Petting Zoo
In 1974, a local TV news station crew came into the filmmaker Daniel Robin’s home during the Rosh Hashanah celebration to document it and learn about Jewish rituals. A narrative begins with the formation of American-Jewish identity. But then the director of this unexpected autobiography draws an analogy with the current rise in anti-Semitism and nationalism. He believes that in the United States the attitude towards unfamiliar cultures resembles the one people take towards animals in petting zoos, where one can safely touch and pet them.
