Masterfully edited from hundreds of hours of raw material, filmed by Nathan Axelrod, one of the pioneers of the Israeli film industry who documented the beginning of the Jewish state in Palestine. In these treasures from ‘Carmel Films’ archive, we see some of the founding fathers of Israel and its leading cultural figures in both momentous and more mundane occasions: Meir Dizengoff, the first mayor of Tel Aviv riding his horse; the inauguration of the new port in Tel Aviv; settlers breaking ground in Hanita; the Ha’Bima Theater and Hannah Robina; Ben Gurion and Shlonsky; the illegal immigration and scenic shots of the less populated parts of the land.

In making Etz o Palestine, Axelrod and his partners, Yoel Zilberg and Uri Zohar, aided by Haim Hefer`s narration (read by Haim Topol), reflect the spirit of innocence in the days before the Six Day War. GG