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Jewish Film Festival Spotlights Sun Valley’s ‘Hand of God’
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Friday, July 7, 2017
 

BY KAREN BOSSICK

The Middle East was still reeling from the 1973 Yom Kippur War, the 1972 Olympic Massacre at Munich and the 1976 hijacking of an Air France flight from Tel Aviv when an underdog basketball team from Israel took the court against a Moscow team known as the Red Army.

Among those on the team was a young American named Jim Boatwright who would go on to coach basketball at Wood River High School.

The film “On the Map” recounts how CSKA Moscow, which had repeatedly refused to compete against the Israelis, finally agreed to meet Maccabi Tel Aviv on a court in a little town in Sweden. And Israel won  its Miracle on Ice, with Boatwright scoring the last eight points of the game.

“Israel is on the map, not just in sport but in everything,” exclaimed Boatwright’s teammate Tal Brody.

“On the Map”—a David and Goliath story-- will kick off the fifth annual Jewish Film Festival presented by the Wood River Jewish Community at 6 p.m. Monday, July 10, at the Community School Theater. The festival, which is free, will also feature two other films—a story set in Nazi Germany and a love story set in 1930s Budapest—the following week.

“ ‘On the Map’ is a thriller following a very underdog ragtag team. It’s a thrilling story that keeps you on the edge of your seat,” said Linda Cooper, who founded the Jewish Film Festival. “And Jim’s widow Jennifer Boatwright will be here to field questions after the film.”

Boatwright graduated from Minico High School in Rupert where he led the Spartans to back-to-back state championship games in 1969 and 1970. He averaged 37 points per game during the state tournament and still holds the record for the most free throws taken and made.

He was offered 200 college scholarships but chose to go to Utah State in Logan because he wanted to stay close to home, said Jennifer Boatwright, a former Hailey Elementary teacher now living in Lexington, Ky. “I still have all those letters. They’re pretty impressive. The Israelis had a name for him, which meant ‘Hand of God.’ He didn’t miss.”

Jim Boatwright went on to become the leading scorer in his junior and senior seasons at Utah State University where he got a degree in political science. He narrowly missed a spot with the American Basketball Association and so cast his lot with a new league starting up overseas.

“Jim had just read Leon Uris’ ‘Exodus’ and, being a history teacher, he was fascinated with learning about the history and culture of Israel. He converted, got dual citizenship and became fluent in Hebrew, even teaching me to speak it years later,” said Jennifer.

Boatwright played for the Maccabi Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Super League from 1974 to 1982. He was the team’s leading scorer when the team won the Euroleague championship in 1977.

He was selected as a member of the Israeli Olympic basketball team for the 1980 Moscow Summer Olympics, only to see that opportunity fade away when 65 countries, including Israel, boycotted the games at President Jimmy Carter’s insistence because of the Soviet war in Afghanistan.

“He had always wanted to play for the NBA. But playing for the Israeli team ended up better because of what it did for the country, putting it on the map,” said Jennifer.

Returning to the States, Boatwright led the Star Valley, Wyo., team to the state championship in 1983  and was named Wyoming’s Coach of the Year. He served as assistant coach at Utah State and then decided to move back home to Idaho—specifically, the Wood River Valley where he loved spending summers as a youth at a cabin on the Board Ranch.

He became assistant boys’ basketball coach and history teacher at Wood River High School in 2003 entertaining NBA Productions during that time as they did a feature on him as a pioneer in his field. He died in 2013 of cancer.

Jim Boatwright went back to Israel in 1997 and, although he hadn’t been there in 15 years, the Israelis still recognized him when he got off the team, Jennifer said.

“Dani Menkin, the director, watched Jim play back when the country had one network and Thursday night was the night the whole country was glued to the set watching Maccabi basketball,” Jennifer said.

Jim Boatwright coached hundreds of youngsters at basketball towns in tiny little towns like Rupert and Burley after his return. Jennifer said many of his former players and colleagues plan to attend the movie.

“He left his mark and it’s nice to see his legacy going,” she said. “If you love history, you’ll love this movie. If you love Israel you’ll love this movie. If you love basketball, you’ll love this movie. It’s all about cheering for underdog.”

TWO OTHER FILMS will also be shown as part of this year’s Film Festival.

“Fanny’s Journey” will be shown at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 12.

Based on a true story, it’s a heartwarming story of a 13-year-old girl who helps Jewish children escape Nazi-occupied France, said Cooper.

Fanny and her two sisters are hidden away in a boarding school in France’s neutral zone when it becomes apparent the school is no longer a safe haven. They’re smuggled to a school in Italy. But when Mussolini’s regime falls they’re dispatched on a train to Switzerland.

Fanny is forced to take a leadership position for the eight who are traveling with her as they travel through busy train stations full of German soldiers and are eventually betrayed by a fellow traveler.

The final film in this year’s series is “Gloomy Sunday,” which will appear at 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 19.

The film is a haunting story of an intriguing love affair set at the outbreak of World War II in 1930s Budapest. It follows three men—an intellectual restaurant owner, a mysterious musician and an erratic businessmen—who are all in love with a beautiful waitress.

The title is taken from a melancholic melody also known as the “Hungarian Suicide Song” that triggers off a chain of suicides.

“Gloomy Sunday is one of the most amazing films ever. I showed it in the desert and the audience went wild,” Cooper said.

Cooper pored through more than a hundred films, narrowing them down for a committee to choose from.

“People seems to love the festival,” she said. “Last year we had to repeat one film at the library so many people wanted to see it. It seems to have made a big impact on the community.”

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