Fauda is an Arabic word meaning Chaos

I have held off posting about the cast and crew of the popular Israeli program, Fauda. Most of my followers have probably enjoyed the series because of up close and personal view of the conflicts in Israel because of terrorism. That is because it shows the heartbreak on both sides. It has never tried to dehumanize the Palestinians but also did not soft peddle terrorism. 

“Fauda,” which launched in 2015, follows an undercover anti-terrorist unit in the West Bank. A fifth season was announced in September 2023. I have loved it for the realism, and the chance to see what it is really like from the counter-terrorism viewpoint in Israel. Most of actors in Fauda are not just "acting" in something they know nothing about. They all served, like all Israeli young people after the graduate from high school. They have to. Israel has too many deadly enemies for their population not to be trained. 

But the point of this post is to say that the cast, crew and creators of the hit series, Fauda,  stepped up immediately to play active roles in this war, including Lior Raz who is the lead actor in Fauda, and its creator along with co-creator Avi Issacharov, also fellow “Fauda” stars Tomer Capone, Yaakov Zada Daniel, Tzachi Halevi, and Idan Amedi have also returned to IDF duty.

In an article on October 12th “Fauda” actor Guy Shalom said  “On Saturday morning I was awakened by sirens, and along with the sound came Hamas fighters.”

Shalom continued, “I have cried and I will surely cry for a long time. However, our spirit will not break, I am moved by the unity of Israelis who help each other in any way they can, by donating blood, money and supplies.”

Just last week, our Messianic brother Chaim Malespin ran into a Fauda actor while the Aliyah Return Center funded and volunteered at a BBQ by Kibbutz Berei (one of the Kibbutz’s that suffered from October 7th attack). In the picture above, the fellow in uniform next to Chaim is Tzachi Halevy.

One of the Fauda crew members in the early days of fighting gave the ultimate price.  Master Sgt. (res.) Matan Meir, 38, a soldier in the 551st Brigade's 697th Battalion and a longtime member of the "Fauda" production team, was killed November 11 in northern Gaza. 

It is not that they are celebrities that this needs notice, it is that even though they could easily have excused themselves from fighting, they did not. They joined the fight for their people's survival. This is heroic in my mind.