The Promised Land

Synopsis:

Mendel, a child Holocaust survivor who is now 90, lives alone and is regularly visited by Rebekah, a carer from Jewish Welfare.

Having had to fight for his life from the age of nine – first against his Nazi overlords, then against the British in Palestine, and then the Arab armies in Israel – he has developed a very tough, uncompromising, zero-sum attitude to life in general and Israel in particular.

Realising that the existence of a Jewish state would have made all the difference to his family’s survival before the war, he tries to convince Rebekah to make Aliyah.

At first, she is resistant to the idea, but when her marriage falls apart, she decides to take the leap, along with her children.

All the arrangements are in place – the selling of the house, the quitting of her job, the paperwork – and then October 7 happens, followed by its aftermath – both in the Middle-East and Australia – and her world is suddenly turned upside down.

Character Breakdown:

2-hander: 1 female, 1 male.
MENDEL  90
REBEKAH  35

Running-time: 15 minutes.

Production History:  Live Differently Productions, July, 2025.

Excerpt available to download for free.