The Quest for the Missing Piece

Part of Spotlight: Diversity in Israel, LGBT Jewish Films
The Quest for the Missing Piece could also be titled “the unkindest cut of all.” It’s a funny, disconcerting romp through the debate over circumcision. Using a gentle touch in a sensitive area, filmmaker Oded Lotan takes us on a bris tour: a Jewish baby, a Moslem seven-year-old, and an adult Russian-Israeli soldier. Circumcision may be a Biblical mitzvah, but many commandments are routinely ignored by most Jews. Why not this one? Lotan introduces us to his gay, goy lover (oy); to his mother, who endorses circumcision, but not gay love (oy yoy); and to a Tel Aviv anti-circumcision group dedicated to having “intact” Jewish children (oy yoy yoy!). Does secular circumcision survive because Jews are afraid their children will no longer “look like” them or because this sign carved in flesh is really what binds the tribe?
—Alan Snitow
Presented with Mom, I Didn't Kill Your Daughter
Sponsored by Frederick Hertz & Randolph Langenbach
Co-presented by LGBT Alliance, Congregation Sha'ra Zahav, Frameline and Jewish Mosaic
About the Film
2007 | Israel | Color | Northern California Premiere | 52 min
Screenings
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