An accessible, clearly argued essay on how Israel came to be.
Exile, A Myth Unearthed - Part 1
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
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The exile of the Jewish people from their homeland in the first century AD, following the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem, has been depicted in artwork and lamented in poetry and prayer for nearly 2,000 years. But what if it never happened? This provocative film looks at the exile through the lenses of archaeology, history, myth and religion, asking what it means for our understanding of history and the contemporary struggle over land in the Middle East.
The myth of exile is an essential narrative in Middle Eastern and European history, and of critical importance to both Christian and Jewish theology. The possibility that some Jews simply remained where they lived raises some uncomfortable questions. Could some Palestinians actually be their descendants?
The issues raised in this film are of more than passing historical interest-they can help us re-shape the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a new way, and illustrate that history can shape our future.
"A compelling documentary… Explores the evidence for the exile of the Jews after their defeat in Jerusalem by the Romans." —The Independent
"Clearly a hot potato!" —The Sunday Times
"Earnest and courageous; issues a challenge to viewers, encouraging them to imagine what a different past could mean for today." —Al Jadid Magazine: A Review and Record of Arab Culture and Arts
Citation
Main credits
Ziv, Ilan (Director)
Ziv, Ilan (Producer)
Breuer, Amit (Producer)
Gordey, Serge (Producer)
Gordey, Serge (Screenwriter)
Peccía, Alfonso (Screenwriter)
Berryman, Dorothée (Narrator)
Other credits
Director of photography, Philippe Bellaiche; editor, Alfonso Peccía; original music, Robert Marcel LePage.
Distributor subjects
No distributor subjects provided.Keywords
WEBVTT
00:00:07.626 --> 00:00:09.959
(soft music)
00:00:16.250 --> 00:00:18.625
(narrator): For centuries,
Jews around the world
00:00:18.626 --> 00:00:21.583
have been lamenting
the destruction of Jerusalem
00:00:21.584 --> 00:00:22.708
and their temple,
00:00:22.709 --> 00:00:25.917
which they believe
was the beginning
00:00:25.918 --> 00:00:30.918
of their long 2,000 years
of exile.
00:00:46.584 --> 00:00:48.959
(soft music)
00:00:51.250 --> 00:00:54.958
Exile is not only
a religious Jewish belief.
00:00:54.959 --> 00:00:59.875
For millions of Jews
and of non-Jews alike,
00:00:59.876 --> 00:01:01.959
it\'s a historical fact.
00:01:02.334 --> 00:01:04.875
- So that\'s one
of the most dramatic points
00:01:04.876 --> 00:01:08.458
that you can really touch
the end of Jerusalem.
00:01:08.459 --> 00:01:11.625
And not only the end
of Jerusalem,
00:01:11.626 --> 00:01:13.041
the end of the existence
00:01:13.042 --> 00:01:17.167
of ongoing life of Jews
in this country.
00:01:22.918 --> 00:01:27.833
(narrator): But what has been
considered as fact for centuries
00:01:27.834 --> 00:01:28.751
has been challenged
00:01:28.752 --> 00:01:32.959
by archaeological evidence
unearthed across Israel.
00:01:34.918 --> 00:01:37.666
Here, only 70 miles
from Jerusalem,
00:01:37.667 --> 00:01:39.958
in the ancient town
of Sepphoris,
00:01:39.959 --> 00:01:44.833
evidence does not point
to a people driven into exile,
00:01:44.834 --> 00:01:49.959
but, on the contrary,
to a population that flourished.
00:01:51.959 --> 00:01:56.291
So why has exile been perceived
as a tangible reality
00:01:56.292 --> 00:01:58.959
for thousands of years?
00:01:59.751 --> 00:02:01.374
And if it never existed,
00:02:01.375 --> 00:02:03.208
what accounts
for the millions of Jews
00:02:03.209 --> 00:02:07.959
who, over centuries,
have settled around the world?
00:02:20.626 --> 00:02:22.583
And perhaps
the inevitable question:
00:02:22.584 --> 00:02:26.750
what happened to inhabitants
of places like Sepphoris
00:02:26.751 --> 00:02:28.374
who were never exiled?
00:02:28.375 --> 00:02:31.375
(background chatter)
00:02:34.542 --> 00:02:35.791
Until 1948,
00:02:35.792 --> 00:02:38.750
a predominately Muslim
Palestinian village
00:02:38.751 --> 00:02:42.542
stood on the ruins of Sepphoris.
00:02:43.334 --> 00:02:44.958
The village was destroyed
00:02:44.959 --> 00:02:48.959
and its inhabitants
barred from returning.
00:02:51.876 --> 00:02:55.958
Is it possible that some
of the Palestinian refugees
00:02:55.959 --> 00:03:01.751
are descendants of ancient Jews
who were never exiled?
00:03:14.250 --> 00:03:16.584
(oriental music)
00:03:59.792 --> 00:04:02.834
(call for prayer)
00:04:03.334 --> 00:04:05.709
(distant sirens)
00:04:08.459 --> 00:04:10.625
(church bells tolling)
00:04:10.626 --> 00:04:12.959
(background chatter)
00:04:19.417 --> 00:04:24.249
Every day, thousands of Jewish
and Christian tourists
00:04:24.250 --> 00:04:25.791
flock to Jerusalem
00:04:25.792 --> 00:04:27.291
to experience the story of exile
00:04:27.292 --> 00:04:29.666
and confirm
the version of history
00:04:29.667 --> 00:04:31.291
they grew up on:
00:04:31.292 --> 00:04:35.708
the Jewish rebellion
against Rome in 66 AD,
00:04:35.709 --> 00:04:38.041
which led to the destruction
00:04:38.042 --> 00:04:40.917
of the temple and the city,
00:04:40.918 --> 00:04:43.918
the centre of ancient Judaism.
00:04:45.000 --> 00:04:48.416
(guide): We\'re just reaching now
one of the focal places
00:04:48.417 --> 00:04:50.958
for any Jew worldwide
00:04:50.959 --> 00:04:53.958
at the time
when the temple still existed
00:04:53.959 --> 00:04:56.374
up on top of the mountain here.
00:04:56.375 --> 00:04:57.958
The largest manmade complex
on earth,
00:04:57.959 --> 00:05:00.958
that could accommodate
a quarter of a million people.
00:05:00.959 --> 00:05:02.999
And the need
to accommodate so many
00:05:03.000 --> 00:05:06.999
is because three times a year,
Jews would gather here
00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:10.374
in the high holidays
at the most sacred place,
00:05:10.375 --> 00:05:15.918
the meeting place,
the place to say, \"I am Jew.\"
00:05:17.792 --> 00:05:19.958
(narrator): The story of exile
00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:22.374
begins here
in the visitor centre,
00:05:22.375 --> 00:05:28.083
where the Jewish temple
is virtually made whole again.
