Rob Rinder to feature in new BBC series on Jewish and Palestinian families

The BBC is to air a new documentary series following the lives of four families of Jewish and Palestinian heritage.

Due for broadcast on BBC Two and iPlayer this spring, ‘The Holy Land And Us: Our Untold Stories’ follows actor and writer Sarah Agha and barrister, author and broadcaster Rob Rinder, MBE, as they explore personal family stories, and the ways in which the four families have been defined by events in Palestine and Israel.

Sarah will learn about the circumstances under which her family fled their village in Galilee in 1948, and Rob will follow his relative’s journey to escape the horrors of the Holocaust and start a new life in the recently established state of Israel.

The series aims to get to the heart of what happened to people on both sides of the conflict as the Middle East was reshaped.

Rather than presenting a comprehensive history, the series lets the human stories of the time speak for themselves, enabling viewers to reach a richer understanding of the divisions that have lasted to this day.

As the presenters and contributors explore how this period of chaos and upheaval impacted their relatives, they discover how their families’ destinies were changed forever.

From the makers of Who Do You Think You Are?, Sarah, Rob and the families taking part share their profoundly personal and often deeply tragic stories.

Sarah Agha, Actor and co-presenter, said: “My Palestinian father was just two years old when his family was displaced from their village near Tiberias in Galilee in 1948. I was always told they were forced to leave, but I know little about the exact circumstances in which they left, so I want to follow in their footsteps and uncover what happened. My father also told me that our Palestinian ancestors used to have a lot of land and influence in the nineteenth century. I want to find out how in less than a century they went from power-brokers to refugees.”

Rob Rinder said: “For me, Israel was a sanctuary, at the heart of the yearning of the few Jewish prayers I knew, which begins with ‘Hear O Israel’. It was a place where Jewish people from all over the world could go to finally feel safe. Tracing the journey of my grandfather’s cousin, Moshe Malinicky, I want to understand why he risked so much to reach this land and why he made this choice. Israel offered a refuge to Jews across the world but the land remains a place of enduring conflict, and the key to understanding where we are today is to hear the stories from that time, from both sides.”

• The Holy Land And Us: Our Untold Stories will air on BBC Two and iPlayer in the spring.