JERUSALEM: Stark billboards in Arabic promoting the new season for a hit Israeli television series have prompted a public outcry from residents intimidated by the signs.
The second season of “Fauda,” due to begin on Sunday night, was being promoted in cities throughout Israel with large black billboards carrying short phrases in white-lettered Arabic — “brace yourselves,” “on its way to you,” “action will start in a bit” — with no Hebrew translation.
The acclaimed fictional series delves into the complexities of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the story of an undercover unit.
The billboard campaign was nationwide, and residents in the northern city of Nesher, near Haifa, and Kiryat Gat in Israel’s south complained about the billboards, according to officials.
They have since been removed and replaced across Israel, though it was unclear if the complaints are what prompted any of the removals.
“I’m happy to announce that thanks to our action, the intimidating signs were replaced,” Nesher council member Shlomi Zino said in a Facebook video, gesturing to the new billboard with the word Fauda in Arabic and Hebrew and a picture of an actor.
“We’ll continue protecting you,” Zino said.
Kiryat Gat mayor Aviram Dahari said he would have a sign in his city removed on Sunday, explaining that residents perceived it as a “threat,” according to a Channel 10 television report.
Israeli television company yes, which is airing Fauda, said in a statement that the series “deals with the complex relations between the Israeli and Palestinian sides, speaks Arabic and Hebrew, and therefore, it is only natural that the series would be promoted in these two languages.”
Series creator and writer Avi Issacharoff criticized Dahari and Zino, saying on Twitter that “there’s no reason to be ashamed or afraid of a language. Maybe of ignorant people.”
The 12 episodes of Fauda’s first season tell the story of a Hamas militant being pursued by an Israeli undercover unit, with the story portrayed in meticulously constructed scenes reflective of the daily lives of Israelis and Palestinians.
It won six Ophir prizes awarded by the Israeli Academy of Film and Television in 2016, including best dramatic series.
It has also gained fans globally both due to its availability on Netflix and its appearance at international festivals.
The second season of Fauda — chaos in Arabic — was also due to be broadcast on Netflix in the first part of 2018.
‘Intimidating’ Arabic signs for hit TV show irk some Israelis
‘Intimidating’ Arabic signs for hit TV show irk some Israelis
WHO alarmed by health workers, civilians ‘forcibly detained’ in Sudan
- The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency
GENEVA: The World Health Organization voiced alarm Tuesday at reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians were being detained in Nyala in southwestern Sudan.
Since April 2023, Sudan’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million more and devastated infrastructure.
“We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, that more than 70 health care workers are being forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.
“According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks,” the UN health agency chief said.
The RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North faction allied earlier this year, forming a coalition based in Nyala.
“WHO is gathering more information on the detentions and conditions of those being held. The situation is complicated by the ongoing insecurity,” said Tedros.
“The reported detentions of health workers and thousands more people is deeply concerning. Health workers and civilians should be protected at all times and we call for their safe and unconditional release.”
The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame as it is not an investigation agency.
In total, the WHO has recorded 65 attacks on health care in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of those attacks, 54 impacted personnel, 46 impacted facilities and 33 impacted patients.
Earlier Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was “alarmed by the further intensification in hostilities” in the Kordofan region in southern Sudan.
“I urge all parties to the conflict and states with influence to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities,” he said.
“Medical facilities and personnel have specific protection against attack under international humanitarian law,” Turk added.
