Books, Films and TV Shows about Israel

[ItalophileNJ]

Thing was I didn't believe in any of the characters, not the Norwegian mother who I assume was supposed to be a caracature, nor her Palestinian friend, nor the supposed Israeli diplomat (who wore a black velvet kipa and had a ram's horn and a seven-branched candelabra behind his desk... why? ?? ) and so on. And if the Israeli father (of the brother and sister) was "religious" in a way that meant his son shouldnt go into the IDF, then why was he dressed like a dati le'eumi, dati tsioni, whose sons ALL serve in the army... and so on.
At least in the episodes I watched, I don't recall much in Jerusalem, mostly supposedly in Gaza City and perhaps in Ramallah.. Those two women making their case in Gaza City, really!!

So... I really didn't buy any of it. Sorry for being so negative, but there it is.

 

[milgreen2]

Finally watched Valley of Tears on HBO Max this week, and found it enthralling, disturbing, heartbreaking and heartwarming (the brotherhood) all at the same time.
I think the English translation of the title is brilliant, actually, and the phrase "Emek Habacha", in addition to being in one of the psalms as quoted earlier in this thread, also appears in the Kabbalat Shabbat liturgy, in one of the stanzas of Lecha Dodi.

 

[ItalophileNJ]

I just discovered this streaming service which has Israeli movies, series, documentaries and is available outside of Israel, maybe think of it as an Israeli Netflix on a much smaller scale. I think they are building their content.
You can subscribe monthly or annually; there is a deal that you can see on Facebook where you can get a year's subscription for $72 so I grabbed it. They've got the famous "Shtisel", but I was more excited to see that they have "Srugim". This series about young single religious Jerusalemites is more about the lives of people one (or I, at least) might know and relate to.

IZZY - Stream Israel

Over 600 hours of Israeli content, available worldwide and on all devices. Note: After you sign up here via our website, you can use your email address and password to access IZZY across all of our apps at no extra charge! Subscription includes unlimited access to 600+ hours of Israeli movies...

www.streamisrael.tv

 

[Pauline]

We ended up buying much of Srugim on Amazon when we were preparing for our first trip (on your recommendation). We’ve watched the whole series 3 times I think. Shtisel we got on Netflix I think. We’ve watched that twice.

Jim Zurer recommended an Israel show but I haven’t watched it yet. Maybe it is on this streaming channel. The show Jim recommended is “ Manayek”, 2 seasons on UK Channel 4. “A police internal affairs investigator on the verge of retirement discovers that his long-time friend, a senior police officer, faces allegations of corruption.”

 

[Shyguy]

Rise and Kill First should be a good read for anyone interested in reading about Isreal.