This course explores the complex role played by Israeli cinema in the construction of modern Israeli nationalism along the axes of cardinal historical and socio-political events and discourses of the Israeli society, such as the Zionist project, the military culture, the interethnic tension between Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Israeli Jews, the Holocaust and the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. The class will examine visual tropes, themes and narratives structures that informed the representation of Israeli national identity. Critically viewing classical and contemporary Israeli films, we will try to expose the ambivalence, contradictions and multiple voices of the Israeli society, offering alternative readings to the dominant national discourse.