Temple Beth Chaim Presents: A Wing and a Prayer

MALVERN, Pa.—At 7 p.m. Saturday April 16th, Temple Beth Chaim will host a special screening of the hit PBS documentary A Wing and a Prayer.

This hour-long film tells the virtually unknown story of World War II aviators who risked their lives and freedom in 1948 to prevent what they viewed as an imminent second Holocaust.

The event will be $10 general admission and free for students. Following the screening of the film, there will be Q & A with director Boaz Dvir. Refreshments will be provided.

A Wing and a Prayer has aired on PBS stations around the United States. Recent special screenings include American Jewish Historical Society in New York City and Columbia University’s satellite campus in Paris.

Narrated by actor William Baldwin (Backdraft, Squid and the Whale), A Wing and a Prayer features firsthand accounts of daring escapes and intense action. Dvir filmed exclusive interviews worldwide, including operation leader Al Schwimmer’s only video interview. These interviews provide rich detail about a group of men who reshaped history, yet have been forgotten by history.

Schwimmer and his recruits thought they were done fighting when WWII ended in 1945. Yet they put their lives and U.S. citizenship on the line to give the Jewish State a fighting chance.

The morning after Israel declared independence on May 14, 1948, five Western-equipped armies invaded. The Jews’ return to their ancient land appeared short-lived.

Vowing to “push the Jews into the sea,” the Arab League anticipated weak opposition since Israel had a sparsely armed military, a wingless air force and no allies. Even the United States joined the worldwide embargo that threatened to strangle Israel as soon as it took its first breath. In fact, America barred its citizens from helping the Jewish State. But Schwimmer had a plan.

Schwimmer’s strategy called for eluding the FBI and outsmarting the U.S. State Department by creating fictitious airlines, buying and repairing war surplus airplanes and smuggling surplus Nazi weapons into Israel from behind the Iron Curtain.

Schwimmer and his men helped reshape history, but the history books have ignored them. A Wing and a Prayer supplies that missing chapter.

“I feel lucky and honored,” said Dvir, a film and journalism faculty member at Penn State University, “to have had the opportunity to tell their incredible stories.”

Those interested in the event can register with the following link: http://www.bethchaim.net/events/2016/4/16/a-wing-and-a-prayer-film-viewi...