Fauda - Chaotic Israeli/Palestinian Struggle as TV Series - Review

If you like "Homeland" (whose original concept, "Hatufim" was Israeli too) you will love the Israeli TV-series "Fauda," a political thriller depicting the Israeli/Palestinian struggle as a microcosmos. The lauded TV series, which originally aired on Israeli provider, Yes in spring of 2015 and later was awarded the equivalent of an Emmy, premiered on December, 2 on streaming service Netflix. It's not for the faint of heart and the US rating of MA (mature audience) is well deserved, some of the violence is too close to reality. But you also will be binge watching, as this compelling series will draw you in, no matter, what side you are on.

Fauda means chaos in Arabic, and chaos it is: not only between the underground Israeli security forces on one side and Hamas terrorists on the other, but also showing the toll of the struggles among families involved. weddings become funerals, relationships end in disassociation and imbalance, political and security goals are branded by infighting and corruptness. And yes, that happenes on both sides of the dividing wall between Israel and Palestine.

The series follows an undercover unit, also known as Mista'arvim (meaning 'those living among the Arabs'), a tight-knit unit, whose members of the Israeli army are trained in the language and mannerisms of Palestinians, down to being able to immitate Muslim church attendance and prayer, in order to accomplish their counter terrorism agenda.  All we know is that presumed dead Hamas terrorist Tafiq Hamed Abu Ahmad aka The Panther (Hisham Suliman) is alive and plans a big, 9/11 size onslaught on Israel. Commander Doron Kavillio (Lior Raz) comes out of retirement trying to foil the attack and to take The Panther out. But first we meet the two lead characters among their regular families, as fathers and husbands, as a brother, a brother-in-law and we soon start to realize that the chaos of the struggle also reflects into chaos for being human beings and losing your empathy.

****/***** (4/5)


Intelligently written by Avi Issacharoff and lead actor Raz the 12-episode drama actually gives equal screen time to both sides of the conflict, their families, their complex backstories and obviously a reality, filled to deep with hate and indifference. The strict use of native tongues, Arabic and Hebrew (with subtitles) also helps the audience to find empathy with either side. But in the end, the hunters become the hunted, the hunted turn into the hunters; no one is innocent and that is where the strength of the Assaf Bernstein directed tragedy is. And a tragedy it is, nobody wins, humankind loses.

Roughly 20 years ago, Raz came up with the idea of "Fauda" when he served his mandatory term in a special unit of the Israeli military. Joined by Issacharoff, who himself served in the Westbank, it took the two, with some external writers almost four years to create the script for reality driven "Fauda." The creators Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz discussing their view of things on Israeli TV news channel i24news.



A second season is already in production and Netflix already agreed to pick it up. Avi Issacharoff told the "Times of Israel," for whom he also writes as a military analyst and middle east expert, that current happenings will be Incorporated into the script:
“The news affects what you write. You can’t ignore reality and you’ll see part of that new reality in the show. If the first season was about Hamas and the territories, this will be something newer and more relevant.”

Compelling TV at its best. Can hardly wait for season 2.


Sources: Netflix, YouTube, i24news, Times of Israel