January 17, 2026, 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
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Steve and Chuma are introduced flaunting their know-how as gourmands at a Jerusalem restaurant whose owner nervously awaits their approval. But their business isn’t strictly gastronomical: They are collectors of protection money for mobster Kaslassy. When the joint’s new chef announces he’ll no longer pay such blood money, our protagonists doff their napkins and beat him to a bloody pulp. Later, feeling peckish, they pop into another eatery, leaving a Chechen bagman outside holding the day’s accumulated loot. Fate places them in the restroom when a bomb goes off— becoming the only people in the establishment to survive a terrorist attack.
Both are duly shaken. But it’s superstitious Chuma who interprets the event and subsequent “signs” as a clear directive that they end their criminal ways and take a new, altruistic path. By chance they’ve acquired a message some stranger placed in the cracks of the Wailing Wall. Chuma determines they must do whatever it takes to make this man’s wish come true. It doesn’t turn out to be so hard— a little strong-arming of the guy’s boss magically produces the increased salary and leisure time requested. What’s more, helping others proves an exhilarating novelty.
We will watch Maktub at 7:00 p.m. in the TBE Library, followed by a discussion. RSVP to Bob Krovetz. Click here to join the film group mailing list.
