It's tough to find, because it could be low-budget mini-series or TV movies.
I'm looking for a movie from the early 1990s. The film is set in 1937 - a group of Jews who fled Germany arrive in Palestine. They contact the Haganah, which assigns them one of its men (with short hair, dark glasses, dark skin and a black leather jacket) as a guide and liaison, equips them with cars and construction equipment and sends them to a hill overlooking an Arab village to build a fortified settlement there. The Arabs do not like this and, after unsuccessful talks, the village authorities decide to contact the Al-Fatah military group operating in the area (at that time, there is an Arab uprising against the British and Jews). The settlers' guide senses trouble and contacts the Haganah militia. The conflict begins to escalate. Militants from both sides ride on horseback.
It isn't "Cast a Giant Shadow", because it's a conflict from 1947, not 1937. It could be history of kibbutz Tirat Zvi and 1937 year. It took place a decade earlier and depicted the Arab uprising of 1936–38, which is almost unknown.
I remember that these Jews were subjects of Germany. There were also girls there, and one of the settlers was blond with thick hair (as was fashionable at the time) and wore glasses. In the conversations at the beginning of the film, they expressed doubts (especially one sensitive intellectual with black curls on his head) about leaving Europe. Haganah gave them trucks on which they loaded prefabricated houses and drove to the hill. There, they built a defensive settlement with towers and surrounded by barbed wire. After the talks on the hill ended in failure, the Arabs sent the Al Fatah Arab militia, which operated nearby, to fight the settlers and probably also the British. They were dressed in a mixture of civilian clothes and uniforms, with the ubiquitous keffiyehs on their heads. Their weapons were long rifles, and they were on horseback (to see what they looked like, look at the photos from online articles about this uprising. Immediately after the council left the village, the dark-skinned Jew sent for the Haganah unit to support the settlement. The fighters were on horseback, similarly dressed (more uniforms) and armed, but they wore fur hats on their heads - probably British.
Thank you in advance. :smile:
I asked ChatGPT. It gave me this:
I haven't been able to find a definitive title matching the plot you described—about Jewish refugees from Germany in 1937 being escorted by Haganah to build a fortified hilltop settlement and facing a horseback Arab militia escalation during the Arab Revolt.
A few observations from what's out there:
Unsettled Land (1987), directed by Uri Barbash, follows European Jews arriving post–World War I (1919) and struggling with ideological tensions as they settle in Palestine. However, it's too early (1919, not 1937) and lacks the Haganah‐escorted construction and armed horseback conflict you mentioned.
Wikipedia
Shoshana (2023) is set in the late 1930s in Tel Aviv during the British Mandate, focusing on a political thriller and a love story, with Irgun militants, British officers, and urban tensions—but not the rural hilltop settlement or the specific Arab militia conflict you're recalling.
Financial Times
Wikipedia
Early Zionist-era films (like Pioneers of Palestine or Sabra from the 1930s) offer some visuals of settlement ideals versus Arab neighbors, but these are from a completely different era and generally propaganda or pioneering cinema—not from the 1990s.
IMDb
My Jewish Learning
I suspect this might have been an Israeli TV movie or mini-series—potentially low-budget or relatively obscure—that hasn't gained widespread recognition or database listings.
To help narrow it down, could you check about:
Language / origin: Was the film in Hebrew (or dubbed/subtitled from Hebrew)? Israeli vs. international?
Format: Was it a made-for-TV movie or a multi-part mini-series?
Where they saw it: Was it on Israeli TV, a film festival, VHS, DVD, or broadcast elsewhere?
Title fragments: Any words, names, or phrases in the title or dialogue they recall?
Cast or crew: Did any actors—like the dark-skinned guide, the blond settler, or others—look familiar or
notable?
Once we have any of these clues, we can dig deeper—possibly through Hebrew-language film archives, broadcaster indexes, or specialized cinema communities.
Unfortunately, it isn't "Unsettled Land" (1987). It could be low-budget TV mini-series from 90s and it isn't easy to find. But thank you.