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Israeli Movies and TV Shows to Stream (from The Forward)

New Israeli TV shows for American audiences

“”(Docudrama)Watch it on: HBO

In the summer of 2014, four political led into a brutal 50-day conflict in the . The first three victims were Jewish hitchhikers, abducted and shot by members of ; the fourth was a Palestinian teenager, burned alive by Orthodox Jewish settlers. This gutting, and controversial, series by Joseph Cedar, Hagai Levi and Tawfik Abu Wael, follows the Shin Bet’s investigation into the of 16-year-old Muhammed Abu Khdeir and how his grieving father navigates his son’s new status as a martyr. In late August of this year, Prime Minister and a number of right-wing groups railed against “Our Boys” for choosing to focus on Abu Khdeir, and not the murder of the hitchhikers. was buzzing about this one — some defending it, and others calling it “propaganda.” Stream and decide for yourself.

“Fauda” (Spy Thriller)Watch it on: 3M subscriberlayer-unavailable">

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The Wire,” “Fauda” arrived in the States like a Krav Maga-chop to the jugular in late 2016. The series follows the exploits of a commander of a fictional counterterrorism unit that dresses up like Arabs to infiltrate terror cells. The group’s methods often flout protocol, and their targets are, more often than not, painted with well-drawn pathos. The same can’t always be said for the commander, Doron, who, as far as TV antiheroes go, gives Walter White and a run for their shekels. Fauda’s first two seasons are already streamable on Netflix and a third is due to out early in 2020.

“” (TV drama)

Watch it on: Netflix . It’s estimated (by us, the Forward’s culture correspondents) that ninety percent of rabbis will reference “Shtisel” in their shabbat sermons over the next year. The Israeli drama about Haredi Jews is the first American TV show to center on Orthodox Jews, and everyone — from people who call kippot “little hats” to Haredi Jews themselves — is addictive. If you’re fascinated by insular cultures, or you just like watching the intricacies of human behavior chafe against social systems, try “Shtisel.” The first two seasons are on Netflix with a third on the way — pending payment disputes — and the show is being adapted for American TV by Studios.

“When Heroes Fly” (TV drama)Watch it on: Netflix

Everything you expect from Israeli action shows, with extra spice. Four IDF veterans still reeling from the bloodshed of the reunite to travel to Colombia in search of one friend’s sister — and another’s ex-girlfriend — who they believed to be

Israeli Movies and TV Shows to Stream (from The Forward) dead. This searing drama examines post traumatic stress disorder against an unusual backdrop — the Colombian jungle. The first season is streaming on Netflix, and a second season is in the works from Keshet. The highly-praised series is also being adapted for American TV.

“The Spy” (Limited series action thriller)Watch it on: Netflix

No joke. “” star Sacha Baron Cohen played a decorated Israeli operative with a tragic story. This six-part miniseries by “Prisoners of War” (the basis for “”) creator Gideon Raff dramatizes the life of Egyptian born-Israeli , a agent who lived undercover in Syria in the 1960s. Cohen (Eli, not Sacha Baron) was so good at his job he became the chief adviser to the country’s minister of defense, and gathered intel that would prove pivotal to Israel’s success in 1967’s Six Day War. Cohen was eventually captured and hanged publicly in 1965 — the Mossad has been searching for his remains ever since. “The Spy” is now streaming on Netflix, and reviews for Baron Cohen’s performance have been raves, noting how his knack for character transformation mesh nicely with the other Cohen’s habit of disguise. The Forward liked it, too.

New Israeli movies for American audiences

“The Operative” (Mystery/Spy Thriller)Watch it on: , Vudu, YouTube and Play

Like a Mossad stealth unit, this came and went from theaters so quietly in August, no one — not even us! — took notice. Thankfully in this age of streaming, nothing’s gone forever. The film follows Mossad agent Rachel (Diane Kruger), who in the middle of a risky assignment to interfere with Iran’s nuclear ambitions, disappears without a trace. Well, she left one trace: a cryptic voicemail to her former handler, Thomas (Martin Freeman of “Sherlock” fame). What follows is an international scramble to find Rachel and uncover her past along the way. An international project, based on the novel “The English Teacher,” by former IDF brigadier general Yiftach Reicher Atir, the film is riding the crest of a growing wave of top European talent flocking to Israeli cinema. Reviews, however, were not so kind.

