Tag: fauda

A dive into the complexities of Israel and the Middle East

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

As long as I can remember, Israel has been a part of my life. All four of my grandparents were passionate Zionists, and they all visited Israel in the 1970s. I heard their stories of listening to the UN vote for the partition plan on a transistor radio and how they celebrated when they realized it would happen. The complexities of Israel were discussed at every family dinner table.

I was first exposed to the complexities in person in 1989 after my graduation from college when I spent a month in Israel with the American Zionist Youth Foundation (AZYF). It was during the first intifada, so there were a few things we couldn’t do, but overall we had a great deal of freedom. We had “off days” to explore on our own and took the bus wherever we wanted. We spent Shabbat day hanging out in a park, playing hacky sack, and interacting with those who joined us. We learned about the intifada and what it meant, what was happening, and spent many hours on the bus talking about the challenges Israel faced in 1989. I got as much as 21-year-old me in 1989 could understand.

Since then, I have been back to Israel 25 additional times in those 37 years with two more planned in 2026. The complexities have only increased over time. My 7 trips since October 7, 2023 have each showed me a different view of the complexities. Participating in the November 2019 Encounter intensive and meeting with leaders of Palestinian Civil Society let me dig deeper into the complexities. Visiting Kfar Aza and the Nova music festival multiple times helped me see another level of the complexities. I remember my first time at both. The anger and rage burning inside of me as I saw what Hamas did. My 2nd and 3rd time at Kfar Aza sitting at the table at our host’s home where the Hamas leadership sat on October 7th. In the same chairs they sat. Watching as Israel bombed Jabalia and struggling with the feelings of relief that the bombing brought. It’s not who I am but it sure was who I was that day.

I’ve also spent time in the West Bank meeting with Palestinian leaders of civil society. My first time was in November 2019 when I participated in the Encounter Intensive. Four (4) days of intensive interaction and experiences. You can find my blogs about those experiences beginning here. It was one of the most intense experiences of my life: Bethlehem and Ramallah, hearing so many narratives about their experiences. Some gave me great hope, while others reinforced every stereotype I had been taught. I went to listen and learn; it opened my eyes to many of the challenges that need to be overcome, including the teaching of hate from an early age. I witnessed what is possible when Israelis and Palestinians work together (through a program called Combatants for Peace, where former terrorists and former IDF soldiers get to know each other and commit to finding a nonviolent solution to the conflict). There is a need for patience, as the amount of work that needs to be done is great. I learned how harmful the funding of the Palestinian Authority (PA) from the EU and the UN is toward finding a real solution and how that ensures the status quo. The number of potential Palestinian leaders who believe in non-violence and finding a new path is significant, yet they are not given a platform because of the EU and UN funding of the PA.

Recently, I spent time in the West Bank and Israel with Rozana, an amazing organization that works on healthcare diplomacy. You can read my blogs about that visit beginning here. I had the opportunity to see hope in action, witnessing Palestinians and Israelis working together in the West Bank and in Israel to build relationships and friendships that create the basis for future peace. I became friends with Rozana staff who live in Ramallah and a number of Palestinian doctors who live and work in Ramallah. That experience and what I wrote inspired this article in the Australian Jewish Independent. Spending time in the West Bank with Palestinians highlighted the complexities even more. Most Israelis and diaspora Jews don’t spend time there and don’t speak with Palestinians, while most Palestinians don’t speak with Israelis or diaspora Jews. They never get to know each other as people; there is no understanding on either side without having these connections.

Western society wants simple answers to everything. Everything in the Middle East is complex, not simple. Nuance is everything. The use of Hasbara, where talking points are taught without any deep knowledge, has created more problems than solutions. There are generations of diaspora Jews who have only been taught the talking points and when confronted with things that aren’t talking points, have no knowledge or understanding. They feel lied to and end up with a negative attitude towards Israel. We need to embrace the complexities, teach the good, the bad, and the ugly about Israel. Failure to properly educate people about Israel hurts the cause.

