The Volunteers

Angelica and Margaret, daughters of former Nazi officers, arrived in Israel carrying the emotional burden of Jewish- German relations in the wake of the Holocaust, fell in love with Israeli men, accepted Israel as their home, and embraced Judaism as their religion. In the atmosphere of freedom that symbolized the 1960’s and 1970’s, when the liberalism of the European Left met and united with the utopian socialism so successfully represented by the Israeli kibbutz, young adults from Europe and the United States came in droves to the kibbutzim, and to an environment of freedom, sun, free sex, alcohol and fun. Love blossomed. People were married. The film touches on the issue of Jewish-Israeli identity through the stories of these volunteers and their children, at times torn, disoriented and even broken. Some of their sons distance themselves from Israel and their Jewish-Israeli identity. The film depicts personal clashes alongside national conflict. Feelings of alienation and belonging are intertwined.