“The Spider in the Web” (Mystery/Spy Thriller)Watch it on: Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play

Oh, Ben Kingsley. You have played Gandhi. You have played a Jew in “Schindler’s List.” You have even, recently, played Adolf Eichmann. It’s only natural that your late career should see also see you playing members of the Israeli intelligence community. You can’t be pigeonholed. In this thriller by “Lemon Tree” director Eran Riklis, Kingsley plays aging Mossad agent Aderath, who must connect the dots between a mysterious contact (Monica Bellucci) and a company producing chemical weapons for the Syrians. He is hindered — and later aided — in his quest by the son of his old colleague (Itay Teran), who the Mossad has tasked with looking over his shoulder. Set in Belgium and

Israeli Movies and TV Shows to Stream (from The Forward) shot in English and Hebrew, this thriller takes the Israeli spy genre international. Though, we must confess, it’s seldom thrilling, and often just confusing.

“The Angel” (Docudrama/Thriller)Watch it on: Netflix your browser.

Flipping the script on a familiar formula, “The Angel” tells the true story of an unlikely Israeli asset. Ashraf Marwan (Marwan Kenzari), the son-in-law of Egyptian President , became an informant for the Israeli government. It was Marwan who tipped the Israelis off to the stirrings of the , allowing the IDF to mobilize and thwart a complete takeover of the Golan Heights. Some believe that Marwan was in fact a double agent for the Egyptians, but this film, which received mixed reviews — with some in the Israeli press disappointed by how it failed to meet the excitement and drama of true events — chooses to claim Marwan as an Israeli hero. Heck, it even seems to give Marwan credit for the Camp David Accords. While not altogether effective as a spy film, “The Angel” does deliver as a quick primer on a fascinating character and his little known legacy.

“Red Sea Diving Resort” (Feature film drama)Watch it on: Netflix

In the early 1980s Israeli Mossad agents, posing as Swiss hoteliers, rented a Sudanese beach resort, turned it into a tourist destination, and used it as a front to shuttle Ethiopian Jews — who had been and brutalized after the 1974 Ethiopian coup — onto “tourism boats,” which smuggled them to waiting naval ships, then on to Israel. If you can un-stick your white knuckles, pass the popcorn — it’s a story that seems destined for the screen. Written and directed by Gideon Raff, the Chris Evans vehicle is a little squirmy. Strong, white, English-speaking “Israelis” accept hugs and thanks in broken English from Ethiopians — it’s a funny way to tell a story about a group of people so brave they escaped their home for a country they did not know.

“ On Fire” (Feature film satire)Watch it: Anywhere you can rent movies

A hit at the Venice International Film Festival, this comedy satire about a Palestinian who lives in East and works on the set of a soap opera has a major plot point that hinges on hummus, and a great score on to boot. Forget the title’s implication that this will be a bloody slog through intractable conflict — it’s cheerfully cutting. New adaptations of Israeli stuff for Americans

“Emmis”(TV adaptation of “Shtisel”)Watch it (when it comes out) on: Amazon Prime Where to watch the original: Netflix

Don’t believe us that much of America has “Shtisel”-fever? None other than Marta Kauffman, the co-creator of “Friends,” has signed on to retell the story of an ultra- Orthodox family for American audiences. Kauffman will collaborate with her daughter on “Emmis” (the Yiddish word for “truth”), which will place the “Shtisel”-like story of an ultra- Orthodox family in . There’s no release date yet, but we do hope the show

Israeli Movies and TV Shows to Stream (from The Forward) opens by panning over boys’ faces while someone sings the words, “So no one told you life was gonna be this way…”

“The Baker and the Beauty” (TV adaptation of “Beauty and the Baker”)Watch it (when it comes out) on: ABC Watch the original on: Amazon Prime

“Beauty and the Baker,” from Keshet, is one of Israel’s sunniest, shiniest, most CW- style exports. Titled “Being With Her” in Hebrew, the comedy follows a courtship between a Bar Rafaeli-type bombshell (played by outspoken Israeli lawyer Rotem Sela) and a joe-schmo Mizrahi baker. ABC’s renamed “Baker And The Beauty” will follow a Cuban baker who falls for a jet-setting fashionista against the backdrop of Miami’s beaches and nightclubs. It will debut as a mid-season replacement on ABC in 2020.

