What was going on in Israel during the months leading up to the Oct. 7 Hamas attack?
How popular was Netanyahu then and now?
The what and how are answered through a series of interviews, news clips and live videos in this eye-opening documentary. But it’s not perfect.
The Composition
The cinematography and editing are exquisite. The focus on internal Israeli politics is meaningful and timely. The comments off the street and revealing interviews are candid responses to the passionate angst of the political focus. While under Netanyahu, Israelis are in conflict.
The creators
Jonathan Jakubowicz, writer, director, and narrator of “Soul of a Nation,” tries very hard to show us the essence of the Israeli heart and soul. He interviews Nobel prize winners, judges, journalists, settlers, peace activists, and so on during the months leading up to October 7, 2025.
Jakubowicz, the grandson of Polish-Jewish Holocaust survivors who ended up in Venezuela, is an accomplished filmmaker whose last film, “Resistance” (2020), won the German Film Peace Prize. He has passion, and he cares.
Santiago Garcia’s editing is outstanding, and the camera direction by Carlos Arroyo is state-of-the-art. Those featured, with their impassioned comments and involvement in either supporting or protesting Netanyahu, pre-Oct. 7, are insightful.
Impassioned interviews and clips
Achinoam Nini (singer and Israeli Activist) bravely says, “I’m reminding you that the Jewish people of Israel killed the Prime Minister, Yitzhak Rabin, because he had the audacity to think we could live here in peace. The group of people who were the initiators of his murder are in power today.”
Tzipi Livni, a former foreign minister, vice prime minister, minister of justice, and leader of the opposition, exclaims at a rally of about 100,000, “These are historic moments. Here in this avenue, David Ben Gurion announced the birth of the Jewish State. Here is where it was given the name Israel. Here a commitment was made by our united leaders, a commitment to future generations. The State of Israel will ensure absolute equality of rights to all its inhabitants, irrespective of religion, race or gender and that it will guarantee freedom of religion, conscience, language, education and culture.”
These are the voices the people appear to love. But Jakubowicz, the filmmaker, gives us a lesson on how the Israeli government works and why Netanyahu, perhaps more in love with power than message, is the prime minister they get.
All of this uproar, Jakubowicz emphatically points out, was occurring before October 7th.
Where the catch is missed
“Soul of a Nation” is poised to deliver exactly what we need to know. We have seen the set-up, the live videos intermixed with news coverage. So, we expect the film to drive home a victorious moment – to catch the ball in a synthesis conclusion – to tell us what we’ve learned, what this means, or what the right course to follow is now.
Instead, we are left confused. Was all the story told? What was missing? Is this all there is?
Here’s the truth. Israel is too complicated, too complex, too filled with passion and zealotry over what each person thinks is right to ever define its soul. The presentation of the opposing Palestinian side in Israeli politics was too vague and shallow. Until a filmmaker can show us both sides with honesty, equanimity, and truth, [and I frankly ask, “Is that possible?”] we cannot know Israel’s soul and are left unsatisfied.
Credits
Writer/Director/Narrator: Jonathan Jakubowicz
Producers: Claudine Jakubowicz, Dalit Merenfeld, and Santiago Garcia.
Featured interviews: Naftali Bennett, Ehud Olmert, Dorit Beinisch, Shlomo Ben-Ami, Tzipi Livni, Michael Oren, Simcha Rothman
Cinematographer: Carlos Arroyo
Editor: Santiago Garcia
Release: Oct. 3, 2025
Opens in New York on Oct. 3 at the Quad Cinema and in Los Angeles on Oct. 10 at Laemmle’s Royaland Laemmle’s Town Center 5
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