WATCH: An exclusive trailer for ‘Upheaval,’ the story of Menachem Begin

The poster for “Upheaval: The Journey of Menachem Begin.” Courtesy of Abramorama

By PJ Grisar April 15, 2021

Menachem Begin’s legacy beggars belief.

The former Prime Minister of Israel survived the Shoah and Soviet Gulags. He headed the Irgun, leading the British to label him a terrorist. His critics, including Jimmy Carter, believed him to be a war monger. And yet he won the Nobel Peace Prize, with Carter, for the Camp David Accords. A man of profound contradictions, Begin is the subject of “Upheaval,” the first English-language documentary about Begin, out June 7.

In the film, writer-director Jonathan Gruber, who previously chronicled the life of Yoni Netanyahu (“Follow Me”) mines rarely-seen archival footage and interviews historians and politicians to excavate the true motives behind one of Israel’s most polarizing figures.

With the rise of Israeli nationalism and the historic Abraham Accords, Begin’s ideas survive him both in war and peace — but there will never be another leader like him.

Watch an exclusive trailer for the film below.

Upheaval (2021) Trailer from Abramorama on Vimeo.

PJ Grisar is a Forward culture reporter. He can be reached at [email protected] and @pjgrisar on Twitter.

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