Berkeley California splintered after the October 7th terror attack in Israel. Members of the Jewish community faced antisemitic attacks in City Council and School Board meetings. Jewish public-school students encountered antisemitic taunts and anti-Zionist lectures by their teachers. This feature-length documentary, in production by Berkeley filmmaker Charles Koppelman, is a real-time account of how a community known worldwide as the most “progressive” city in the U.S. grappled with these conflicts, and how grassroots groups of Jews rose up and organized to not just present their positions in city politics and in the schools, but to be a political force on into the future.

Filming began in early 2024 and includes real-time footage of Berkeley City Council meetings, Berkeley school district meetings, hearings in Washington, D.C., JCOB (Jewish Coalition of Berkeley) organizing meetings, candidate events, volunteers campaigning, and much more.

On several occasions pro-Palestinian protestors tried to prevent Koppelman from filming public events by blocking his camera with keffiyehs and handling his film equipment.

Why should a global audience care about what happens in one Bay Area town? Being immersed in a localized conflict with characters we care about means global issues get localized and made concrete. Stakes that are universal get clarified at ground level.

Berkeley is known worldwide for its university and its progressive history which means the film will receive wide name recognition and awareness among potential audiences. An audience for this film includes Jews and non-Jews worldwide; politically engaged of all ages; community organizations; students; educators; and news consumers. The film is being co-produced by Daroma Productions, an Israeli production and distribution company that’s been in the film and TV business for over twenty years. Daroma’s involvement means the film will get seen in Israel and Europe.

What remains to be done are formal, sit-down interviews with people who appear in action sequences, such as:

• Councilmember Ben Bartlett

• Former Councilmember Susan Wengraf

• Former Mayor Jesse Arreguin

• Former School Board Member Laura Babbitt

• Ilana Pearlman, parent leader

• Itamar Landau, community leader

• Mati Teiblum, Berkeley parent

• Rabbi Yonathan Cohen

• Superintendent of Schools Enikia Ford Morthel

Once these interviews are completed — five shooting days — the film goes into final editing, which will take four months.

The budget for the interviews is $30,000. To date $12,500 has been raised from the Libitzky Foundation and an anonymous donor. The funding goal for this phase is $17,500.

BIO

Charles Koppelman, a resident of Berkeley since the late 1980s, is a member of the Jewish community and has produced and directed documentaries for many years. His documentaries and films have been seen on Netflix, PBS, Starz, Apple, and cable, and at film festivals internationally, winning awards at the San Francisco Film Festival, Festival dei Popoli, Rome International Film Festival, among others. Titles include “The Circle of Recovery” for Bill Moyers/PBS, “The Organizer” available on iTunes, and “A Walk in Mexico City with Michael Nyman,”among many others.

Please consider donating to this project so production can finish and we can begin premiering this film both locally and globally. Those who donate will continue to receive updates. Thank you and Shana Tovah!