00:05:28.292 --> 00:05:32.416
The temple used to hold
Judaism\'s most sacred objects,
00:05:32.417 --> 00:05:35.958
symbols of the nation\'s
covenant with God:
00:05:35.959 --> 00:05:37.208
the Ark of the Covenant
00:05:37.209 --> 00:05:41.541
and the candleholder,
with its seven branches:
00:05:41.542 --> 00:05:43.542
the menorah.
00:05:47.959 --> 00:05:51.000
(dog barking)
(background chatter)
00:05:56.959 --> 00:05:58.958
But what tourists
are not being told
00:05:58.959 --> 00:06:02.917
is that the temple
was not only a religious centre,
00:06:02.918 --> 00:06:04.124
but an economic powerhouse
00:06:04.125 --> 00:06:07.416
with donations
from four corners of the empire
00:06:07.417 --> 00:06:11.374
and the income from hundreds
of thousands of pilgrims.
00:06:11.375 --> 00:06:14.458
(Schwartz):
The city was highly inflated.
00:06:14.459 --> 00:06:16.208
It was very overblown.
00:06:16.209 --> 00:06:17.625
It had a huge population
00:06:17.626 --> 00:06:19.458
of people who derived
their livelihood
00:06:19.459 --> 00:06:22.751
from the temple
and the pilgrimage trade.
00:06:23.918 --> 00:06:27.791
And it was also a city which
was founded on Jewish piety.
00:06:27.792 --> 00:06:29.416
Jewish piety was the currency,
00:06:29.417 --> 00:06:32.959
was the cultural capital
of the city.
00:06:36.959 --> 00:06:40.875
We have to think of something
like the Vatican City
00:06:40.876 --> 00:06:41.958
when we think about Jerusalem.
00:06:41.959 --> 00:06:45.249
Um... the Vatican City,
you know, it\'s embedded in Rome,
00:06:45.250 --> 00:06:48.249
but it feels quite different
from the city
00:06:48.250 --> 00:06:49.583
that it\'s embedded in.
00:06:49.584 --> 00:06:52.416
It has a distinctive
internal culture.
00:06:52.417 --> 00:06:58.291
And the things that are
important in the Vatican City
00:06:58.292 --> 00:07:00.917
are often not very important
00:07:00.918 --> 00:07:02.750
immediately beyond
its boundaries.
00:07:02.751 --> 00:07:05.750
And I think the same thing
could be said for Jerusalem
00:07:05.751 --> 00:07:07.918
in the first century.
00:07:09.709 --> 00:07:11.249
(narrator):
Similar to the Vatican,
00:07:11.250 --> 00:07:14.833
Jerusalem was ruled
by its religious authority,
00:07:14.834 --> 00:07:16.959
the temple priests.
00:07:18.000 --> 00:07:20.917
- Under the houses
of the Jewish quarter
00:07:20.918 --> 00:07:22.291
of Jerusalem,
00:07:22.292 --> 00:07:25.374
there are remains
of a whole neighbourhood,
00:07:25.375 --> 00:07:29.374
a quarter of the priestly class
of Jerusalem
00:07:29.375 --> 00:07:31.625
from the time of the temple.
00:07:31.626 --> 00:07:35.208
Here, those priests that served
the temple used to live.
00:07:35.209 --> 00:07:39.416
And when you look around,
you can see that those houses
00:07:39.417 --> 00:07:42.166
kept quite high standards
of living,
00:07:42.167 --> 00:07:43.958
with mosaic floors,
00:07:43.959 --> 00:07:44.959
and with murals,
00:07:44.960 --> 00:07:48.833
frescoes on the walls,
beautiful furniture.
00:07:48.834 --> 00:07:49.958
And here we have the people
00:07:49.959 --> 00:07:53.875
who were supposed
to be the spiritual leaders
00:07:53.876 --> 00:07:56.999
living in beautiful houses,
a good life,
00:07:57.000 --> 00:07:59.958
while there was
so much poverty around.
00:07:59.959 --> 00:08:02.999
We are looking at, now,
00:08:03.000 --> 00:08:05.791
the nuclear, the beginning,
00:08:05.792 --> 00:08:07.249
of the Jewish people.
00:08:07.250 --> 00:08:08.958
Think about all those people...
00:08:08.959 --> 00:08:12.750
(narrator): In a city
run by religious authorities,
00:08:12.751 --> 00:08:15.750
theological rivalries
played an enormous role
00:08:15.751 --> 00:08:17.500
in shaping the city\'s politics,
00:08:17.501 --> 00:08:22.709
and eventually leading
to the rebellion in 66 AD.
00:08:24.959 --> 00:08:28.500
(Schwartz): The sectarian groups
are defined
00:08:28.501 --> 00:08:30.374
by their differences of opinion
00:08:30.375 --> 00:08:33.666
over how to interpret
the Hebrew Bible.
00:08:33.667 --> 00:08:35.041
And, you know, why do they care?
00:08:35.042 --> 00:08:36.958
Well, because they\'re unusually
invested in it,
00:08:36.959 --> 00:08:40.708
because that is the culture
of the town they live in,
00:08:40.709 --> 00:08:41.833
of the place they live.
00:08:41.834 --> 00:08:46.542
This is not the case elsewhere
in Jewish Palestine.
00:08:52.834 --> 00:08:55.958
(narrator): Jerusalem
and the tiny region of Judea
00:08:55.959 --> 00:08:59.458
were only a small part
of a far larger territory
00:08:59.459 --> 00:09:03.958
created by series of previous
Jewish military expansions
00:09:03.959 --> 00:09:08.750
forcing the conquered population
to convert to Judaism.
00:09:08.751 --> 00:09:11.416
Jerusalem,
despite the common belief,
00:09:11.417 --> 00:09:16.292
did not represent
the entire Jewish nation.
00:09:16.501 --> 00:09:20.958
- So the Jewish world
has expanded tremendously.
00:09:20.959 --> 00:09:21.876
There were more of them.
00:09:21.877 --> 00:09:24.708
They were also in closer
connection with each other.
00:09:24.709 --> 00:09:27.917
(man): And they were divided.
- And they were divided.
00:09:27.918 --> 00:09:30.541
There were all
these profound divisions.
00:09:30.542 --> 00:09:32.999
Uh, so, you know, there\'s
this complicated business
00:09:33.000 --> 00:09:36.958
that they\'re all, in some sense,
part of one group.
00:09:36.959 --> 00:09:37.959
But by the same token,
00:09:37.960 --> 00:09:41.083
they\'re often
at each other\'s throats.
00:09:41.792 --> 00:09:45.500
(guide): It is the main road
of the city that was here,
00:09:45.501 --> 00:09:48.541
the city that was then
the pearl of the East...
