[The European Conservative] When Israel Is Too Real

Fauda so fairly attempts to depict the Palestinian question that it can’t be pinned down on a spectrum.

In review: Fauda (Netflix), Season 4 (2023), by Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff.

When a cultural product exploring a given conflict draws contradicting reviews from each of the conflict’s sides, could that contradiction simply be proof that the conflict in question is beyond repair? With season four released to roaring success a fortnight ago, the Israeli Netflix thriller Fauda is again exposing the zero-sum nature of the Israeli-Palestinian quagmire, with the show’s every step to humanize one of the conflict’s camps unfailingly met with the other side’s accusations of impartiality. For those inclined to view Israel’s 56-year occupation of the West Bank (and formerly Gaza) as an illegal affront to Palestinian statehood, Fauda amounts to ultra-Zionist propaganda, a one-sided military epic whitewashing the Israeli army’s (IDF) abuses whilst unfairly typecasting every Palestinian as a would-be terrorist. For those who view instead Israel as a commendable liberal democracy lacking an honest partner for peace on the Palestinian side, Fauda’s effort to humanize the country’s terrorist enemies is a step too far in the other direction. So, which is it, Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff?

Continue reading the entire show review at The European Conservative here.