israel as we know it today. As we continue through our own divisive times in the world, perhaps we can learn the importance of putting stubbornness aside for the sake of the bigger picture, as Sallah must learn when letting his daughter go off to marry a young kibbutznik.

"Salah Shabati" is available to stream on israelfilmcenterstream.org

Zachary Aborizk is an independent filmmaker and writer based out of Orlando, Fla. His work has appeared in such publications as Adelaide Magazine in New York as well as the Tampa Bay Underground Film Festival.