Lions of Judah

Lions of Judah
Crown Heights: When Rasta meets Hasidic
A documentary by Emanuele Cicconi


Crown Heights is an area barely known even in Manhattan, maybe a few have heard about the Crown Heights riot between Afro-American and Jews in 1991.

Nowadays, the biggest Rastafarian community in New York and one of the biggest Hasidic movement, the Chabad Lubavitch, live just one street apart from each other pretending the other community does not exist. The subway station is the only place where they get in touch.The thing both leave unsaid is the mutual Judaic root. Several things they have in common, such as rules for food and festivities, have their origin in it.

Two distant cultures, different but similar, in a neighborhood that symbolize the marginalization and at the same time cultures and heritages of a lot of people.

Lions of Judah shows Crown Heights, with all its contradictions and excesses. Through the images of the neighborhood, that clearly explain the history and cultural richness in Crown Heights, and through the interviews with the main representatives of both communities, Lions of Judah means to reveal the cultural basis of Rastafarianism and Orthodox Judaism, showing us a complete and elaborate portrait of these two cultures. Among them some people of the area (Rasta and Hasidic) who frequently meet to discuss on their culture and common heritage, over passing the fear and the mistrust that usually moves people living in Crown Heights.

Category:

People & Blogs

Tags:

• rastafari
• hasidic
• hassidic
• rasta
• haile
• selassie
• chabad
• lubavitch
• brooklyn
• crown
• heights
• frogtail
• emanuele
• cicconi
• samo
• sound

[FrogtailProduction]

This documentary is still on production. We will inform you as soon as it's ready and we will tell you all the way to get it!

[xprofessorelliot]

where can I watch this online?

[keepthefaith1]

Where can I get this on dvd?

[beetz15s]

rastafari dont start from no scripture. Rastafari debout before people can spell bible. Before Ethiopia, before Selassie, before egypt, before Mesopotamia

[vtorialyn]

The guy that was talking in Crown Heights...is HOT!!

[DaWatcha777]

He was almost right. But to correct the story that son that Queen Sheba bore of King Solomon didnt get the throne because Yhwh Elohim said he couldnt because his mother wasnt a Israelite. So theres no way Haile Selassie is the messiah, but yes he may be of the royal house of Israel.

[silbersonne]

@NWLCJ325 i am sorry you are feeling this way. but why all the time use the word "hate". i as a jew have lived in CH for a few years and i certainly don't hate non-jews. and same goes true for my friends. racism is one thing; anti-semitism another. both are terrible. but both have a different history that goes far beyond this little CH bubble. it's a pity there is so much mistrust. yet the few times i had contact like to people with afro-caribbean background, were always positive.

[NWLCJ325]

i live in a chabad community in crown heights brooklyn and they hate non-jews and at the same time they want peace with the non-jews because non-jews has an habit of robbing them and at the same time if is a mentally ill nutjob who is robbing a jew then its anti-semetic. everything that dosent goes in the chabad jews favor is anti-semetic to them that group can go into any commuity and take it over like 1,2,3 and there are some jews who think that chabaders are the reason why jews are so hated