Navigate to News section

Watch Israel’s Edgy New Anti-Discrimination Ad

The Ministry of Justice launches campaign to combat bigotry

by
Yair Rosenberg
January 23, 2014

Israeli society is a veritable tapestry of minority and immigrant cultures–from Ethiopian Jews to Soviet immigrants to Arab-Israelis. But there is a dark side to this diversity: as in any country struggling to assimilate so many identities, the specter of racism and bigotry is a constant challenge. In a new effort to combat such discrimination, the Israeli Ministry of Justice has launched a tolerance campaign, and as part of the initiative, they produced a remarkably blunt ad earlier this month.

In it, the stark consequences of social exclusion are pointedly depicted, while a stormy rendition of Israel’s national anthem–Hatikva (“The Hope”)–plays in the background. The video ends on some of the plaintive final words of that song–“our hope is not yet lost.” Watch it with English subtitles below (click ‘CC’ if not already enabled):

Yair Rosenberg is a senior writer at Tablet. Subscribe to his newsletter, listen to his music, and follow him on Twitter and Facebook.