The Lost Crown (2018)

• 75%
• 2018
• Documentary
• Avi Dabach

For seven centuries, the ancient Jewish community of Aleppo (Syria) has safeguarded a sacred treasure worth millions: the Aleppo Codex. Until one night, riots set the synagogue on fire, and the Crown began its dangerous journey. In 1957, while secretly on its way from Aleppo to the hands of the president of Israel in Jerusalem, a third of its pages disappeared. This is the story of the attempt to solve the mystery of the lost pages. Were they simply lost in the fire, or is there another explanation, less pleasant to the Israeli establishment? Avi, son of a Syrian family, follows the mystery and meets the 'Crown underground', a group comprised of an independent researcher, a devoted journalist, a best-selling author, and an elderly Mossad (Israeli intelligence) agent, all obsessed with the affair. They reveal a secret trial that took place in the 1960's and uncover lost protocols leading to corrupt officials, dealing with antique merchants and wealthy collectors. Archival documents and rare testimonies reveal a harsh cultural clash between the ancient and proud Aleppian Jewish community and the Israeli establishment of the newborn state, and brings up serious questions about the involvement of the 2nd president of Israel in the misappropriation of the Crown.