"Use your judgment. And don't take sides." - Ralph Benmergui's mother offers advice on the eve of his trip to Israel


It is a thoroughly modern country with roots reaching back more than three thousand years. A wealthy and powerful nation that nevertheless fears for its very existence.

In Ralph Benmergui: My Israel, a world premiere documentary series produced for VisionTV, one of Canada's most renowned broadcast journalists immerses himself in the fascinating complexities and contradictions of present-day Israel.

The five-part series, filmed on location in the Holy Land, airs on May 5, 6 and 7 as part of a week-long VisionTV programming event to honour the 60th anniversary of the State of Israel.

Ralph Benmergui describes the project as the most personal of his 30-year career in broadcasting. "This trip was something I've always dreamed of doing," he says. "I want people to see the real Israel, in all its complexity and beauty."

Born in Tangiers but raised in Toronto, Ralph Benmergui is the product of several cultures: Moroccan, Canadian and Jewish.

At Hebrew school, he was immersed in the post-Holocaust vision of a new kind of Jew: one who stood strong and free, rooted in the soil of an embattled but independent Israel. Now, after witnessing decades of political strife, he finds himself struggling to reconcile the romantic ideal of his youth with the realities of present-day Israel.

Ralph Benmergui: My Israel ponders the past, present and future of the Jewish state. The program brings Benmergui face to face with Israelis from all walks of life and reveals the Holy Land in ways that few Canadians have been privileged to experience.

The series is a heartfelt exploration of belief and values, conflict and reconciliation, poverty and class, ethnicity and identity - all seen through the eyes of a Moroccan-Canadian Jew as he strives toward an understanding of this troubled but proudly resilient nation.


For more information on VisionTV documentary programming, please visit www.myisraelshow.com

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