00:09:48.542 --> 00:09:51.249
(narrator): The profound
divisions that gave rise
00:09:51.250 --> 00:09:54.958
to the rebellion
have been simplified over time
00:09:54.959 --> 00:09:56.124
into a single narrative,
00:09:56.125 --> 00:09:59.958
that of a Jewish nation
that refused to accept
00:09:59.959 --> 00:10:03.958
the authority
of a pagan Roman Caesar.
00:10:03.959 --> 00:10:07.374
- The religion
being very institutional,
00:10:07.375 --> 00:10:08.541
well built here,
00:10:08.542 --> 00:10:12.958
was all the combine
of being a nation of Jews.
00:10:12.959 --> 00:10:15.917
And so it was a way to say,
00:10:15.918 --> 00:10:19.082
\"We are unique,
we are independent.
00:10:19.083 --> 00:10:20.416
\"You can rule us,
00:10:20.417 --> 00:10:22.041
but still we are independent.\"
00:10:22.042 --> 00:10:28.083
And that would be hard
for an emperor to tolerate.
00:10:29.751 --> 00:10:32.167
(footsteps)
00:10:32.292 --> 00:10:36.708
(narrator): There is one man
who single-handedly succeeded
00:10:36.709 --> 00:10:39.958
in shaping the narrative
of the rebellion.
00:10:39.959 --> 00:10:41.958
His name was Josephus Flavius,
00:10:41.959 --> 00:10:45.918
a son of Jerusalem\'s
priestly elite.
00:10:49.250 --> 00:10:50.833
His book,The Jewish War,
00:10:50.834 --> 00:10:54.500
is the most important
historical record of the time
00:10:54.501 --> 00:10:57.875
that has for centuries
shaped the perception
00:10:57.876 --> 00:11:01.959
of the rebellion
as a national uprising.
00:11:05.000 --> 00:11:07.958
(man): \"The family
from which I\'m derived
00:11:07.959 --> 00:11:09.208
\"is not an ignoble one,
00:11:09.209 --> 00:11:12.166
\"but has descended all along
from the priests.
00:11:12.167 --> 00:11:15.666
\"So with us,
to be of the sacerdotal dignity
00:11:15.667 --> 00:11:20.501
is an indication
of the splendour of a family.\"
00:11:24.918 --> 00:11:27.458
- For Josephus,
the rebellion was the uprising
00:11:27.459 --> 00:11:32.666
of the ethnos of the nation
of the Jews against the Romans.
00:11:32.667 --> 00:11:34.958
Josephus reflects
this Jerusalemite perspective.
00:11:34.959 --> 00:11:37.666
He sees things from that angle.
00:11:37.667 --> 00:11:38.958
He thinks that the Jerusalemites
00:11:38.959 --> 00:11:40.750
are in control
of the entire country,
00:11:40.751 --> 00:11:44.625
you know, that the priesthood
is in control of the country
00:11:44.626 --> 00:11:46.374
and that everyone
is equally loyal
00:11:46.375 --> 00:11:48.500
to the priesthood
and the temple.
00:11:48.501 --> 00:11:50.583
And that any time a Jerusalemite
00:11:50.584 --> 00:11:52.917
shows up anywhere
in the countryside,
00:11:52.918 --> 00:11:55.999
people will automatically
fall at his feet.
00:11:56.000 --> 00:11:57.959
(beeping)
00:11:59.501 --> 00:12:02.334
(indistinct chatter)
00:12:05.959 --> 00:12:08.124
(narrator):
Josephus began his career
00:12:08.125 --> 00:12:09.625
as a military commander
00:12:09.626 --> 00:12:12.958
sent by the rebel leadership
in Jerusalem
00:12:12.959 --> 00:12:17.918
to bring the Galilee
into the fold of the rebellion.
00:13:29.876 --> 00:13:32.082
(narrator):
Josephus failed to recruit
00:13:32.083 --> 00:13:35.958
the Galilee\'s biggest cities
to the rebellion.
00:13:35.959 --> 00:13:38.416
Jerusalem\'s national aspiration
00:13:38.417 --> 00:13:42.959
suffered its first setback
in Sepphoris.
00:13:43.459 --> 00:13:45.958
(distant mooing)
00:13:45.959 --> 00:13:48.041
(man): \"But the inhabitants
of this city,
00:13:48.042 --> 00:13:52.124
\"having determined to continue
their allegiance to the Romans,
00:13:52.125 --> 00:13:53.833
\"sent to the Roman governor
00:13:53.834 --> 00:13:56.791
\"and desired him
to come to them immediately
00:13:56.792 --> 00:14:00.292
and take possession
of their city.\"
00:14:05.209 --> 00:14:09.333
(narrator): Sepphoris\'s decision
not to join the rebellion
00:14:09.334 --> 00:14:10.875
triggered the interest
00:14:10.876 --> 00:14:14.041
of Israeli archaeologist
Zeev Weiss.
00:14:14.042 --> 00:14:16.958
His findings shed new light
00:14:16.959 --> 00:14:19.791
on why Sepphoris and the Galilee
00:14:19.792 --> 00:14:22.125
chose not to rebel.
00:14:23.667 --> 00:14:26.834
(dog barking)
(background chatter)
00:14:55.417 --> 00:14:58.374
(narrator): Zeev\'s findings
cover a period
00:14:58.375 --> 00:15:01.000
of hundreds of years.
00:15:01.209 --> 00:15:06.333
They help us imagine a society
which Josephus barely mentioned
00:15:06.334 --> 00:15:08.959
and never focused on.
00:15:31.501 --> 00:15:35.625
(narrator): Jerusalem might have
mobilized for a national war,
00:15:35.626 --> 00:15:37.750
yet the majority of the Galilee
00:15:37.751 --> 00:15:41.541
didn\'t seem to have any interest
in a fight.
00:15:41.542 --> 00:15:42.958
Josephus found himself holed up
00:15:42.959 --> 00:15:45.958
with a small group of followers
in Jotapata,
00:15:45.959 --> 00:15:48.333
one of the few towns
and villages
00:15:48.334 --> 00:15:51.918
that did end up
fighting the Romans.
00:15:52.459 --> 00:15:53.958
(bell clanging)
00:15:53.959 --> 00:15:57.751
(dog barking)
(sheep lowing)
00:16:55.375 --> 00:16:59.875
(narrator): Moti Aviam found
very little in Jotapata
00:16:59.876 --> 00:17:02.958
beyond evidence
of war and killing,
00:17:02.959 --> 00:17:05.750
a grim picture
of the destruction
00:17:05.751 --> 00:17:08.125
of an entire community.
00:17:09.876 --> 00:17:12.292
(background chatter)
00:17:18.959 --> 00:17:20.833
Yet only a few miles away,
00:17:20.834 --> 00:17:23.041
Zeev Weiss\'s findings
shed new light
00:17:23.042 --> 00:17:26.875
on the cultural divide
between those who rebelled
00:17:26.876 --> 00:17:30.124
and the society
that chose not to.
