A film by Dick Blau and Yehuda Yannay
Visual Design: Jerome Fortier
Camera: Jake Fuller
USA, 1990
31 Minutes, color/sound
According to Medieval legend, while Christ was carrying his cross to Mount Calvary, he paused to rest at the doorstep of a Jew. The man drove him away and shouted one or more of the following unkind words: "Histaleck," "Gey aveck," or "Ruch Minhon" --"Scram" in Hebrew, Yiddish and Arabic, respectively . Christ is said to have replied, probably in Aramaic: "I shall go, but ye will roam the earth until I return."
While there is some question whether the original incident actually took place, there is no doubt that The Wandering Jew has been sighted in towns and villages all over Europe. In the New World the Wandering Jew (played by Yehuda Yannay) was reported to have visited upper New York State in 1889, and in 1940, an insurance agent who claimed to be the "The Wandering Jew," was reported to have handed out visiting cards with "T.W. Jew" printed on them.
T. W. J. has not been seen for a while when, some five years ago, he began to show up periodically around town in Milwaukee. Not wanting to miss the opportunity, we decided to capture his appearance on film.
