HERITAGE: CIVILIZATION AND THE JEWS, PART 1: A PEOPLE IS BORN (TV)
Summary
Part one of this nine-part series, hosted by Abba Eben, which chronicles the origins, experiences, and contributions of the Jewish people. Utilizing examples of art, architecture, and writing from the earliest period of civilization, the first part of this series concentrates on the cradle of civilization in the Middle East and the emergence and importance of Jewish culture in the subsequent centuries. Highlights include: the story of the earliest city-states in Mesopotamia during the fourth millennium B.C., such as Ur, originated by the Sumerians, the "true inventors of civilization"; footage of Sumerian hieroglyphics; the accomplishments of the Sumerians in military and artistic endeavors; the first kings and the code of Hummurabi; how the emergence of the Jewish people in approximately 1500 B.C. -- and their monotheistic beliefs -- drastically changed the view of the human condition; the interaction between Mesopotamian city-states and the cities they traded with along the Mediterranean coast, such as Canaan; the emergence of Egypt, with footage of its tombs and monolithic pyramids; the migration of Canaanites from their homeland to settlements along the Nile River in Egypt, fleeing the scourge of drought; the reasons Egyptian pharaohs impressed Canaanites and others into forced labor; the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt and how this new freedom affected beliefs of the Jews; the arrival of mercenary Aegean warriors and Philistines who attacked Canaan; how the belief in the sole Hebrew God spread through the hill country in Canaan; the way these smaller communities became unified and elected a king to ward off the attacks of the Philistines, who had invented iron weapons; the way King David further unified the scattered communties of Israel; the way David's heir Solomon consolidated and exploited Israel's newfound power; the split between Northern and Southern Israel after Solomon's death; and how Israel's independence was crushed, the temple at Jerusalem razed, and its leaders exiled to Babylonia.
Cataloging of this program was made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Details
- NETWORK: PBS WNET New York, NY
- DATE: October 1, 1984 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:57:49
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: T:38247
- GENRE: Public affairs/Documentaries
- SUBJECT HEADING: Israel, ancient; Jews
- SERIES RUN: WNET (New York, NY) - TV series, 1984
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Arnold Labaton … Executive Producer
- Marc Siegel … Executive Producer
- Eugene Marner … Producer, Director
- Milton Moses Ginsberg … Co-Producer
- Stuart Schear … Associate Producer
- Carole Schaffer … Associate Producer
- John G. Fox … Production (Misc.), Series Producer
- J. William Reardin … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Paul Glicksberg … Production (Misc.), Production Manager
- Stuart Hersh … Direction (Misc.), Additonal Sequences Directed by
- Martin Hoade … Direction (Misc.), Additonal Sequences Directed by
- Julian Krainin … Direction (Misc.), Additonal Sequences Directed by
- Peter Rosen … Direction (Misc.), Additonal Sequences Directed by
- Patricia Sides … Direction (Misc.), Additonal Sequences Directed by
- Marc Siegel … Direction (Misc.), Additonal Sequences Directed by, Story by
- John Sharnik … Writer, Telescript by
- John Duffy … Music by, Composer, Conductor, Music (Misc. Credits), Music Director
- Abba Eban … Host