Rabbi Meir Soloveichik on “Fauda” and the Jewish Return to History

Fauda is one of the most surprising and interesting success stories of the streaming age. When conventional opinion looks with such studied contempt on Jewish expressions of strength and violence for the sake of national security, Netflix somehow greenlit a show that brings unvarnished depictions of precisely that to screens across the globe. It follows a unit of Israeli counterterrorism agents who embed among Arabic-speaking adversaries to gather intelligence and neutralize threats. The show is fabulously well done. And, well before October 7, 2023, one of its narrative arcs explored the presence of Hamas operatives in and underneath a major hospital complex in Gaza.