Building on the personal and political dimensions of abortion in Israel, ABORTION IN THE HOLY LAND traces how state ideology, religious narratives, and demographic fears have shaped reproductive policy since the country’s founding. The politicization of the womb began in the 1950s, when Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion promoted high birth rates as a national duty, urging Jewish women to bear at least four children to secure the future of the state.

The film explores how these early pronouncements echo into the present, where abortion laws are entangled with questions of Jewish identity, Zionism, and state control. While abortion remains technically legal, access and approval are filtered through committees that assess women’s personal decisions against national priorities.

By interweaving intimate testimonies, unearthed government records, and cultural analysis, the film reveals a system where motherhood is weaponized, and reproductive autonomy is compromised in the name of national survival.