00:17:30.125 --> 00:17:32.834
(background chatter)
00:17:34.959 --> 00:17:39.958
The Judaism practiced
in Jerusalem and Jotapata
00:17:39.959 --> 00:17:42.625
could not tolerate
Rome\'s foreign rule.
00:17:42.626 --> 00:17:43.958
Sepphoris, on the other hand,
00:17:43.959 --> 00:17:49.292
promoted coexistence
with Rome\'s pagan culture.
00:18:12.042 --> 00:18:14.959
(background chatter)
00:18:18.959 --> 00:18:21.208
(ox snorting)
00:18:21.209 --> 00:18:23.542
(ox lowing)
00:18:24.959 --> 00:18:26.959
(dog barking)
00:18:27.459 --> 00:18:29.958
(narrator): Zeev\'s discovery
of the existence
00:18:29.959 --> 00:18:32.791
of a pagan temple
dating to the time
00:18:32.792 --> 00:18:35.833
when Sepphoris became
a Jewish theological centre
00:18:35.834 --> 00:18:38.041
was nothing short
of sensational.
00:18:38.042 --> 00:18:40.125
(laughter)
00:18:41.918 --> 00:18:43.959
(applause)
00:18:45.959 --> 00:18:48.750
Sepphoris also had
a Roman theatre
00:18:48.751 --> 00:18:51.833
around the time
of the rebellion.
00:18:51.834 --> 00:18:53.959
(thunder rumbling)
00:18:57.042 --> 00:19:00.791
It had bathhouses
and mosaic floors
00:19:00.792 --> 00:19:02.124
depicting human figures,
00:19:02.125 --> 00:19:04.374
all forbidden and unheard-of
00:19:04.375 --> 00:19:10.501
in the religion practiced
in Jerusalem and tiny Judea.
00:19:15.334 --> 00:19:20.124
Sepphoris and Jerusalem
seemed to symbolize
00:19:20.125 --> 00:19:23.124
a deep cultural
and political divide
00:19:23.125 --> 00:19:27.501
rather than the unity
of a national uprising.
00:19:54.542 --> 00:19:57.083
(background chatter)
00:20:00.584 --> 00:20:01.999
(narrator):
The reality of Sepphoris
00:20:02.000 --> 00:20:06.208
has been unearthed
only in the past three decades.
00:20:06.209 --> 00:20:07.876
(beeping)
00:20:12.459 --> 00:20:15.833
For centuries,
perception has been shaped
00:20:15.834 --> 00:20:18.958
by Josephus\'s single,
powerful narrative
00:20:18.959 --> 00:20:21.918
of a heroic national uprising.
00:20:22.626 --> 00:20:26.042
(marching)
(indistinct shouting)
00:20:39.626 --> 00:20:43.458
Abandoned by his troops
before the war even began,
00:20:43.459 --> 00:20:47.958
Josephus was forced to watch
from behind the town\'s walls
00:20:47.959 --> 00:20:52.999
as 50,000 Roman soldiers
were setting siege to Jotapata.
00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:54.416
Vastly outnumbered,
00:20:54.417 --> 00:20:58.959
he and his band of rebels
faced certain death.
00:21:18.042 --> 00:21:19.958
(Schwartz): We know
that Josephus likes
00:21:19.959 --> 00:21:21.833
to really write up
these episodes,
00:21:21.834 --> 00:21:22.667
and this is quite interesting.
00:21:22.668 --> 00:21:26.249
It plays into the rest
of his account that this is...
00:21:26.250 --> 00:21:29.959
that, you know,
this was a heroic rebellion.
00:21:31.709 --> 00:21:34.416
When push came to shove,
the Jewish nation
00:21:34.417 --> 00:21:36.500
offered heroic resistance
to the Romans,
00:21:36.501 --> 00:21:40.250
as is shown
by the siege of Jotapata.
00:21:45.083 --> 00:21:46.959
(shouting)
00:21:55.626 --> 00:21:59.833
(narrator): Jotapata fell
on July the 13th,
00:21:59.834 --> 00:22:02.458
after 40 days of siege.
00:22:02.459 --> 00:22:05.750
The Romans went on
for three years,
00:22:05.751 --> 00:22:08.625
brutally erasing
every rebellious community
00:22:08.626 --> 00:22:09.417
around the country.
00:22:09.418 --> 00:22:12.833
Towns and villages
that did not rebel were spared.
00:22:12.834 --> 00:22:17.292
And in the Galilee,
they were the majority.
00:22:35.250 --> 00:22:37.292
(howling)
00:22:49.334 --> 00:22:50.374
In Jotapata,
00:22:50.375 --> 00:22:53.750
Josephus\'s short military career
was over.
00:22:53.751 --> 00:22:55.958
He escaped the fate
of his troops,
00:22:55.959 --> 00:23:00.166
and that of the town,
by hiding in a cave
00:23:00.167 --> 00:23:03.751
and finally surrendering
to the Romans.
00:23:05.959 --> 00:23:10.958
But Josephus did not die
with the people of Jotapata.
00:23:10.959 --> 00:23:14.082
His life was spared
by General Vespasian.
00:23:14.083 --> 00:23:17.958
Josephus became
the general\'s personal slave,
00:23:17.959 --> 00:23:20.958
taking,
as Roman custom dictates,
00:23:20.959 --> 00:23:24.249
Vespasian\'s last name, Flavius.
00:23:24.250 --> 00:23:28.208
- Vespasian now embraces
Josephus, frees him from chains,
00:23:28.209 --> 00:23:33.124
makes him part of his entourage,
eventually brings him to Rome,
00:23:33.125 --> 00:23:34.291
settles him in a house,
00:23:34.292 --> 00:23:36.291
and has Josephus write
these accounts
00:23:36.292 --> 00:23:39.959
of the Jewish rebellion
against the Romans.
00:23:44.959 --> 00:23:47.792
(background chatter)
00:23:51.667 --> 00:23:53.750
(narrator): Suddenly,
Josephus\'s version
00:23:53.751 --> 00:23:58.334
of the rebellion
gained an unexpected ally.
00:24:00.584 --> 00:24:02.999
Having come to power by force,
00:24:03.000 --> 00:24:05.958
and aspiring to establish
his own dynasty,
00:24:05.959 --> 00:24:11.292
Vespasian was a new emperor
in search of legitimacy.
00:24:14.959 --> 00:24:18.166
- The only key to legitimacy
in this sort of environment,
00:24:18.167 --> 00:24:21.541
if you don\'t have it
through descent, is, you know,
00:24:21.542 --> 00:24:24.124
it\'s called in Latin
the jus gladii:
00:24:24.125 --> 00:24:26.876
the law of the sword.
00:24:36.959 --> 00:24:38.541
(shouting)
00:24:38.542 --> 00:24:41.958
That is,
a substantial military victory
00:24:41.959 --> 00:24:45.082
can make you a legitimate ruler.
