Herbe Mischung (2015)

Despite her Arabic name, Zahra Abdullah is Christian, and her boyfriend Benni is Jewish. They have just fallen in love and live in Munich, while Benni’s parents live in Tel Aviv. When Benni’s grandfather dies, his family asks him to come to the funeral. So Benni and Zahra travel to Israel at short notice. However, there is an incident at the airport when Zahra has trouble with customs because of her Arabic name, and then her Arabic alarm clock suddenly goes off in her hand luggage, playing “Allahu Akbar,” so people take her for an Islamic terrorist. Everyone present panics, throwing themselves to the ground or fleeing, while Benni and Zahra stand there, bewildered. Once the expected explosion fails to happen and they are able to clear up the misunderstanding, their trip finally gets underway. After several hours’ delay, Zahra and Benni arrive at his parents’ home, where they are glad to finally meet Zahra. They mistakenly assume she is Jewish, and Zahra does not dare correct them when she realizes what Benni’s family thinks of Arabs. Benni’s father in particular, a veteran of the army, rails against the “Enemy of the State No. 1” at every opportunity. Over the course of the day, the Goldfeins’ extended family arrives to attend the funeral. It becomes clear to everyone that Zahra is not Jewish, but a shiksa. While this is no problem for Benni’s parents, Aunt Edna rejects her outright. When Edna then discovers that Zahra is not German but Arab, she tries to expose her in front of the family. She does not manage it easily, however, and succeeds only after several attempts. This leads to a heated discussion about Jews, Arabs, Germans, fascists, and deceit. In the middle of the argument, Zahra angrily leaves the Goldfeins’ house, furious that Benni does not stand by her but instead caves in to his family. She wants to return to Germany as soon as possible, but customs detains her at the airport. Since the family continues talking against Zahra even after she has left, Benni has had enough too. His father argues that Jews can rely only on Jews and that non-Jews can never belong. His mother abruptly cuts him off, explaining to her son that she is German too, and that she has shared this secret only with her husband all these years. She is glad that this whole charade is finally over. Since the papers documenting their conversion to Judaism were forged, Benni’s father now has to learn that he was never actually Jewish, and neither was Edna. Their world falls apart, but Benni goes on his way with a smile. He kisses his grandmother goodbye and rushes to the airport. He confesses his love to Zahra and asks her to forgive him. As he does so, he accidentally knocks over her suitcase, and the alarm clock once again plays “Allahu Akbar,” causing the greatest confusion among the passengers all over again.