Mirroring the Other by Allison Hodgkins
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Mirroring the Other By Allison Hodgkins Fauda, Netflix’s hit TV series on Israeli undercover operatives in Palestine, presents Palestinian and Israeli characters that have nuanced emotions and desires; yet the show still otherizes Arabs and justifies Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza I was prepared Fauda is not a coexistence story. It is an to hate Fauda. Israeli story, made by Israeli producers, The Israeli who wanted to bring the story about political thriller the Mistarvim—Israeli undercover units about counter- who impersonate Arabs in order to track, terrorism agents kidnap, or kill suspected Palestinian who impersonate terrorists—to an Israeli audience. It is Arabs during an unflinching recreation of what goes their operations on at the tip of the occupation’s spear. had been getting In one brutal scene after another, the a lot of critical Mistaravim—a Hebrew verbal noun buzz since its meaning “those who become Arabs”— 2016 Netflix debut. Yet, while I found its slip into Palestinian mosques, hospitals, premise disturbing, Fauda (Avi Issacharoff, swimming pools, and obstetricians’ Lior Raz, 2015) had me riveted. offices, to snatch up potential informants, or carry out an extra-judicial execution True to its name, which means chaos, at point-blank range. confusion, and anarchy, Fauda is a tumultuous descent into the turmoil The series makes no effort to conceal the and lawlessness connected to the scale of the carnage, or its gut-wrenching enforcement of Israel’s more than impact on the victims and their families. fifty-year occupation of the Palestinian But even if the series suggests that territories. Its relentless brutality was terrorists may also love their mothers, difficult to watch, but I could not turn children, or brothers, there are no away from its achingly familiar sights apologies for the unit’s tactics or the and sounds of Palestinian life. Maybe collateral damage they inflict on the it was Fauda’s unexpected, and perhaps population. On the contrary, the show unintended, focus on the linguistic never misses an opportunity to remind and cultural connections between the audience why these units exist: Israelis the protagonists that made the series have been killed, and their deaths cannot heartbreaking, and perversely, tinged its go unpunished. Palestinian casualties, mind-numbing chaos with a glimmer of on the other hand, are presented as hope. regrettable necessities. 179 Allison Hodgkins To be fair, unlike some of the from official to “special” language, is more jingoistic variants in the a provocative statement. Not only is “counterterrorism as entertainment” Arabic the language of conversation genre, Fauda’s Palestinian characters between the Palestinian characters, it have prominent, compelling roles and is also the lingua franca for the show. are played by accomplished Palestinian Consistent with Fauda’s conceptual actors. It also shows the Israeli premise, the Israeli characters also speak characters breaching norms and making Arabic—not just a few phrases, but well morally dubious choices. Nevertheless, enough to blend into a family wedding, the series never truly deviates from the or pass as a member of the Palestinian Israeli narrative, and spares little artistic police or preventive security services. effort to ensure that the audience can And while not made explicit until season distinguish between the tragic heroes, two, the reason the Mistarvim are so whose excesses should be forgiven, and facile with the language, as well as the the terrorists, whose inchoate humanity culture and social norms, is not that they is tainted by fanaticism. are Israelis who can “become” Arabs, it is because they are Arabs. Like the For example, Doron Kabillio, the Israeli producers, as well as some of the actors lead played by Fauda’s producer and in the series, the members of the unit veteran Mistariv Lior Raz, makes his presumably grew up speaking Arabic first appearance bathed in warm green at home—maybe because their parents, sunlight while he playfully sprays like Doron’s father, Amos, immigrated his children with a garden hose. In from Baghdad, or from other parts of contrast, his Palestinian counterpart, the Arab World, or whose families were the “Panther,” the nickname for Abu- always part of the multifaith fabric of Ahmed, who is also known as Hamas pre-Mandate Palestine. mastermind Taufiq Hamed, played by Hisham Suliman, literally emerges from What Fauda also hints at, although very the darkness, unwinding a keffiyeh subtly, is that the Arabness of the main from his face. It is no surprise that the characters is both the reason they are Palestinian heroine, the unveiled, French- drafted into these elite units, but also educated medical doctor Shirin El-Abed a source of marginalization within the (played by Laëtitia Eïdo), prefers the broader Israeli society. If they were not affections of the wine-making