The Red Book

68 Minutes, 2020
Genre:
Documentary
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Directed by: Yariv Mozer
Production:Yariv Mozer
Production Company:Mozer Films
Photographer: Shahar Reznik
Original Music: Avi Benjamin
Language: Hebrew
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Subtitles: Hebrew

Yariv Mozer’s film, which was commissioned ahead of the centennial year of Israel’s Trade Union organisation (aka ‘Histadrut’) presents a critical, albeit nostalgic look at the general workers’ union, from pre-Israel times to present day. The tale of this trailblazing, pioneering organisation is brought to life through rare archival footage, alongside interviews with historians, intellectuals, and union leaders over the years. This behemoth of an institution that has been responsible for the country’s huge growth and economic prosperity, and was behind the establishing of Israel’s Workers Bank (Bank Hapoalim), the Clalit branch of the Israeli National Health Service, and the Ohel Theatre however, is also equally credited for creating deep-seated social rifts and widening the socioeconomic regional gaps between Israel’s centre and peripheries, fanning ethnic divisions between Ashkenazi and Mizrahi Jews, fuelling gender tensions between men and women, and maintaining the friction between Israeli Labourites (then-Mapai) and those who were not members of the country’s ruling party during Israel’s first few decades. This duality in the film peaks in the scenes where interviewees are shown the actual legendary red book. And whilst some are awash with nostalgic yearnings, for others it brings back age-old difficult feelings of discrimination and exclusion. The film is studded with visuals taken from a collection of PR and propaganda films, produced by the Histadrut’s inhouse film department.

ראיון עם יריב מוזר

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