If you haven’t yet had the pleasure, please allow me to make a TV recommendation. I don’t watch much television myself, but one of my patients put me onto this show. I found it mesmerizing.
The program is a Hebrew-language action drama produced in Israel called Fauda. Fauda means “Chaos.” You can find it on Netflix. It currently stands at 100% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Most of you tuned out the moment I said, “Hebrew-language action drama.” I don’t blame you. However, the dialogue is dubbed in English. After the first three minutes, you won’t even notice. The difference between Fauda and your typical American action fare is that the actors are, with few exceptions, all military veterans. Additionally, the show is produced on location in the Middle East. The end result is a glimpse into the gritty reality of Israeli special operations.
The Premise
The central character is Doron Kabilio played by Lior Raz. Raz and co-creator Avi Issacharoff created the show based upon their own personal experiences in the IDF (Israel Defense Forces). Per the backstory, Doron is an operator in a Mista’arvim counter-terrorism unit. Their mission is to melt into local Arab populations to gather intelligence and conduct direct action missions in support of the Israeli National Command Authority. Hostage rescue, intelligence gathering, and targeted kill or capture missions are their specialty.
The term Mista’arvim is a Hebrew version of a local word that translates, “He who has become Arab.” Each member of the team speaks fluent Arabic and is experienced in Arab culture, dress, and customs. These skill sets allow the unit to infiltrate areas like Gaza and the West Bank at will.
Details
The first season was filmed in Kafr Qasim as the 2014 Gaza War raged nearby. Kafr Qasim is an Arab community located within Israel, some 12 miles from Tel Aviv. The resulting production value is superb.
There have been four seasons thus far. Supposedly, there is a fifth in the works, though the recent war has put that on hold. As with all such dramas, major characters come and go. Along the way, Fauda does a remarkably good job at showing both sides of the conflict. Incongruously, the show has been insanely popular with both Israelis and Arabs in the region. Given the obvious institutional acrimony that veritably smothers the place, this is no mean feat.
Natural Drama
One of the things that becomes clear early on is the suffocating ambiguity of it all. The terrorists are willing to die for their cause, and the Israeli commandos appreciate the catastrophic price of failure. The frustrations of trying to operate in such an unforgiving world while minimizing collateral damage reflect the greater reality we have seen in the war in Gaza and Lebanon against Hamas and Hezbollah.
The team is tight-knit, mixed-gender, and generational. Female members are required to make many of their infiltration operations seem plausible. Doron tries to retire to his vineyard only to be called back to active duty when ghosts from his past simply won’t die. The end result is a spirited narrative, characters you can care about, and some good insights regarding the sordid details of that unfortunate place.
Tactical Stuff
With a few exceptions, the weapons are done right. Most of the team packs Glock or Masada handguns. Long guns are typically M4 variants. The team’s sniper systems seem plausible, and there are Kalashnikovs in abundance.
Later in the show’s run, a couple of team members end up packing the Uzi Pro. The Uzi is the most-produced submachine gun in history with more than 10 million copies in service. Original full-sized Uzis are usually only found in your less well-funded war zones these days. However, subsequent upgraded versions remain in service. The examples used in Fauda are the latest accessorized and upgraded Uzi Pro variants.
Lior Raz – AKA Doron
One of the big reasons Fauda works so well is the way Lior Raz depicts Doron. Doron is kind of a dumpy guy who smokes too many cigarettes. He certainly doesn’t give you a super soldier vibe. However, that is what lets him slip in and out of Arab populations readily. However, when things go sideways, it is game on. Doron’s close combat and weapon handling skills are real. There is a reason for that.
Raz was raised in Ma’ale Adumim, a modest Israeli community about four miles from Jerusalem. His Jewish parents immigrated to Israel from Algeria and Iraq. Raz was raised speaking both Hebrew and Arabic. Lior’s dad was a special operator himself, having served in Shayetet 13 and Shin Bet before retiring to operate a plant nursery.
Lior Raz – Shayetet 13
Shayetet 13 is the Israeli equivalent of our Navy SEALs. Shin Bet is Israel’s internal security service. Lior’s dad was neck deep in Israeli special ops as his son was coming of age. Raz came by it honestly.
