Returning Home: A Jerusalem Story

Jerusalem was the original capital of the kingdom of Israel in the time of the first and second temple, and Jews have maintained a small but continuous presence in the Old City of Jerusalem for the past 2000 years. This film tells the little known story of the Jewish families who had lived in the Old City peacefully for generations prior to being besieged, forcibly evicted from their homes and taken prisoner of war by the Arab Legion in 1948 after the state of Israel was declared by the United Nations.

The film follows the story of these Jewish refugees until they were able to return to their homes 19 years later after Israeli forces liberated the Old City during the Six Day War in 1967. My documentary group and I were privileged to spend many hours interviewing these survivors during our visit to Israel this summer. We learned the unique story of their return and rebuilding of the Old City of Jerusalem and hope to share it with you.