A perfect example of this is the new season of Fauda. If you haven’t watched any of it, I urge you to start with season 1. The new season focuses on the events after October 7th. The amazing thing about Fauda is how it shows everything—the good, the bad, and the ugly. Another remarkable aspect of Fauda is its popularity in Arab countries; season 5 is the most-watched series in Lebanon and ranks among the top 10 most-watched shows in 43 countries, including Jordan, the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Morocco, and France. The number of people in Europe now publicly acknowledging they didn’t understand October 7th until watching Fauda is astounding. The impact this TV show is having on changing minds is significant. I saw the Hamas 47-minute video, and it was horrifying; I witnessed things I will never forget. It impacted me deeply. Watching episodes 7 and 8 of Fauda season 5, which focused entirely on October 7th, brought it all back for me—sitting in my living room, watching the news for hours, shocked at what I was seeing. I recall the community vigil we held on October 8th in Orlando and the politicians who arrived in support. Watching the video and seeing the horrifying things Hamas did was chilling. Visiting Kfar Aza and Nova for the first time (I’ve been to them multiple times since, and it never gets better, only worse) was eye-opening. Fauda illustrates the complications present in all five seasons; season 5 was by far the most impactful, perhaps due to my own experiences in Israel since then, my connection to many hostages, visits to the Hostage Family Forum and Hostage Square, and seeing and feeling the effects on every visit since then.

A promotional image for the Netflix show 'Fauda,' featuring a lead character and a backdrop of Jerusalem. It highlights the show's position in the Netflix Top 10 rankings across various countries and territories.

Next month, I will return to Israel and really see two different sides of the complexities. I’ll spend seven days with the Israel Defense and Security Forum (IDSF) exploring Israel through a security lens. Traveling with generals, lieutenant colonels, Mossad, and Shin Bet, we will see and hear things most people never do. There is still an opportunity for you to join us on this unique experience. As that experience concludes, I will shift to spending four days with the Board of Directors of Rozana, whom I wrote about above. Rozana works in the West Bank, Israel, and Gaza to build relationships between Israelis and Palestinians while addressing the healthcare needs in the West Bank and Gaza. As I mentioned above, I spent five days with them in June, and it was a life-changing experience. I’m looking forward to going back to Ramallah and Hebron to see the work. I’ll get to be on a Zoom call with the Rozana medical professionals in Gaza, hearing directly from them what they are seeing and what is happening. I’m looking forward to spending time with my Palestinian and Israeli friends. At a time when hope is challenging to find, I’m looking forward to really experiencing hope in action.

Recently, Rozana announced a significant gift from Rahm, Ari, and Zeke Emanuel to fund the training of Palestinian pediatricians and pediatric nurses at an Israeli hospital. A new pediatric hospital is being built in Nablus, the first in the north of the West Bank, and these doctors and nurses will be able to obtain the training they need to better care for children in the West Bank. One of the amazing things about Rozana’s work is that when Israeli and Palestinian medical professionals train together, like in this instance, 99% of Palestinian medical professionals and 98% of Israeli medical professionals reported increased professional skills after training together. This work doesn’t just help those in the West Bank; it helps Israelis as well. This is hope in action. Rozana just released their 6-month impact report. Take a minute to read it and see what is happening and what is possible. In a place with incredible complexities, seeing what is possible is essential.

Israel and the Middle East are complex. We live in a world that wants simple explanations. Educating people isn’t easy, but it is critical. Too many people only have a TikTok education; they live and believe the slogans. It takes a TV show like Fauda to reach them. This tells me that it is no longer about not giving up the fight but rather changing how we fight. After 78 years since 1948 and the founding of the modern state of Israel, what we have done simply isn’t working, and we see that every day. It is time to change what we do and change the fight. I have found it amazing how quickly people stop their TikTok-driven commentary when I tell them I was just in Ramallah and Hebron and will be back in November. That I have Palestinian friends and am happy to put them in touch with me. That I work with an organization that provides two health clinics and a rehabilitation clinic in Gaza. That in June, I was in a bomb shelter as Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel. Those with talking points about how bad Israel is have no response. When they try to bring up the “settler violence,” I tell them I was there and experienced it firsthand. I call it terrorism because that’s what it is—they are terrorists, not settlers. They don’t know what to do with that information. They don’t have answers to the facts.

We need to show people the realities on the ground. The vast majority of Palestinians want to live in peace and be left alone. This is particularly true in Areas B and C. The vast majority of Israelis want Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Iran to be removed from power and to allow them to live in peace. Until they walk the streets of Tel Aviv and see the vast diversity of people there—Arabs, Jews, Christians, Druze, Baha’is, and more—they don’t understand. Until they visit people in the West Bank and learn how they just want to live their lives, raise their children, and be able to move around easily, they won’t understand the realities.

