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By TOM TUGEND<\/p>\n
LOS ANGELES (JTA)\u2013 Israel\u2019s more than half-century courtship to win an Oscar for best foreign-language film has been akin to the tale of an attractive young woman, often chosen as a bridesmaid, but never as a bride.<\/p>\n
Since submitting its first entry \u2013 and winning its first nomination \u2014 for \u201cSallah\u201d\u00a0 in 1964, Israel has made the short list of top nominees 10 times, without ever catching the Oscar bouquet.<\/p>\n
This year, tribal boosters can stop biting their fingernails anticipating the outcome. Israel\u2019s entry \u201cThe Cakemaker,\u201d a challenging film on bisexual affairs between German and Israeli lovers, was eliminated in the first round.<\/p>\n
The list of nine semi-finalists among entries from 87 countries, announced by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Monday evening,\u00a0eliminated the Israeli entry.<\/p>\n
However, Israel was not the only snubbed contender. Looking at the entire history of Oscar awards, the three leading countries in the number of both nominees and ultimate winners \u2013 Italy, France and Spain \u2013 were all eliminated this time around.<\/p>\n
Yet, oddly enough, if the themes chosen by a country\u2019s filmmakers reflect in some ways the interests of their movie-going publics, the world\u2019s fascination with the Holocaust, World War II and their aftermaths has never been higher.<\/p>\n
Eight countries have this year submitted films which deal directly or indirectly with the fate of Europe\u2019s Jews during their darkest period, including Austria, France, Holland, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia and Switzerland.<\/p>\n
None of these countries\u2019 films made the short list, but of particular interest is Russia\u2019s \u201cSobibor,\u201d centering on the 1943 uprising in the notorious concentration camp, and Romania\u2019s oddly named \u201cI Do Not Care If We Go Down in History as Barbarians,\u201d which focuses on the massacre of Odessa\u2019s Jews by the Romanian army.<\/p>\n
The list of nine semi-finalists will be winnowed down to five on Jan. 22, and the winner will clutch the golden statuette at the 91st Oscar telecast on Feb. 24.<\/p>\n