LATKE vs
HAMANTASH

the Movie

Warning. The following content is highly controversial. It may not be suitable for all ages of viewers. (Especially this of middle age.)

The Details

For almost 80 years a war has been waged–and raged– within the hearts of almost every Jewish human on earth. A debate so profound it's attracted-and distracted-the greatest minds on Earth. Nobel laureates, MacArthur Genius Grant recipients, university presidents, scholars, philosophers and poets, cantors and clarinetists. A question so essential to the joys and tribulations of the Jewish existence. A question that remains the most enduring in human history … eternal and never decided. This question is furiously examined and debated throughout the hallowed halls of the world's finest institutions of higher learning, among global leaders, and within the shadowy underground centers of power.

This documentary will explore the seriousness and utter absurdity of one of the most passionately debated topics in existence.

Latke–Hamantash!

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AMY KRAUSE

Executive Producer / Director

Amy is a producer and a storyteller at heart. In industries that haven’t traditionally encouraged women, Amy broke through early and stuck around. The reason is simple: Amy loves the creative process. Recently, Amy has turned her producing attention to the telling stories nearer and dearer to her heart through doc style films-an art form she truly loves.

A contrarian by nature, Amy stands by the Hamantash, and refuses to back her stance with any strongly held belief system, other than …"She's right … she knows it, you know it, and it's pretty obvious why!" Two things to know about Amy Krause. First, if she believes in something, she believes with her whole heart. And then there’s this other thing: She is relentless.

With over 20 years as an advertising producer, working with budgets ranging from huge to tiny, Amy has acquired a formidable set of skills and connections. Of late, she’s turned her talents to directing and producing documentaries with a focus on eliciting social change.

Her first short film, We’ve Been Sentenced, is about the impact of incarceration on families. Sensitively produced on a shoestring budget, it was a featured selection in several prestigious film festivals.

Now she’s using a lifetime of inside knowledge to produce a film celebrating Jewish culture in the face of rising antisemitism. Warm and witty like Amy herself, Latke Vs. Hamantash is a hilarious look at the Jewish tendency to obsess and banter about everything, told through the lens of a famed scholarly satirical debate about Jewish food.

A contrarian by nature, Amy stands by the Hamantash, and refuses to back her stance with any strongly held belief system, other than …"She’s right … she knows it, you know it, and it’s pretty obvious why!”

Benjamin Lorch

Advisor / Producer

Ben attended his first Latke–Hamantash Debate in 1989 as a student at the University of Chicago, the fountainhead of all this serious nonsense. He later studied Aesthetics with Philosopy Prof. Ted Cohen, long-time moderator of original University of Chicago Debate. In 2012 Lorch initiated a Latke–Hamantash Debate in Krakow, Poland held at the JCC Krakow during the Festival of Jewish Culture. The Krakow debate now enters seventh year and has engaged rabbis, Holocaust survivors, international diplomats, artists and scholars.

Lorch currently serves as the Head of GISMA Business School Berlin Campus where he is responsible for leadership, management and strategic development. He is also a teacher of intercultural communications employing techniques of improvisational theater.

A very decisive person, Ben has long proclaimed the superiority of the Latke ... or the Hamantash depending on present company, whether the moon is waxing or waning, and if the hour of the day is an odd number or even ...

Get Involved

Become one of the brave few that dare delve into the perilous world of this epic culinary battle. Wear your favorite proudly on your sleeve, perhaps literally depending on your table manners.

LET’s KIBBITZ

Sign up for all things about this beloved potato pancake and triangular Purim pastry. The war of words, the tastes of tables, the endless levels of chutzpah!

THE LAST WORD

Think this debate will ever be laid to rest? Watch below to find out.

LATKE vs HAMANTASH