Looking for Mr. Israeli

As a teenager growing up in a Zionist household, I had a crush on a young, handsome Israeli featured in Life Magazine in 1973. Fifty years later, I tracked him down – and found he’d gone from being a symbol of what most Americans thought of as Israel’s best years, to symbolizing its most difficult.

Synopsis

When I was a teenager, I had a crush on Israel. In May 1973, Life Magazine published a special issue titled “The Spirit of Israel,” to mark Israel’s 25 years of independence.

The article that captured my attention the most was “A Sabra’s Life is Hard but Sweet,” featuring a young, handsome, confident soldier, named Yossi Israeli (his real name). I quickly developed a second crush.

Fifty years later, I decided to track Yossi down to find out what became of him. It took me more than a year. When I finally did, I found that Yossi had gone from being a symbol of what most Americans thought of as Israel’s best years, to symbolizing its most difficult.

For centuries, Jewish men were often portrayed as victims – weak and more interested in intellectual and religious pursuits than in sports. Life Magazine chose Yossi to show a very different Jewish man: an Israeli, strong, proud, and living a carefree life not that different from young Americans.

Five months after the article was published, the Yom Kippur War broke out. Yossi was severely wounded, and like Israel, would never be the same.

Producer/Director: Dan Wohlfeiler

Cinematographer: Philippe Bellaiche

Editor: Ciella Sfirri

Sound Recordists: Zohar Cheppa, Tully Chen

Production Assistants: Melanie Lidman, Yair Golomb

Advisors: Janis Plotkin, Michael Ehrenzweig, Vivian Kleiman

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