“Zero Motivation” (In development)Where to watch it when it comes out: TBD Watch the original: Wherever you can rent movies

Americans cling to the notion that all Israeli soldiers are either in direct combat or running top-secret intelligence units. The 2014 black comedy “Zero Motivation” by Talya Lavie follows teenage girls who perform unglamorous office jobs for their army service, try to lose their virginities, and play Minesweeper. The movie has been lauded by Israelis as the most accurate portrayal of life in the Israeli army. It’s one of Israel’s best and most successful movies this century, so it’s little wonder that the TV adaptation rights were snapped up by Amy Poehler and “Russian Doll” creator Natasha Lyonne. They’ll create it for BBC America, with producers from “Broad City.”

“Euphoria” (TV adaptation of Israeli show of the same name)Where to watch: HBO

resentations of addiction and sexual and gender diversity. “The A Word” (TV adaptation of “Yellow Peppers”)Where to watch: Amazon Prime

Tired of spies and soldiers and rabbis? “Yellow Peppers” is a critically-acclaimed family drama about a young couple raising an autistic son in a tiny Israeli village. The show spawned both a Greek iteration (“The Word You Don’t Say”) and a British one, “The A Word,” which sets the village in England’s lush Lake District. The first season is streaming on Amazon, with two more on the way.

“Your Honor” (Limited series adaptation of “Kvodo”)Where to watch when it comes out: Showtime

A piercing drama about a morally ambiguous man who has experienced immense personal tragedy? , of course, Bryan Cranston will produce and star in “Your Honor,” an adaptation of Israel’s popular “Kvodo” (which actually translates to “His Honor.”) Cranston will play a judge who decides to break from his commitment to the law to protect his son in a limited series set in New Orleans. The show is currently in production, with no premiere date set.

Israeli Movies and TV Shows to Stream (from The Forward)

“On The Spectrum” (TV adaptation of Israeli show of the same name.)Where to watch when it comes out: Amazon Prime Two TV shows that de-stigmatize autism spectrum disorders on TV at the same time? If you will it, it is no dream. “On The Spectrum” is an Israeli take on the classic 20- somethings-figuring-out-sex-laundry-and-taxes TV comedy, this time about three roommates who are all on the autism spectrum. From “Yes!” the same network that made “Your Honor,” “On The Spectrum” is being adapted by for Amazon. Katims, who also wrote for “Parenthood” and “Friday Night Lights” has also written about his son, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s.

“The Good Cop” (Adaptation of the Israeli show of the same name.)Where to watch: Netflix Watch the original: Also on Netflix

“HaShoter HaTov,” literally, “The Good Cop,” was an Israeli project with American values — a goofy sitcom about police officers. The 10-episode-long first season of the Israeli show from 2015 is on Netflix (there’s also a second season out there, and a third on the way.) Netflix also adapted the show for Americans, starring Tony Danza and Josh Groban, but the cops were deemed not good, and canceled after one season. Recent-ish Israeli hits you should stream While you wait for “Emmis” and pray for a new season of “When Heroes Fly,” try streaming these recent Israeli classics.

“” (TV drama)Watch it on: Amazon, , HBO

Pay respects to the elder statesman of this wave of Israeli-American entertainment — “In Treatment” is the American HBO adaptation of “BeTipul” (“In Therapy”) the runaway Israeli success about a therapist and his patients. “Betipul,” which is sadly hard to stream in the US, has been adapted in Argentina, , the , Japan and Brazil as well as America, where it ran on HBO for three seasons, starting in 2009. The HBO version, which has an extra season, scrubs some of the Jewish and Israeli details (no survivor father, no IDF-bound son.) But in most other ways “In Treatment” is an explicit copy of “Betipul,” down to much of the language in the script, by “Betipul” head writer .

“Homeland” (TV drama)Watch it on: Amazon, Hulu, Showtime