00:24:45.083 --> 00:24:46.750
What this means that is
00:24:46.751 --> 00:24:49.082
that it was
in Vespasian\'s interests
00:24:49.083 --> 00:24:50.625
to have this war portrayed
00:24:50.626 --> 00:24:53.082
exactly as Josephus
wanted to portray it:
00:24:53.083 --> 00:24:58.709
a great, all-out war
between two mighty nations.
00:25:07.959 --> 00:25:10.501
(call for prayer)
00:25:21.959 --> 00:25:23.917
(birds chirping)
00:25:23.918 --> 00:25:25.958
(dog barking)
00:25:25.959 --> 00:25:27.374
(narrator): In 69 AD,
00:25:27.375 --> 00:25:31.958
three years after
he was captured in Jotapata,
00:25:31.959 --> 00:25:33.374
Josephus returned -
00:25:33.375 --> 00:25:35.958
not as a Jewish militant
fighting Rome,
00:25:35.959 --> 00:25:39.249
but as a chronicler
embedded in the Roman army,
00:25:39.250 --> 00:25:44.125
invited to witness
the fall of his hometown.
00:25:46.918 --> 00:25:49.791
(guide): This city
was completely destroyed
00:25:49.792 --> 00:25:50.709
and disappeared.
00:25:50.710 --> 00:25:55.917
And part of this very dramatic
last moment of the city
00:25:55.918 --> 00:25:57.249
could be traced over here,
00:25:57.250 --> 00:26:02.333
when the Jerusalemites tried
to escape and save their lives
00:26:02.334 --> 00:26:05.751
when the Romans
slaughtered everybody.
00:26:10.959 --> 00:26:13.208
(screaming)
00:26:13.209 --> 00:26:15.959
(baby crying)
00:26:23.959 --> 00:26:26.082
(man): \"More terrible
than the noise
00:26:26.083 --> 00:26:28.124
\"were the sights
that met the eye.
00:26:28.125 --> 00:26:31.541
\"Nowhere could the ground
be seen between corpses
00:26:31.542 --> 00:26:35.249
\"and the soldiers
climbing over heaps of bodies
00:26:35.250 --> 00:26:37.959
as they chased the fugitives.\"
00:26:41.125 --> 00:26:43.751
(fire crackling)
00:26:52.959 --> 00:26:53.626
- Here we are,
00:26:53.627 --> 00:26:58.958
and you can see the hole here
and many other holes all along.
00:26:58.959 --> 00:27:02.833
Those holes were done
by the Romans themselves,
00:27:02.834 --> 00:27:03.958
the Roman soldiers,
00:27:03.959 --> 00:27:06.416
at the very last day
of Jerusalem,
00:27:06.417 --> 00:27:08.666
when people tried to use
00:27:08.667 --> 00:27:09.791
the underground...
00:27:09.792 --> 00:27:13.249
drainage canal here
to escape out
00:27:13.250 --> 00:27:17.124
without being seen
by the Romans.
00:27:17.125 --> 00:27:20.041
How do we know about that?
00:27:20.042 --> 00:27:22.958
Josephus Flavius
speaks about it.
00:27:22.959 --> 00:27:24.124
Everybody, one by one,
00:27:24.125 --> 00:27:27.918
was pulled out
and had been killed.
00:27:30.375 --> 00:27:33.751
(crowd cheering)
(trumpeting)
00:27:39.709 --> 00:27:42.958
(narrator): To celebrate
his victory over the Jews,
00:27:42.959 --> 00:27:44.833
Emperor Vespasian
and his son Titus
00:27:44.834 --> 00:27:47.958
held a victory parade,
exhibiting what was probably
00:27:47.959 --> 00:27:50.958
the most cherished loot
of the war:
00:27:50.959 --> 00:27:52.625
the Jewish menorah,
00:27:52.626 --> 00:27:55.958
a proud symbol
of a monotheistic religion
00:27:55.959 --> 00:27:58.542
he thought was vanquished.
00:27:59.459 --> 00:28:01.501
(crowd cheering)
00:28:10.501 --> 00:28:13.166
- The very centre
of the Roman Empire -
00:28:13.167 --> 00:28:17.208
that is, the Roman Forum,
the Capitoline Hill on one end,
00:28:17.209 --> 00:28:19.041
the Coliseum on another end -
00:28:19.042 --> 00:28:22.249
is altered in order to celebrate
00:28:22.250 --> 00:28:24.958
the Flavian victory
over the Jews.
00:28:24.959 --> 00:28:27.166
And I think
that it makes a lot of sense
00:28:27.167 --> 00:28:30.459
to see Josephus\'s Jewish War
as part of that.
00:28:37.292 --> 00:28:39.542
(soft music)
00:28:53.459 --> 00:28:55.750
(narrator):
Among the Forum\'s monuments,
00:28:55.751 --> 00:28:58.708
there is this Titus
Arch of Triumph
00:28:58.709 --> 00:29:01.959
celebrating the destruction
of Jerusalem.
00:29:03.417 --> 00:29:06.124
Its stone carvings
depict Roman soldiers
00:29:06.125 --> 00:29:11.292
carrying the temple\'s loot
and the sacred menorah.
00:29:14.959 --> 00:29:17.291
- Josephus\'s sort of desire,
retrospectively,
00:29:17.292 --> 00:29:21.500
to have the Jews unify
as a single group,
00:29:21.501 --> 00:29:24.958
as a mighty nation,
and rise up to fight the Romans,
00:29:24.959 --> 00:29:28.791
which was essentially a kind
of Jewish national aspiration
00:29:28.792 --> 00:29:29.584
which never happened,
00:29:29.585 --> 00:29:33.291
resonated perfectly
with the Flavian dynasty\'s need
00:29:33.292 --> 00:29:36.791
to have experienced
a great victory
00:29:36.792 --> 00:29:38.959
over a great nation.
00:29:45.375 --> 00:29:48.958
(call for prayer)
(indistinct chatter)
00:29:48.959 --> 00:29:50.082
(narrator): But what happened
00:29:50.083 --> 00:29:53.959
after the destruction
of Jerusalem?
00:29:56.751 --> 00:29:59.416
Nowhere in his writings
does Josephus mention
00:29:59.417 --> 00:30:02.791
the forced expulsion of the Jews
from Jerusalem
00:30:02.792 --> 00:30:06.125
or the rest
of the Roman province.
00:30:07.501 --> 00:30:08.958
So why is it that exile
00:30:08.959 --> 00:30:11.666
has been historically perceived
as a fact
00:30:11.667 --> 00:30:16.083
and the destruction of Jerusalem
as the evidence?
00:30:30.959 --> 00:30:32.959
(rumbling)
00:30:35.542 --> 00:30:37.249
(soft music)
00:30:37.250 --> 00:30:39.542
(footsteps)
00:31:14.375 --> 00:31:16.542
(soft music)
00:31:18.959 --> 00:31:21.374
- So that\'s one
of the most dramatic points,
00:31:21.375 --> 00:31:24.333
that you can really touch
the end of Jerusalem.
