The Ancestral Sin is a powerful documentary exploring the history of some of the Mizrachi communities in Israel. The implications of policies implemented in the state’s early years reverberate today.

In the early 20th century, the Jewish Agency’s social housing project was integral in settling the land of Israel. While most Jewish immigrants wanted to live in the cities, the Jewish Agency used questionable tactics to help population dispersal: convincing mostly Sephardic and Mizrahi immigrants to settle in the most destitute areas of the country, which came to be known as Israel’s ‘development towns’.

Using personal testimonials and previously sealed government transcripts, director David Deri uncovers an unsettling dark chapter in Israel’s historical narrative and reveals the racism that shaped the country. This chilling documentary reveals the cruel law enforcement and decision makers behind the “population dispersal” policies in the first two decades of independence.

The film is showing as part of Seret, the Israeli film festival, on Sunday 5 May at 8:30pm at JW3. NIF are subsidising a few tickets for members of our New Gen community (the usual ticket price is £12), and you’re also welcome to join us at JW3’s bar for a drink after the film.