Superjews 2013

Directed by Nirit Peled

An Israeli woman living in Amsterdam investigates why fans of the Ajax soccer team have appropriated the nickname "Superjews" – complete with Star of David hats, Israeli flags and songs like "Hava Nagila." We meet hooligans, an Ajax archivist, former Ajax president Uri Coronel and a Holocaust survivor. Who is the "real" Jew: the non-religious Israeli woman with an aversion to her own country's flag, or the "Jews" who flock to the stadium and dedicate their lives to the team? Superjews is about identity, the use of symbols, and what it means to be or feel Jewish. Filmmaker Nirit Peled takes on the role of narrator and guide in the land of Ajax, against the backdrop of her present-day life in Amsterdam and her past in Israel, a country she is very critical of. Though she is initially turned off by the "Superjew" phenomenon, her viewpoint becomes more nuanced as she learns more about it, and she manages to gain perspective on how she personally relates to the cult of Jews.