Doron in the unit, the commander jokes, they over marriage to the “Panther’s” scraggly would likely “still be out on the streets bearded henchman, who also happens to stealing radios.” In the unit, however, be her cousin. they can be counted on to do the dirty work. In comparison with the uniformed Yet despite these thinly veiled tropes, soldiers in the command-and-control Fauda also speaks to us in Arabic. In center, the unit’s agents always appear a some episodes, upwards of 70 percent little bit rougher, a little less rational, and of the dialogue is in Arabic which, at more likely to come undone. In other a time when Israel’s 2018 nation-state words, the creators of Fauda imply it’s law demoted the status of the language not just their knowledge of Arabic, but 180 Mirroring the Other their Arabness that places the Mistarvim to lead a normal life. in the vanguard of the occupation. Of course, the weaponization of In some ways, Fauda is almost a familiarity is a two-way street. The confession about the limits of Israel’s Israelis are not the only ones who have massive military and technological developed an understanding of their superiority when it comes to enforcing adversaries and leveraged that knowledge the occupation. Yes, its extensive to their advantage. During one network of drones, internet, and phone particularly savage interrogation scene, surveillance can track every Palestinian’s a Hamas operative unhinges Captain every move. But translating that Ayoub by revealing he knows his real information into “quiet,” or the first name, and much of the plotline in opportunity for Israelis to enjoy a normal season two actually revolves around the and prosperous life on their side of the Palestinian characters attempting to beat wall requires sending in what Avichay the Mistarvim at their own game. Such (played by Boaz Konforty) refers to as actions are undertaken by Panther’s “the dogs”—people who won’t pause or successor, “Abu-Saif Al-Makdassi” ponder the moral implications, but just (played by Firas Nasser), and his small barge in and execute the kill. band of junior Hamas defectors, who learn Hebrew and dress up as observant In addition to brute force, the Mistarvim Jews to pass through Israeli checkpoints. also deploy crippling psychological They also conduct surveillance, recruit pressure. Some of the most unsettling informants, and manage to penetrate scenes in the series are the interrogation the innermost sanctuaries of the unit’s sessions, which are typically conducted lives. Predictably, their efforts backfire by the ruthlessly avuncular Captain and produce lethal consequences for Ayoub (played by Israeli actor and themselves or their families. one-time drag queen Itzik Cohen). With chilling precision, Captain Throughout the series, Captain Ayoub Ayoub assesses which nerve to press also meets with “Abu-Maher,” a thinly in order to bring his victims to their veiled caricature of the former head knees. Sometimes he dangles a carrot, of Palestinian Security Services Jibril or reveals a potentially devastating Rajoub. During their conversations, piece of information to serve as a stick. the two circle each other like a pair Alternatively, he just chips away at of gladiators. They sip coffee, trade weaknesses he already senses exist, such pleasantries, and warily offer up as playing off internal divisions with the snippets of information, or promises of different Palestinian factions to give his cooperation—always trying to reveal informant a justification for ratting out less than they learn, or get more than a former rival, or pushing the wife of a they give away. Ironically, it is often Hamas activist to admit to herself what Abu-Maher who gets the upper hand. she has always known: that as long as He parlays requests from Captain Ayoub they remain in Palestine she and her to leverage against Hamas, and cleverly children will never have the opportunity dupes Captain Ayoub into revealing 181 Allison Hodgkins that the Israeli they caught in Nablus reveals how much they have in common, was one of his operatives. Yet, while the and how fundamentally similar they relationship is tense, and carefully staged, are—right down to the contents of their there is also a genuine level of respect— kitchens. however begrudging. Whether or not this is an unconscious And while most of Fauda is about admission of reality, the Israeli and showing the different ways familiarity Palestinian characters in Fauda come breeds carnage, or the occasional act of off as mirror images of each other. Both cooperation, it also fosters connection— are driven by deep bonds of honor and however brief or bittersweet. After loyalty, and when confronted with inducing Dr. Shirin to assist in the loss or betrayal, both are quick to rage capture of her cousin—who she had to or crave revenge. And yes, both love marry after it was revealed Doron was their families and are prepared to make a Mistariv and not a member of the sacrifices for the good of their country.