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Watch video 42:36

A Special Relationship

Four examples of a new generation of Israelis and Germans who have stepped out of the shadow of the past to prove it’s possible to live together in peace and friendship. 

Topic

50 Years of German-Israeli Relations

Fifty years after the then West Germany and Israel established diplomatic relations, ties between the two countries have improved significantly. And Germans and Israelis are getting closer in everyday life as well. 

  • A Special Relationship

    Sarah Stricker

    Writer Sarah Stricker has lived in Israel for five years. She finished her first novel there and has just contributed a short story to an anthology of Israeli and German authors.

  • A Special Relationship

    Sarah Stricker

    Through her stay in Israel, Sarah Stricker has learned to love country and its people. She is convinced that Germans and Israelis are growing closer despite the burden of history.

  • A Special Relationship

    Tom Franz

    In 2013, the German Tom Franz won the Israeli television cooking show “MasterChef.” Since then he’s become a celebrity in Israel.

  • A Special Relationship

    Tom Franz

    Tom Franz converted to Judaism eight years ago. He loves to pray in a small synagogue in Jerusalem that his wife’s great-grandfather founded.

  • A Special Relationship

    Tom Franz

    Filming in the kitchen with the Fadidas, a family of chefs for generations. Tom Franz did research here for a book about the food of Jerusalem.

  • A Special Relationship

    Rilli Willow

    The 34-year-old Israeli Rilli Willow wants to establish itself as a singer in Berlin, the city where her great aunt, who was murdered in Auschwitz, was once a successful singer.

  • A Special Relationship

    Rilli Willow

    Rilli Willow with husband Benedikt Bindewald and Israeli friends in a bar in Kreuzberg. Many young Israelis live in this district of Berlin and in the neighboring borough of Neukölln.

  • A Special Relationship

    Rilli Willow and Shahak Shapira

    Israelis Rilli Willow and Shahak Shapira both agree on one thing: Jewish wit and Israeli sarcasm make the history of their people easier to bear.

  • A Special Relationship

    Shahak Shapira

    Ready to report: For his research, 27-year-old Shahak Shapira takes on the role of a journalist and asks passers-by about anti-Semitism and clichés about Jews.

  • A Special Relationship

    Shahak Shapira

    Many visitors to the Holocaust Memorial take self-portraits with their cell phone cameras, so-called “selfies.” Shahak Shapira confronted them with a fictitious “selfie” ban there.

Broadcasting Hours

DW

TUE 12.05.2015 – 22:15 UTC
WED 13.05.2015 – 06:15 UTC
WED 13.05.2015 – 13:15 UTC
WED 13.05.2015 – 17:15 UTC
THU 14.05.2015 – 04:15 UTC
THU 14.05.2015 – 10:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4

DW (Europe)

WED 13.05.2015 – 04:15 UTC
WED 13.05.2015 – 17:15 UTC
THU 14.05.2015 – 06:15 UTC
THU 14.05.2015 – 13:15 UTC

London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3

DW (Arabia)

WED 13.05.2015 – 04:15 UTC

Tunis UTC +1 | Cairo UTC + 3 | Dubai UTC +4

DW (Amerika)

WED 13.05.2015 – 06:15 UTC

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3

Documentary

A Special Relationship - Germans in Israel. Israelis in Germany.

27-year-old Shahak Shapira lives in Germany - even though he has experienced anti-Semitic hostility first-hand and despite the fact that members of his family were killed in the Holocaust and his grandfather died in the Munich massacre, the terrorist attack on the 1972 Olympic Games. Israeli singer Rilli Willow has also settled in Germany. Her great-aunt died in Auschwitz but Rilli married a German and now lives in Berlin. German chef Tom Franz converted to Judaism, has an Israeli wife and lives in Tel Aviv. German writer Sarah Stricker also lives and works in Israel. They are four examples of a new generation of Israelis and Germans who have stepped out of the shadow of the past to prove it’s possible to live together in peace and friendship.

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Protagonists

Tom Franz

Tom Franz, winner of the Israeli TV show ‘MasterChef’, is well known in Israel. But his devotion to Israeli culture goes far beyond their cuisine. He lives in Tel Aviv, converted to Judaism and is married to an Israeli. 

Video Tom Franz  

Rilli Willow

Rilli’s great aunt used to be a successful singer in Berlin. During her final days, she was forced to sing for the officers in Auschwitz. Today, 70 years later, Rilli has come to Berlin to launch her own singing career. 

Video Rilli Willow  

Shahak Shapira

Cheeky, provocative, reflective: The young Israeli moved to Germany at 14, and has a special perspective on both countries. He speaks up for tolerance and is the new go-to person, when a Jewish point of view is needed. 

Video Shahak Shapira  

Sarah Stricker

When Sarah Stricker first came to Israel, it was love at first sight. Now her dream city Tel Aviv is the place she calls home. Her stories revolve around the differences and similarities between Germans and Israelis. 

Video Sarah Stricker  

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