I have always loved going to Israel because I feel at home. It’s the only place where I am a part of the majority. I also love visiting my Palestinian friends in the West Bank, where I am not the majority, but where I get to interact with people who share my values, who want to live in peace, raise their children, and live full lives. It’s amazing what happens when you meet the people and don’t believe the media and the stories we are told. Yes, there are terrorists. We saw them during the first and second intifadas. We saw them on October 7th. There are far more good people with whom we can build relationships. I look forward to when the ban on U.S. visas for Palestinians is removed so that some of my friends can come to the United States and you can meet them, hear their stories, ask them questions, have a meal together, and talk and laugh. Until then, I’ll see them in Ramallah and Hebron. I’ll see my Israeli friends in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Modi’in, and many other places. I’ll embrace the complexities and work to help people understand that when it comes to the Middle East, there is no simple answer. It is all complex. Our future depends on understanding and embracing the complexities and pushing ourselves beyond our comfort levels.

If you want to come join me in Israel or explore the work of Rozana in the West Bank and Israel, let me know. I’m happy to take you to explore it, challenge yourself and your beliefs, open your mind, and embrace the complexities and the opportunities.

Group of people gathered around a table outdoors, smiling and enjoying a social gathering in a scenic location.
Having a meal in the West Bank with my friends from Ramallah, Hebron, the UK, Australia, the US, East and West Jerusalem, and Jaffa.

Sacrifice and the Zac Brown Band

Posted on by Keith Dvorchik

I have loved the Zac Brown Band since I first heard their music.  There is a great energy and it’s fun to listen and sing along.  The lyrics tend to be upbeat and happy just like the music.  As I was listening to one of their biggest hits, Chicken Fried, last night, a section of the lyrics hit me very differently than ever before.  It’s because of October 7th and the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war, the incredible rise of antisemitism and Jew hatred in this country, and what is happening on college campuses.

The lyrics I refer to are:

I thank God for my life and for the stars and stripes. May freedom forever fly, let it ring. Salute the ones who died. The ones that give their lives, so we don’t have to sacrifice all the things we love. Like our chicken fried and cold beer on a Friday night. A pair of jeans that fit just right and the radio up.

I have always loved those lyrics because as an American, I am truly grateful for those who serve in our military.  I do thank God for my life, for the freedom that exists in America, and for the sacrifices those who serve make every day so that I get to live such a wonderful life.  I truly believe in the slogan, “Home of the free Because of the Brave”.

As I listened to them now, I heard something very different because of what’s going on in Israel.  I have many friends who are currently serving in the IDF in Gaza or in the north, recalled from the reserves.  I have many friends who have children who were recalled from the reserves or are currently serving in the IDF.  I have friends whose relatives were taken hostage by Hamas or were murdered by Hamas on October 7th.  I have connections to a number of IDF soldiers who have died in the war. 

The lines “Salute the ones who died.  The ones that gave their lives, so we don’t have to sacrifice all the things that we love.” really bothered me this time.  As I thought of how Israel recalled 300,000 reservists and expected no more than 250,000 to show up, yet 360,000 actually did show up.  When I think of the hostages still kept in Gaza by Hamas and the IDF soldiers valiantly fighting hand to hand combat to try to rescue them, it’s hard to align that with us not wanting to sacrifice the things we love.  In Israel, they are sacrificing the things they love for the future of Israel and the Jewish people.  They are willing to sacrifice their loved ones.  Their parents, children, sisters, brothers, aunts, uncles, cousins and friends in defense of Israel and the Jewish people.  They’d gladly sacrifice some comfort food, a cold beer, a comfortable pair of jeans and loud music to get their loved ones back.

I started thinking of all the things we take for granted in our lives and all the people who sacrifice in order for us to have them.  The ability to go to a summer camp as a child.  It wasn’t inexpensive and my parents and grandparents had to sacrifice so we could go.  I went to Jewish Day School for a year, my brother for many years.  We all know private school, especially Jewish private schools, are not inexpensive. Yet another sacrifice.  As parents, my wife and I made the decision that we did not want our kids working while in school. This included college.  Their primary job was school and their education, with their involvement in other things as a secondary priority.  They could work if they wanted but only if their schoolwork, their primary job, was strong. It meant we took care of their spending money, car insurance, etc.  Not a huge sacrifice but we felt an important one. 

My CIT year at Camp Airy (with the girls who were CITs at Camp Louise). What a magical summer. My many years at summer camp only came with sacrifice from my parents and grandparents.

Working as a camp counselor after years of being a camper. I’m still in touch with a number of these guys nearly 40 years later. Thanks mom and dad, grandma and grandpa.

As I am contemplating sacrifice and how, as Americans, we are so entitled, I learned about another example.  Idan Amedi, a well-known Israeli singer and actor, who starred in the amazing TV show Fauda’s as Sagi, was seriously injured in Gaza while voluntarily serving in the IDF. Despite having every excuse not to fight, Idan felt it was his duty to protect his country.   Can you imagine Mark Ruffalo, Brad Pitt, Melissa Barrera, Kanye West or Gigi and Bella Hadid doing this? Can you imagine Susan Sarandon letting her children defend the country?  They are happy to take their money and speak out without knowledge but actually make a sacrifice?

