I am more of a reader than a watcher, but on a recent trip to LA to visit my family for the first time since the pandemic, I was forced to binge-watch an Israeli TV series on Netflix called Fauda.

Fauda in Arabic and Hebrew means Chaos. This 2015 award-winning series about a unit of undercover Israeli soldiers operating in Palestinian territories highlights the madness of the chaotic world we live in. The success of this series is due to its effective representation of the impossible position both the Israelis and the Palestinians currently find themselves in, where the lines between good and evil have blurred.

Last week I wrote about the perils of democracy and suggested that Israel is on the verge of civil war. A few members accused me of exaggeration and inquired why I thought this was the case. The story, acting, and cinematography of Fauda drives home this message.

While we are blessed to live in the relative safety of Boulder where our primary concerns include such matters as the hardships of inflation, homelessness, and the proper use of pronouns, the rest of the world is still dealing with the chaos of literal survival, where millennia-old grudges are features of their kill or be killed existence.

While Fauda is not for the faint of heart, it gives one great insight into the nature of other cultures and why Israel, a functioning democracy, is in the process of tearing itself apart over the issue of security. Take the time to watch a few episodes of Fauda and reflect on how you would go about declaring peace with neighbors who, defined by generational hatred going back to Mohamed, are indoctrinated by such thoughts as , “Salvation will not begin until a Jew will hide behind a rock or a tree, and the rock or tree will say: ‘ O Muslim, O slave of Allah, here is a Jew behind me; come and kill him” – and are rewarded for acts in furtherance of such loathing with the promise of 72 black-eyed virgins waiting in heaven. This religious hatred, combined with Palestinian’s inept leadership has turned Israel into a military dictatorship, locking up two million Palestinians in camps with no prospects for a better future.

Now put this conflict in the context of what the Turks did to Armenians, the Japanese to Chinese, the Hindus to Muslims, the Catholics to Protestants, the Germans to Jews, and now the Russians to Ukrainians and one begins to realize that human evolution has a long way to go before we stop acting like angry self-centered monkeys.

— Sina.