To Catch the Sky: The Jewish Identity of Israelis

In the winter of 2000, Israel’s Channel 2 television presented the series To Catch the Sky.This series allows us to learn about the changes in the viewers’ — and especially the secularviewers’ — attitudes to the phenomenon of teshuvah. Studying the intentions of theprogramme’s creators, the narrative format, the mode of character design and, especially, thereception, reveals that To Catch the Sky is not only a family story, but, like many otherIsraeli dramas, also a dramatic document that faithfully represents the changes that haveintensified among secular Israeli Jews in recent years. It is possible that the sadness expressedby many secular Israeli viewers at the separation of the parents at the end of the series is,perhaps unconsciously, an expression of grief over their weakening ties with Judaism.