'Defiance' is the best heroic Jews vs. Nazis inspiration that Netflix has to offer

By Stephen Silver

(JTA) — The mid-to-late aughts saw a run of films that featured Jewish characters, for lack of a better description, kicking ass.

In 2005, there was Steven Spielberg’s “Munich,” about the Israeli government’s plot to get vengeance for the 1972 Olympics terrorist killings. It was famously the subject of a monologue by Seth Rogen in “Knocked Up,” about how “every movie with Jews, we’re the ones getting killed — Munich flips it on its ear.”

There was also “You Don’t Mess With the Zohan” in 2008, Adam Sandler’s cheeky Mossad agent comedy, and “Inglourious Basterds” in 2009, Quent...