A common question from everyone I talk to these days is, "Who are Punk Jews, exactly?" The tone of the question varies from skepticism to intense interest. "When I was a kid, you didn't want to be called a punk; punks were up to no good," one person in their 70s told me. But to younger generations, the title seems to strike an intensely positive chord.
Today, the communal lifestyles of Jews are evolving and changing unlike anything in the last several centuries. Many synagogues and community centers are scrambling to figure out how to connect to a younger generation that is more transient and globally minded than ever before. But just as the established organizations grasp for an audience, the younger generations are searching for Judaism in alternative places. "Punk Jews" is a documentary film that explores the unique and awesome ways in which our religion is being expressed in the 21st century. It grew out of the reoccurring question "Where do I belong?" that director Jesse Zook Mann, producer Evan Kleinman and I each have grappled with for years. What we found were activists, musicians and artists of all kinds who are similarly seeking out something greater than themselves.
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