Lior finished high school at 18 and entered military service as do most all young Israelis of both genders. He soon assessed into Sayeret Duvdevan and trained in commando operations. Sayeret Duvdevan is also known as Unit 217. Established in 1986 to deal with specific security events in the occupied West Bank, these operators specialize in high-risk missions to include targeted killings. If you’re curious regarding the details, just watch Fauda. That’s what Lior did for real.
Tragedy Makes the Man
At age 16, Lior began dating an Israeli girl named Iris Azulai. In October of 1990, a year after Lior enlisted into the military, Iris was stabbed to death by a Palestinian Arab named Abu Sarhan during the commission of a terrorist act. A responding police officer shot Sarhan through the legs. However, once the officer got close, the terrorist produced a second knife and killed him as well. Sarhan successfully murdered a third Israeli before finally being subdued.
Sarhan incongruously survived and was later freed as part of the 2011 Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange. In this case, some 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released to secure the freedom of the kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. Shalit had been held prisoner by Hamas for five years. Though I never met the guy, I’m sure this horrible experience shaped Lior’s worldview.
A Change of Scenery For Lior Raz
Following his obligatory military service, Raz moved to the United Sates and was actually employed as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s personal bodyguard. Of this time he later said, “The company turned to me since they knew my military background…for me it was the most glamorous thing–to be the watchdog of Schwarzenegger and his wife.”
At age 24, Raz returned to Israel to study acting. He secured parts in a variety of productions on both stage as well as television. Like most aspiring actors, he started small. His first big screen credit was as the Cave Guard in the 2000 low budget effort Delta Force One: The Lost Patrol.
Nowadays, Lior has hit the big time. I recognized him in the Netflix movie 6 Underground alongside Ryan Reynolds. He also has a role in the upcoming Ridley Scott blockbuster Gladiator 2. There will, no doubt, be more to come.
Blurring the Lines…
Lior Raz currently lives in Ramat Hasharon, Israel, with his wife Meital Berdah. They have four children. Though he is no longer an active member of the IDF, Raz served with the Sayeret Duvdevan special ops unit as a reservist for a full 20 years. His hard brooding on-screen persona is clearly a reflection of both his personal and operational experience.
Idan Amedi is a fellow Fauda cast member who plays the character Sagi Tzur. Amedi got his start as a singer and song-writer before landing his part in Fauda. After the October 7th attacks, Amedi dropped his show business career to return to IDF service as a combat engineer. While clearing tunnels in Gaza, Amedi was severely injured when a demo charge went off prematurely.
Amedi’s unit was rigging Hamas tunnels for demolition and had primed their charges using det cord left exposed aboveground. An Israeli tank fired into a nearby building, and the muzzle blast sympathetically touched everything off. The charges fired while Amedi and his fellow engineers were still underground. Six of his comrades perished in the blast.
Amedi suffered significant facial burns as well as shrapnel injuries around his eyes and broken bones in his hands. Despite being intubated in the ICU as a result of his injuries, Amedi nonetheless recovered quickly. He stated that he was looking forward to filming Fauda Season 5 and voiced a willingness to return to combat once he healed.
Ruminations On Israel
The Israelis have been at war off and on ever since they first declared their independence in 1948. Truth be known, they’ve been at war for something like 4,000 years now. Israelis like Lior Raz, Yaakov Zada Daniel, and Idan Amedi were born fighting. That ethos flavors everything about Israeli society.
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In response to the October 7 attacks, Raz had this to say, “Hamas launched the biggest attack on Israel in years from the Gaza Strip, with a surprise assault combining gunmen crossing the border with a heavy barrage of rockets. Islamic Jihad says its fighters have joined the attack. Our country was attacked by a cruel enemy who murdered children, women, and men in cold blood in their beds…This is not a victory. It is darkness fighting light…Israel, the only country on earth that needs to defend itself for defending itself.”
I have spent some time in Israel myself, and I loved the place. The Israelis were warm, proud, and profoundly patriotic. Being surrounded by nations that all wish you dead will do that to people. I came away from that experience with a single overriding impression. The Israeli people are inextricably melded with that remarkable piece of dirt. No force on earth will ever push them out.
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