Kish-Kish, Bang-Bang. A Cinematic History of Jews Kicking Ass.

Director Quentin Tarantino has said that he was motivated to make his new film, the brutal revenge fantasy Inglourious Basterds, in part by a frustration with the standard Holocaust narrative presenting Jews as victims. To be sure, Tarantino's characters, in typical Tarantino fashion, go to violent extremes (scalping Nazis, carving swastikas in foreheads, and so on) but his is not the first movie to show Jews on the attack. Instead, the chosen people have a rich cinematic history of ass kicking. Here, a few of our favorites:

Cast a Giant Shadow

Kirk Douglass plays an American officer who becomes commander of Israeli forces during the 1948 war to establish the Jewish state. Douglass is a tortured tough guy, but we love the clip above, if only because we never thought we'd hear John Wayne toast, "l'Chaim."

Bananas

Ok, so this one's a stretch, but we couldn't resist. Woody Allen takes on Sylvester Stallone in his 1971 movie, Bananas. And he almost wins! Almost. 

Once Upon a Time in America

An epic story of Jewish gangsters (with the best names ever: Noodles, Cockeye, Patsy) coming of age in New York's Lower East Side. 3 minutes into this clip, things get bloody. 

Hebrew Hammer

Mordechai Jefferson Carver, aka "the Hebrew Hammer," is an orthodox Jew who kills Santa Claus and joins forces with Esther Bloomenbergensteinenthal to save Hanukkah. This clip is awesome. That is all.

Don't Mess with the Zohan

Adam Sandler plays an Israeli commando who starts a new life in New York, as a hairstylist. Also, he feels no pain.

Defiance

This 2008 film tells the story of a set of Jewish brothers hiding out in the forests of Eastern Europe following the Nazi invasion of Poland in 1939. In this clip, Liev Schrieber is like an Ashkenazi Rambo.

Which ones are we missing? Do you have a favorite Jewish badass? Tell us in the comments!