00:31:24.334 --> 00:31:26.958
And not only the end
of Jerusalem,
00:31:26.959 --> 00:31:28.333
the end of the existence
00:31:28.334 --> 00:31:32.958
of ongoing life of Jews
in this country.
00:31:32.959 --> 00:31:37.958
Jerusalem is by far the symbol
of this huge dramatic end
00:31:37.959 --> 00:31:42.124
that created the spreading
of people all over,
00:31:42.125 --> 00:31:43.083
the Diaspora,
00:31:43.084 --> 00:31:46.958
and the beginning
of this very long process
00:31:46.959 --> 00:31:49.334
of longing to come back.
00:31:50.751 --> 00:31:52.959
(mournful music)
00:33:02.000 --> 00:33:04.751
(distant digging)
00:33:44.250 --> 00:33:46.917
(narrator):
Despite the ample evidence
00:33:46.918 --> 00:33:47.958
gathered in the Galilee,
00:33:47.959 --> 00:33:51.958
the perception persists that
the destruction of Jerusalem
00:33:51.959 --> 00:33:55.959
put an end to Jewish life here.
00:33:56.334 --> 00:34:00.750
\"Masada,\" the last chapter
in Josephus\'s book,
00:34:00.751 --> 00:34:02.958
is the place
that best illustrates
00:34:02.959 --> 00:34:06.751
the power of legend
over reality.
00:34:07.876 --> 00:34:10.458
(background chatter)
00:34:10.459 --> 00:34:12.292
(ringing)
00:34:16.792 --> 00:34:19.333
Hundreds of thousands
of tourists
00:34:19.334 --> 00:34:21.166
visit Masada each year.
00:34:21.167 --> 00:34:22.416
This isolated rock,
00:34:22.417 --> 00:34:24.958
on which
the last battle occurred
00:34:24.959 --> 00:34:26.208
after the fall of Jerusalem,
00:34:26.209 --> 00:34:31.959
has become one of Israel\'s
most visited national parks.
00:34:33.959 --> 00:34:35.625
- This is a very critical
turning point
00:34:35.626 --> 00:34:38.999
in the history of the area.
Okay? And this, by the way,
00:34:39.000 --> 00:34:42.959
is an example of what Josephus
was talking about.
00:34:44.959 --> 00:34:46.958
(narrator):
According to Josephus,
00:34:46.959 --> 00:34:48.958
960 Jewish militants,
00:34:48.959 --> 00:34:51.041
whom he named Zealots,
00:34:51.042 --> 00:34:54.750
fled with their families
from Judea and Jerusalem
00:34:54.751 --> 00:34:59.166
to the edge of the desert
on the shores of the Dead Sea.
00:34:59.167 --> 00:35:01.917
They barricaded themselves
00:35:01.918 --> 00:35:03.625
in this fortress
00:35:03.626 --> 00:35:07.542
and withstood the Roman siege
for three years.
00:35:21.959 --> 00:35:25.333
(foreign language)
00:35:25.334 --> 00:35:27.959
(man speaking Italian)
00:35:34.584 --> 00:35:36.625
(narrator):
But it is Josephus\'s tale
00:35:36.626 --> 00:35:37.958
of what the Romans found
00:35:37.959 --> 00:35:39.374
when they entered the compound
00:35:39.375 --> 00:35:42.959
that captured
the world\'s imagination.
00:35:49.125 --> 00:35:51.542
(mournful music)
00:35:52.959 --> 00:35:55.249
(man):
\"Expecting further resistance,
00:35:55.250 --> 00:35:58.958
\"the Romans armed themselves
at dawn,
00:35:58.959 --> 00:36:00.124
\"seeing no enemy
00:36:00.125 --> 00:36:03.958
\"but dreadful solitude
at every side,
00:36:03.959 --> 00:36:07.083
fire within, and silence.\"
00:36:09.375 --> 00:36:11.959
(footsteps)
00:36:23.250 --> 00:36:26.458
(narrator): All 960 men,
women and children
00:36:26.459 --> 00:36:29.958
committed suicide,
according to Josephus,
00:36:29.959 --> 00:36:32.959
preferring death to surrender.
00:36:34.959 --> 00:36:37.083
(bird cawing)
00:36:41.959 --> 00:36:44.249
- And it\'s a lesson
for all of us
00:36:44.250 --> 00:36:45.958
to stand up to what is right,
00:36:45.959 --> 00:36:48.666
and to be at the top
of the mountain
00:36:48.667 --> 00:36:50.959
defending our convictions.
00:36:56.000 --> 00:36:59.500
- And I think this is one
of your, uh...
00:36:59.501 --> 00:37:02.917
country\'s... symbols:
00:37:02.918 --> 00:37:05.209
Never give up.
00:37:12.959 --> 00:37:14.208
(digging)
00:37:14.209 --> 00:37:16.500
(narrator): Several
archaeological expeditions
00:37:16.501 --> 00:37:18.958
found evidence of Jewish life
00:37:18.959 --> 00:37:20.958
and of the Roman siege,
00:37:20.959 --> 00:37:22.416
but nothing to support
00:37:22.417 --> 00:37:25.292
Josephus\'s dramatic tale.
00:37:26.083 --> 00:37:28.958
But that did not prevent UNESCO
00:37:28.959 --> 00:37:31.124
from designating
the isolated rock
00:37:31.125 --> 00:37:33.791
as a World Heritage Site,
declaring it:
00:37:33.792 --> 00:37:37.999
\"a symbol of the ancient
Jewish Kingdom of Israel,
00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:40.249
of its violent destruction,
00:37:40.250 --> 00:37:44.209
and of the subsequent Diaspora.\"
00:37:48.834 --> 00:37:50.918
(soft music)
00:37:50.959 --> 00:37:52.750
The Lubell family from New York,
00:37:52.751 --> 00:37:55.958
like many others
in the Jewish Diaspora,
00:37:55.959 --> 00:37:58.666
chose to hold
their daughter\'s Bat Mitzvah,
00:37:58.667 --> 00:38:00.583
her coming-of-age ceremony,
00:38:00.584 --> 00:38:03.333
not in the customary synagogue,
00:38:03.334 --> 00:38:04.958
but on Masada.
00:38:04.959 --> 00:38:06.958
They posted the event
on YouTube.
00:38:06.959 --> 00:38:10.500
For them, coming here
is a symbolic return
00:38:10.501 --> 00:38:13.083
after a long exile.
00:38:14.167 --> 00:38:16.458
- We say at the Seder
on Passover,
00:38:16.459 --> 00:38:19.458
and on Yom Kippur,
\"Next year in Jerusalem.\"
00:38:19.459 --> 00:38:22.708
We\'re always saying that,
\"Next year in Jerusalem\",
00:38:22.709 --> 00:38:24.124
for thousands of years,
00:38:24.125 --> 00:38:26.999
and now you have come
to Jerusalem.
