Once Upon A Time There Were Arab Jews

This story of a Jewish community living in harmony with its neighbors on Islamic soil is told through the memories of three generations of a family now living in France. Testimonies highlighted with old photographs, postcards and archival footage invite us back to the peace of another time, in the city of Laghouat, Algeria, not so long ago. Family members fondly recall a common Islamic-Jewish culture in a place where Arab Jews and Muslims worked together, studied together and played together. Born into sacred textual traditions, both peoples looked for and found common ground in the Torah and the Koran. This directorial debut by Serge Lalou is a message from the past that needs to be heard today.