Avi Issacharoff

[gentle music] You are listening to an Arc Media podcast.

Today, we will hear a conversation with Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff about the new season of Fauda and the audiences it has reached, which, especially after the past three years, would have seemed impenetrable.

But I couldn't help but think that we may have just witnessed what could be the basis for the next season of Fauda.

Before our conversation, which I recorded a few days ago, I wanted to share a few thoughts on the dramatic events of the past twenty-four hours.

Think about Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, The Hurt Locker.

For people who did not experience the events themselves, a film or television series can become the memory.

So how do you dramatize October 7th without exploiting it? How much license can fiction take with something this traumatic? And what responsibility comes with knowing that your version of the story may travel much farther than the historical record itself? This is what we're gonna talk about today with the creators of Fauda, Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff.

My conversation with them right after this short message.

We need to win the war in Gaza in order to make sure that another October 7th will not occur ever.

Avi Issacharoff, for 20 years, an accomplished Israeli author and journalist, now turned internationally famous filmmaker, the co-creator of hit TV series, Fauda.

The day after I got to Kibbutz Mefalsim, to see the roads that were there, full of cars, full of bodies, terrorist bodies, and the blown up cars and the burned cars, and you see a war zone.

How has October 7th changed Israel? Every family has been affected.

Hamas is winning.

This is what Al Jazeera sells to their audience.

Avi Issacharoff, some very, very powerful messages have been delivered via this interview, and I thank you sincerely for your time and joining me here on Jonny Gould's Jewish State.

Thank you, sir.

It was worth the wait, right? What an incredible two episodes, nine more to go in season five.

Lior Raz, Avi Issacharoff, welcome.

Fantastic to see you in person.

There was so much anticipation for this season, season five, and we got some statistics to share with the audience.

Ynet reported some viewers got panic attacks while watching and were unable to speak after the episodes.

Fauda's co-creator Avi Issacharoff talked about his goal for the show on the What The Falafel podcast.

I don't think that, you know, now people would watch Fauda and suddenly love Israel.

It's not, this is not my intention.

Yes.

And it happens because he bumps into a childhood friend, Avi Issacharoff.

Right.

So Issacharoff and Raz had known each other since they were kids in Jerusalem.

The

series achieved unprecedented success in the Arab world because of its hyper-specific authenticity.

Avi Issacharoff insisted on nuanced, deeply researched Palestinian characters.

They were given rich family lives, real socioeconomic motivations, and internal political struggles.