Good Evening, Israel

The Fellowship  |  February 25, 2019

The 2019 Academy Awards were, as usual, an evening filled with self-aggrandizement and moralistic lecturing. But one touching moment stood out for those of us who stand for Israel. That was when Israeli filmmaker Guy Nattiv received the Oscar for best live action short, and mentioned not only his beloved homeland in his acceptance speech, but the influence of his grandparents who survived the Holocaust:

An Israeli director won the best live action short Oscar award Sunday night, and cited the Holocaust in his acceptance speech.

“I moved here 5 years ago from Israel — laila tov Yisrael [good evening Israel],” said Guy Nattiv, accepting the award for his short “Skin,” about  former skinhead group member Bryon Widner and his transformation.  “My grandparents are Holocaust survivors. The bigotry that they experienced in the Holocaust, we see that everywhere today, in America, in Europe. This film is about education, about teaching your kids a better way…”