The Last Jews of Libya 

 
Cosponsored by Heidi & Jeff Budaj, Susan & Brand Marwil,
B’nai B’rith International, Great Lakes Region and Milt Zussman

A Special Director’s Selection

2007, 50 minutes, English, Hebrew, Italian, and Arabic with English subtitles, Color and Black and White, France

This amazing film document tells of the final decades of a centuries oldNorth African Sephardic Jewish community through the lives of the Roumani family, who lived in Benghazi, Libya, for hundreds of years. In fact, 36,000 Jews resided in Libya at the end of World War II. Today there are none.

The film traces the Roumanis from Turkish Ottoman rule through the Mussolini and Hitler eras to the final destruction and dispersal of Libya’s Jews in the face of Arab nationalism. This is the story of an ancient community that was transformed by modern European culture and its relations with Arabs, yet remained devoted to its religious traditions. It is also the story of a family saved through the strength of Jewish tradition.

Based on the recently discovered memoirs of the family’s matriarch, Elise Roumani, as well as interviews with several generations of the Roumani family and a trove of rare archival film and photographs, it is an unforgettable tale

Preceded by: Munich-Code Name: Bayonet