Wikipedia's first sentence called it “shoah filmmaker claude lanzmann 's first film”. Today it says “a 1973 french documentary film by claude lanzmann in his directorial debut”.
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Machine-checked against the full current article on 2026-08-03.
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The opening as it read in 2020
Pourquoi Israël (Israel, Why) is a 1973 French film directed by Claude Lanzmann in his directorial debut.1 The documentary examines life in Israel 25 years after the birth of the state. Lanzmann spends time with, among others, German-Jewish émigrés, intellectuals, dock workers, police, prison inmates, and the newly arrived, surveying life in the new homeland. The title of the film is often incorrectly given as a question "Why Israel?" however, Lanzmann intended it as an answer or an explanation from a collection of viewpoints. The film premiered just three days after the Yom Kippur War in Israel. International media attention was caused by an incident in Hamburg, where leftist groups violently prevented a showing of the movie in October 2009, claiming the movie took a one-sided Zionist perspective.2 Benjamin Weinthal: 'Why Israel' film canceled after violent German leftist protest , Jerusalem Post , 22 Nov 2009
This is Wikipedia's own text, saved in our repository. Their copy of it is revision 959711776.
The opening as it stood in 2010
Pourquoi Israël (Israel, Why) (1973) is Shoah filmmaker Claude Lanzmann 's first film. The documentary examines life in Israel twenty-five years after the birth of the state. Lanzmann spends time with, among others, German-Jewish émigrés, intellectuals, dock workers, police, prison inmates, and the newly arrived surveying life in the new homeland. The title of the film is often incorrectly given as a question "Why Israel?" however, Lanzmann intended it as an answer or an explanation from a collection of viewpoints. The film premiered just three days after the Yom Kippur War in Israel. International media attention was caused by an incident in Hamburg, Germany, where leftist groups violently prevented a showing of the movie in October 2009, claiming the movie took a one-sided zionist perspective. Benjamin Weinthal: 'Why Israel' film canceled after violent German leftist protest , Jerusalem Post , 22 Nov 2009
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 348797126.
The opening as it stood on October 6, 2023
1973 film Pourquoi Israël ( Israel, Why ) is a 1973 French documentary film by Claude Lanzmann in his directorial debut . Premiered just three days after the Yom Kippur War in Israel, it examines life in Israel 25 years after the birth of the state. Lanzmann spends time with, among others, German-Jewish émigrés, intellectuals, dock workers, police, prison inmates and the newly arrived, surveying life in the new homeland. The title is often incorrectly given as a question "Why Israel?" however, Lanzmann intended it as an answer or an explanation from a collection of viewpoints. International media attention arose following an incident in Hamburg, where leftist groups violently prevented a showing in October 2009, claiming the movie took a one-sided Zionist perspective. Benjamin Weinthal: 'Why Israel' film canceled after violent German leftist protest , Jerusalem Post , 22 Nov 2009
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1169137578.
The opening as it stood in 2025
1973 film Pourquoi Israël ( Israel, Why ) is a 1973 French documentary film by Claude Lanzmann in his directorial debut . Premiered just three days after the Yom Kippur War in Israel, it examines life in Israel 25 years after the birth of the state. Lanzmann spends time with, among others, German-Jewish émigrés, intellectuals, dock workers, police, prison inmates and the newly arrived, surveying life in the new homeland. The title is often incorrectly given as a question ("Why Israel?"); however, Lanzmann intended it as an answer or an explanation from a collection of viewpoints. International media attention arose following an incident in Hamburg, where leftist groups violently prevented a showing in October 2009, claiming the movie took a one-sided Zionist perspective. Benjamin Weinthal: 'Why Israel' film canceled after violent German leftist protest , Jerusalem Post , 22 Nov 2009
Red text was written in or rewritten since the previous snapshot. Their copy is revision 1199830914. This is our newest snapshot; the live article may have moved again since.
Today
Wikipedia's first sentence called it “shoah filmmaker claude lanzmann 's first film”. Today it says “a 1973 french documentary film by claude lanzmann in his directorial debut”. Read the current article and compare.
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What Wikipedia says this is
Every article opens by defining its subject. This one was redefined since 2010, and today's defining sentence is their current revision.
Then
shoah filmmaker claude lanzmann 's first film
Now
a 1973 french documentary film by claude lanzmann in his directorial debut
Struck red text is no longer in the article; dotted amber text was rewritten. Every revision id links to Wikipedia's copy; the text shown is our own saved copy. Data: /data. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA; quoted for the record; not affiliated with Wikipedia.
