Fauda - which means chaos in Arabic -, labelled as the Israeli version of Homeland which is available in 2 series on Netflix is aggressive, unbearable cruel and might raise a lot of red flags on the part of the left-wing but it's genuinely realistic.
Based on the experience the authors of the screenplay - Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff - had themselves during the Army service in the Mista'aravim unit - dealing with special counter-terrorism operations - it shows both sides - Israeli and Palestinians in a different light that supporters of both would love to see them. Israeli are psychologically manipulative while Palestinians don't miss a change to kill each other in a fight for power which overcomes sometimes their 'resistance'. Betrayal is such a human sin and desire to survive might be bigger than any potential reward in the world to come.
You have dangerous terrorists addicted to chocolate, and poor Cpt. Ayoub who in the middle of a complicated interrogation shall give clear directions to his kids about what to eat for dinner - and terrible strong women who are hard to break, although destiny broke their lives more than once. The political and social context in the area - on the Palestinian side especially - is relativelly well portrayed, with the complex fight for power and authorities between different political and military factions as well as the impact of newly 'imported' radical movements, mostly from Syria, such as Daesh (ISIS).
Not all episodes are equally interesting and not all the actors are outstanding good, but watching them on binge - two series in a short week - might give an short idea of life and death in this part of the world. There is no romanticism and no black-and-white drama either, just raw confrontations and fight for survival - personal and/or political. No one could be brave in this fight.
This fight for survival, which involves also having to deal with some people that might think are your worse enemies is unfortunatelly unknown to many outsiders. The fact that besides the black-and-white, occupier vs. victim perspective, on the ground there are much more complex interactions and people from both sides of the wall can work - sometimes very well - together. There are Arabic speaking Jews and Hebrew speaking Arabs, there are people who are friends regardless their religion and language their speak. Jews from Arab lands and Iran, mostly the first generation, but sometimes the second too, do feel at home among their Arabic neighbours (ask any old Jew from Iran and Iraq about their memories about their home lands and you will be surprise how much love they kept in their hearts for their place of birth). They don't love each other that much and maybe they are not friends either, but they know each other much better than people whose only political activism is to post on social media ready made materials often produced by the propaganda departments of Hamas or other proxies (in Fauda the members of Hamas, compared to other radical military wings, look like a bunch of playboys). The propaganda reality that various political entities (none sides are innocent) want to project is that some are always good and some are always bad and until one side disappears, there will be no peace.
When someone wants to really start understanding beyond the propaganda narrative, it should start by gathering data and information and facts, talk to people and understand both sides with an open, realistic and emotion-free mind. The fact that some always started their school days cursing Israel and the Jews make them the least experts in understanding the area unless they really want to. Reacting with tears in your eyes when you see a video about 'Nakba' or graffiti on the wall portraying the resistance, donning a keffiyeh is nothing. Really nothing. Did you RT and liked religiously all those messages about Nakba/Nekba today? With the right hashtag? Complained to a random colleague about what the occupation is doing to people? You paid your moral duties to the world today. Repeat. (Al Jazeera Network which produced many of those easy-to-share videos is supported by the gas-rich Qatar which generously subsidizes Hamas, besides the Palestinian Authority).
Sometimes I wish very much I will get to live the moment when Israel will be friend again with Iran and the Arab countries will recognize the state. All those people who really believed what the political propaganda wanted them to believe will need to find a new cause to 'fight' from the comfort of their chair in the front of their computer RT-ing or sharing what they were supposed to share, isn't it? During the Cold War, such people used to be called - excuse my French - 'useful idiots'. By the way, top leaders of the terrorist movements almost never offer themselves to die in terror attacks. Just an observation.
Knowledge brings always power. With all its imperfections and Hollywood-touch, Fauda can help a little bit to see a different side of the coin. Politics are complicated and not for everyone's understanding, especially in the Middle East (something that the US, Russia, France and the Britain among others hardly grasp, if ever).
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