The Jewish Underground

Vigilante Israeli extremists seek to derail the peace process and spark a holy war, in The Jewish Underground, a shocking look at a decades-old case of domestic terrorism with disturbing implications for modern Israeli politics. In the early 1980s, right-wing settlers committed violence against Palestinians, blowing up cars, shooting into crowds, and planting explosives. Evading capture for years, the group was eventually caught and brought to trial just as they conspired to destroy the Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, an event which could have ignited a Middle East nuclear conflagration. These events are reconstructed as a detective-thriller, with dramatizations and interviews with key figures, including underground members who speak bluntly about their motives. With extremist movements on the rise worldwide, veteran Israeli journalist Shai Gal sounds a wake-up call, revealing how these unrepentant perpetrators have gone mainstream, retaining their ideology while reshaping Israeli society from newly established positions of power. (Atlanta Jewish Film Festival)