00:38:27.000 --> 00:38:28.875
You are in Israel.
00:38:28.876 --> 00:38:30.374
(soft music)
00:38:30.375 --> 00:38:32.959
(singing in Hebrew)
00:38:40.167 --> 00:38:42.333
(narrator): In her Bat Mitzvah,
00:38:42.334 --> 00:38:43.958
13-year-old Luisa
00:38:43.959 --> 00:38:46.959
sang \"Jerusalem of Gold.\"
00:38:47.792 --> 00:38:53.124
A popular Israeli song depicting
Jerusalem as an empty city
00:38:53.125 --> 00:38:57.625
waiting for its exiled children
to return.
00:38:57.626 --> 00:38:59.751
(footsteps)
00:39:16.876 --> 00:39:18.959
(crowd cheering)
00:39:23.375 --> 00:39:26.666
So if exile
is ultimately an idea
00:39:26.667 --> 00:39:29.750
that cannot be supported
by evidence,
00:39:29.751 --> 00:39:32.166
how and when was it born?
00:39:32.167 --> 00:39:33.958
To begin uncovering its roots,
00:39:33.959 --> 00:39:37.750
we need to explore
yet one more rebellion
00:39:37.751 --> 00:39:39.708
that erupted 62 years
00:39:39.709 --> 00:39:43.334
after the destruction
of Jerusalem.
00:40:02.584 --> 00:40:06.791
To the world,
Masada is the symbolic end
00:40:06.792 --> 00:40:09.334
of Jewish life in Israel.
00:40:09.959 --> 00:40:11.374
In reality,
00:40:11.375 --> 00:40:12.625
the Jewish population
00:40:12.626 --> 00:40:14.875
not only survived
and flourished,
00:40:14.876 --> 00:40:17.875
it even produced
a second rebellion
00:40:17.876 --> 00:40:19.791
60 years later.
00:40:19.792 --> 00:40:22.583
It was this rebellion,
some claim,
00:40:22.584 --> 00:40:25.875
that is the origin of exile.
00:40:25.876 --> 00:40:28.833
- In Jerusalem,
we saw the attempt of the Jews
00:40:28.834 --> 00:40:30.958
to try and revolt
against the Romans,
00:40:30.959 --> 00:40:33.291
regaining their freedom
and so on.
00:40:33.292 --> 00:40:34.125
Not only once.
00:40:34.126 --> 00:40:36.958
The first huge revolt
was the one that ended
00:40:36.959 --> 00:40:40.166
with the destruction of the city
and the temple.
00:40:40.167 --> 00:40:41.416
And then, 60 years later,
00:40:41.417 --> 00:40:45.959
another revolt
started against the Romans.
00:40:48.167 --> 00:40:52.249
(narrator): The new rebellion
that erupted against the Romans
00:40:52.250 --> 00:40:55.958
was limited mainly
to the region of Judea.
00:40:55.959 --> 00:40:57.583
It was a guerrilla war
00:40:57.584 --> 00:40:59.958
made possible
in part by the desert
00:40:59.959 --> 00:41:02.918
and the caves that dot the area.
00:41:03.042 --> 00:41:07.082
The rebellion was led
by a mysterious messianic leader
00:41:07.083 --> 00:41:09.124
named Bar Kochva,
00:41:09.125 --> 00:41:11.918
or Bar Kusba.
00:42:01.959 --> 00:42:04.625
- Where does the population...
00:42:04.626 --> 00:42:07.958
supply come from
for the second revolt
00:42:07.959 --> 00:42:11.958
if we lost so many
of the population
00:42:11.959 --> 00:42:14.750
to the first revolt?
- Well, first of all,
00:42:14.751 --> 00:42:17.500
two generations passed -
60 years and more.
00:42:17.501 --> 00:42:18.541
- Okay.
- Uh...
00:42:18.542 --> 00:42:22.958
that gave enough time to regain
more and more people.
00:42:22.959 --> 00:42:23.751
And I would say
00:42:23.752 --> 00:42:26.625
that it was much more
of a rural population revolt
00:42:26.626 --> 00:42:31.333
than the urban one of Jerusalem
and the cities around.
00:42:31.334 --> 00:42:32.541
Demographically speaking,
00:42:32.542 --> 00:42:37.666
it\'s by far the end
of everything over here.
00:42:37.667 --> 00:42:39.374
So what we\'ll do now
00:42:39.375 --> 00:42:42.166
is leaving
the cultivated green area
00:42:42.167 --> 00:42:43.167
through the desert,
00:42:43.168 --> 00:42:46.959
reaching the area
where the people escaped to.
00:42:55.042 --> 00:42:56.917
(narrator):
Israeli archaeologists
00:42:56.918 --> 00:43:00.166
were looking
for historical roots,
00:43:00.167 --> 00:43:00.959
legitimacy,
00:43:00.960 --> 00:43:05.959
and a link to events that
happened 1,800 years earlier.
00:43:06.959 --> 00:43:10.583
They were hoping
to find archaeological evidence
00:43:10.584 --> 00:43:15.083
of the existence of Bar Kochva
to create such a link.
00:43:32.083 --> 00:43:33.625
In 1961,
00:43:33.626 --> 00:43:37.958
an archaeological expedition
led by Professor Yigael Yadin
00:43:37.959 --> 00:43:39.958
set out on these desert roads
00:43:39.959 --> 00:43:44.166
to look for the remains
of Bar Kochva\'s fighters,
00:43:44.167 --> 00:43:46.625
which he saw as the last signs
00:43:46.626 --> 00:43:50.542
of independent Jewish life
in the country.
00:44:10.042 --> 00:44:12.291
(shouting)
00:44:12.292 --> 00:44:14.501
(marching)
00:44:15.918 --> 00:44:19.374
(narrator): Yigael Yadin,
who led the excavation,
00:44:19.375 --> 00:44:22.750
was no ordinary archaeologist.
00:44:22.751 --> 00:44:24.625
He was famous in Israel
00:44:24.626 --> 00:44:28.082
for serving
as the army\'s chief of staff
00:44:28.083 --> 00:44:32.959
during country\'s crucial
War of Independence in 1948.
00:44:49.959 --> 00:44:53.249
(TV): Today\'s program
is a conversation
00:44:53.250 --> 00:44:53.959
with Yigael Yadin,
00:44:53.960 --> 00:44:56.958
Professor of Archaeology
at the Hebrew University...
00:44:56.959 --> 00:45:00.500
(narrator): Helped by the army
and the government,
00:45:00.501 --> 00:45:02.249
Yadin\'s was no ordinary
expedition,
00:45:02.250 --> 00:45:05.958
but an attempt to find
the archaeological evidence
00:45:05.959 --> 00:45:08.583
that would confirm
the legitimacy
00:45:08.584 --> 00:45:09.708
of the Israeli state.