Idan Amedi, known by many as the character Sagi from Fauda. 

Highlighting Idan, a celebrity and entertainer, is the American way to view things.  In Israel, Idan is no different that the father or mother who leaves their family, the business owner who leaves their business not knowing what will be there when they return or many other Israelis who put the country first rather than allowing others to make the sacrifice for them.. 

When I think about things like chicken fried, cold beer, jeans that fit right or loud music in this context, I get angry.  Why?  Because of the things that we choose to matter are really so unimportant, so shallow, especially with hostages still held in Gaza by Hamas. These innocent people who were kidnapped and have been held in brutal conditions for over 100 days.  Kfir Babis turned 1 year old this week, having spent a quarter of his life as a hostage, living underground. 

Kfir at 8 or 9 months old just before being taken as a hostage by Hamas. We can only hope and pray he is still alive now that he turned 1 in captivity.

Karin Ariev, Daniela Gilboa, and Agam Berger, all 19 years old, and Liri Albag, 18 years old, brutalized by Hamas for more than 3 months. We can’t imagine how they are being treated. We cannot forget them.

I think about the atrocities on October 7th and the promises to continue to do it again and again and again by Hamas leadership and I understand, as much as I can living in America, the need for sacrifice. I’ve seen the 47 minute Hamas video. This story below is horrifying but shows the evil of Hamas and why we must never allow evil to continue, even at great personal and communal sacrifice

WARNING – this is hard to listen to so before you hit play, be prepared.

The hostages have not been seen by the Red Cross.  They have not been given medicine.  No human rights organizations are crying for their release or to see them.  You can read what the hostages who have been released report it was like and imagine how much worse it is for those 136.  Do they know there are people in the world who care about them, or do they feel forgotten?  They surely don’t care about a cold beer, chicken fried food, a pair of jeans, or listening to music.  They are paying a horrible price in the fight for Israel and the Jewish people.

 A total of 136 people remain as hostages in Gaza, held by Hamas, after being kidnapped.Their names are listed here. We must never forget them and remember their names and that each one of them is a person with a family.


It’s a lesson to us about priorities and taking responsibility.  In the world we live in, with the situation and challenges we face in America, perhaps learning to take personal responsibility and to serve the greater good is what is sorely needed.

I became obsessed with the writing and thoughts of Kareem Abdul Jabbar a few years ago.  He always makes me think just a little deeper.  In his most recent writing, he highlights a quote from Taika Waititi’s recent soccer movie Next Goal Wins. As Kareem writes, “an American coach is being punished for his on-field outbursts by being assigned to coach a team from American Samoa that not only has never won a game but never scored a single goal. The hard-drinking loner lost in grief for his dead daughter is soon welcomed into the local community where their warmth and love heals him. At one point, the coach tells the local man who has helped him understand the Samoan way of life that he can’t win the game. The man’s response: “Then lose. But don’t lose alone, lose with us.”

In Israel, the people are fighting together.  Politics have been put aside.  Personal grievances are not important.  The wants and needs of the individual are not the focus but the needs of the country are front and center.  The required sacrifice of every person who lives there is something to aspire to.  Jew, Muslim, Christian, Druze, it doesn’t matter.  They are all Israelis and will win or lose together.  They are committed to doing everything they can to win because losing isn’t an option, just like losing alone isn’t an option for the Samoan talking to the coach in the movie. It often seems that in America, we’d rather lose alone.

The song Chicken Fried is lighthearted and meant to be.  Yet there is a powerful lesson to be learned about allowing others to make major sacrifices for our personal pleasure.  I’m grateful to those that keep us safe so we get to live the way do, but I won’t ever take them for granted.  One of my favorite camp counselors was a Viet Nam veteran and I personally saw the impact of the war on him as well as the lack of support he, and those who served, got from the public when they returned. Its something I will never forget. I pray for a quick, safe, and successful end to the war in Gaza, I also pray for the families of and those serving in both the IDF and the US military, for the families of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice, and for those still held in captivity and their families by Hamas. 

Perhaps the lyrics should really be

I thank God for my life and for the stars and stripes. May freedom forever fly, let it ring. Salute the ones who died. The ones that give their lives, and those who continue to serve, so we can continue to live in freedom. Like our freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

It’s not as catchy, but sure rings truer.

I took this picture myself and wanted to end this post with something hopeful and beautiful. Being there and just looking at the picture and reflecting gives me great hope for the future.