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The Man Who Loves Hebrew

Directed by: Eli Cohen
90 Minutes, 1994

At the beginning of the 20th century, a language war raged in Palestine. The contenders were Yiddish, Russian, French, German, English – and Hebrew, a language barely spoken for two thousand years. At stake was the national language of the Jewish homeland-in-the-making. This is the dramatic life story of Eliezer Ben-Yehuda, who championed the cause of modern Hebrew. He was zealous and stubborn and had one driving passion – breathing life into the ancient biblical tongue. Denounced as a heretic, dismissed as a dreamer, this brilliant man pressed on tirely, often at the expense of family and health.

Credits

Director: Eli Cohen

Cast: Irina Seleznyova

Cast: Sinai Peter

Cast: Anat Waxman

Cast: Gal Zaid

Cast: Kevin Patterson

Writer: Eli Cohen