Jewish Cultural Studies floors presents a screening of Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Begin. Rachel Greenberg, Penn alum and producer of the film will be speaking. Kosher dinner will be served.

7:00 pm - 7:30 pm: Remarks by Rachel Greenberg and audience questions

7:30 pm - 9:00 pm: Film Screening

A proud yet scarred leader haunted by the Holocaust and decades of war, former Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin struggled to balance history and heroism to make peace with his greatest enemy and cement a legacy long misunderstood.

He was, at the same time, a controversial leader. Whether he was challenging the British, founding the Likud political party or fighting to end bigotry against Middle Eastern and African Jews in Israeli society, his dedication to his country and his people was boundless. Still, that unwavering commitment could bear untoward consequences. In 1948, as Israel fought for its life as a nation, his role in the tragic Altalena Affair that ended in the deaths of 19 Jews and at Deir Yassin, where more than 100 Palestinians died, including women and children, haunted him until the day he died. As Prime Minister of Israel, he made an historic peace deal with Egypt, and he also gave the go-ahead to bomb Saddam Hussein’s Osirak nuclear reactor.

His life is a nuanced and complicated canvas that tells the story of key events and currents in the history of modern Israel and its relationship to its Middle East neighbors. The recent ground-breaking peace agreements between Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco make this an appropriate time to look back at Begin’s achievements and consider them in a new light.

With evocative imagery, rarely seen archival materials, and revealing interviews with those who knew him, UPHEAVAL portrays the life and essence of this brilliant, tough, complex, loving, and proud man who never compromised when the survival of Israel and the Jewish people were at stake.

His incredible life story plays out in this captivating documentary film from producer, writer and director Jonathan Gruber.