00:45:09.709 --> 00:45:12.500
- You see, this search
for the Bar Kochva documents,
00:45:12.501 --> 00:45:14.958
which you referred to,
Mr. Agronsky, just now,
00:45:14.959 --> 00:45:17.750
was one of the most fascinating,
I would say,
00:45:17.751 --> 00:45:21.709
expeditions I had the privilege
to take part in.
00:45:30.167 --> 00:45:32.458
- Yadin, who was
a great archaeologist,
00:45:32.459 --> 00:45:36.208
was very much involved,
even emotionally,
00:45:36.209 --> 00:45:37.791
with the finds here,
00:45:37.792 --> 00:45:40.958
as was all of this generation
00:45:40.959 --> 00:45:42.791
of the big archaeologists.
00:45:42.792 --> 00:45:46.249
At the time,
that was just the continuation
00:45:46.250 --> 00:45:50.917
of establishing the state,
and the search for roots,
00:45:50.918 --> 00:45:53.208
and coming back to the country.
00:45:53.209 --> 00:45:58.333
And epos like the one
of Bar Kochva or Masada
00:45:58.334 --> 00:46:01.209
were very, very strong.
00:46:02.334 --> 00:46:04.501
(footsteps)
00:46:11.083 --> 00:46:15.958
So here we are, just above
this huge canyon of Nahal Hever
00:46:15.959 --> 00:46:18.625
running to the Dead Sea,
00:46:18.626 --> 00:46:20.958
and it has huge, sheer cliffs
00:46:20.959 --> 00:46:22.500
going all the way down.
00:46:22.501 --> 00:46:25.875
And just to have some scale,
if you look over there,
00:46:25.876 --> 00:46:27.500
you see the opening of the cave
00:46:27.501 --> 00:46:29.541
where those refugees
found a shelter,
00:46:29.542 --> 00:46:34.958
and the distance from the top
of the cliff to the cave
00:46:34.959 --> 00:46:37.125
is 350 feet.
00:46:38.542 --> 00:46:40.958
- And the caves are right
in the middle of the canyon,
00:46:40.959 --> 00:46:44.666
sometimes 300 feet from the top
and 900 feet from the bottom,
00:46:44.667 --> 00:46:45.833
in a steep slope.
00:46:45.834 --> 00:46:48.208
- The people
who found shelter there
00:46:48.209 --> 00:46:50.208
could not leave the place.
00:46:50.209 --> 00:46:51.583
The Romans made sure
00:46:51.584 --> 00:46:54.959
that nobody
would be able to escape.
00:46:57.167 --> 00:46:58.958
(soft music)
00:46:58.959 --> 00:47:00.959
(bird cawing)
00:47:02.626 --> 00:47:05.542
(indistinct shouting)
00:47:40.292 --> 00:47:42.875
- And then only
we came into the cave,
00:47:42.876 --> 00:47:44.917
nwhere we saw for the first time
00:47:44.918 --> 00:47:46.041
the first grim site
00:47:46.042 --> 00:47:48.958
of the last moment
of this desperate war -
00:47:48.959 --> 00:47:52.792
a heroic war - of Bar Kochva
against the Romans.
00:47:55.209 --> 00:47:58.833
(narrator): The findings
were indeed sensational:
00:47:58.834 --> 00:48:02.791
rich evidence
of daily life of refugees
00:48:02.792 --> 00:48:04.208
who hid in the caves;
00:48:04.209 --> 00:48:06.333
skeletons, personal documents,
00:48:06.334 --> 00:48:10.459
and even letters signed
by Bar Kusba himself.
00:48:11.918 --> 00:48:14.541
Yadin believed that he had found
00:48:14.542 --> 00:48:18.208
what he was looking for:
the archaeological evidence
00:48:18.209 --> 00:48:20.416
of the last moments
00:48:20.417 --> 00:48:22.751
of the Jewish nation.
00:48:25.209 --> 00:48:26.833
-This was really, I would say,
00:48:26.834 --> 00:48:30.416
the last phase of the struggle
against the Romans there.
00:48:30.417 --> 00:48:32.875
(man): And that was
the last time,
00:48:32.876 --> 00:48:33.958
nreally, that the Jews, since...
00:48:33.959 --> 00:48:36.124
in Jewish history,
that there was a revolt
00:48:36.125 --> 00:48:38.458
that attempted to reconstitute
a state of Israel.
00:48:38.459 --> 00:48:41.958
- Yes, this is the last revolt,
we call the Second Revolt,
00:48:41.959 --> 00:48:44.750
and actually 1,800 years
have passed since, again,
00:48:44.751 --> 00:48:48.459
a Jewish state
was established here.
00:48:59.918 --> 00:49:04.416
(narrator): Yadin articulated
the official Israeli narrative:
00:49:04.417 --> 00:49:06.333
exile indeed began
00:49:06.334 --> 00:49:10.542
with the final loss
of Jewish independence.
00:49:11.125 --> 00:49:14.083
(helicopter blades whirring)
00:49:18.542 --> 00:49:21.917
Twenty-two years
after his discoveries,
00:49:21.918 --> 00:49:24.124
Israel\'s prime minister,
Menachem Begin,
00:49:24.125 --> 00:49:29.249
flew with a group of politicians
and dignitaries to the canyon.
00:49:29.250 --> 00:49:31.208
(indistinct shout)
00:49:31.209 --> 00:49:35.958
The skeletal remains
unearthed by Yadin
00:49:35.959 --> 00:49:39.166
were given
a full military state funeral.
00:49:39.167 --> 00:49:41.959
(man speaking Hebrew)
00:49:45.083 --> 00:49:47.083
(man screaming)
00:50:19.209 --> 00:50:21.292
(man shouting order)
00:50:21.959 --> 00:50:23.959
(gunfire)
00:50:31.292 --> 00:50:34.583
(narrator): Both rebellions
were used at different times
00:50:34.584 --> 00:50:37.751
to mark the beginning of exile.
00:50:38.167 --> 00:50:39.374
Yet none of these claims
00:50:39.375 --> 00:50:43.501
are supported
by archaeological evidence.
00:50:43.792 --> 00:50:49.333
So when and how
was the idea of exile born?
00:50:49.334 --> 00:50:50.750
For answers,
00:50:50.751 --> 00:50:52.958
we need to go back to Sepphoris
00:50:52.959 --> 00:50:58.125
in the decades after the failure
of Bar Kochva\'s rebellion.
00:51:07.292 --> 00:51:09.709
(oriental music)
00:51:47.959 --> 00:51:51.959
Subtitling: CNST, Montreal
Distributor: Icarus Films
Length: 52 minutes
Date: 2013
Genre: Expository
Language: English; Hebrew; Arabic / English subtitles
Color/BW:
Closed Captioning: Available
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