Television Drama in Israel: Identities in Post-TV Culture

225 Pages·2017·2.733 MB·English

by  Itay Harlap

e l e v i s i o Tn Drama in Israel

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Television Drama in Israel
Identities in Post-TV Culture
t a y I Harlap
Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc

NEW YORK • L ONDON • O XFORD • NEW DELHI • S YDNEY

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Bloomsbury Academic
An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Inc
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BLOOMSBURY and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published 2017
© Itay Harlap, 2017
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted
in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying,
recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission
in writing from the publishers.
No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on
or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be
accepted by Bloomsbury or the author.
Library of Congress Cataloging- in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress
Names: Harlap, Itay, 1974– author.
Title: Television drama in Israel : identities in post-tv culture / Itay Harlap.
Description: New York : Bloomsbury Academic, 2017. | Includes bibliographical
references and index.
Identifi ers: LCCN 2017014770 (print) | LCCN 2017028823 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781501328909 (ePDF) | ISBN 9781501328916 (ePUB) |
ISBN 9781501328930 (hardcover : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Television series—Israel—History and criticism. | Identity (Psychology)
and mass media—Israel.
Classifi cation: LCC PN1992.3.I75 (ebook) | LCC PN1992.3.I75 H37 2017 (print)
| DDC 791.457509569--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017014770
ISBN : HB : 978–1–5013–2893–0
ePub: 978–1–5013–2891–6
e PDF : 978–1–5013–2890–9
Cover design: Louise Dugdale
Cover image © Shlomit Bauman, Channel ElDuwara, ceramics, h: 21 cm.
Photograph: Ilan Amihai
Typeset by Refi neCatch Limited, Bungay, Suffolk
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Contents
Figures vii
Acknowledgments ix
Preface xi
1 Half a Century of Israeli Identities through Television 1
2 Bringing Back the Nation: BeTipul’ s Male Warrior 21
3 It’s Not TV, It’s B eTipul : Rethinking “Israeliness” 45
4 Bad Television/Good (Post-) Television: Aging and Masculinity
in N evelot (Eagles) 67
5 Small-Screen Trauma: Seriality and Post-Trauma in Parashat
HaShavua and Waltz with Bashir 85
6 “Black Box”: Memory, Television, and Ethnicity in Z aguri Imperia 103
7 Th e New Normative: Gay Fatherhood on Israeli Television 127
8 Conclusion and Some Observations on Israeli Reality TV 151
Notes 159
References 171
Television 188
F ilm 190
Index 193

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Figures
0.1 Mother holding a baby in her arms (K hirbet Khizeh ) xi
0.2 Palestinians peering through the cracks in the side of a truck
( Khirbet Khizeh ) xii
2.1 Yadin Yerushalmi in B eTipul 22
2.2 Reuven Dagan in BeTipul 23
2.3 Reuven standing over Yadin (B eTipul ) 31
3.1 BeTipul ’s opening sequence 49
3.2 Menchem Yerushalmi in B eTipul 63
3.3 Reuven’s fantasy ( BeTipul ) 64
4.1 Moshke and Ephraim as old men in N evelot 67
4.2 Moshke and Ephraim as youths in N evelot 68
4.3 Th e young as seen through the café window ( Nevelot ) 72
4.4 Ephraim’s eyeglass lens (N evelot ) 75
4.5 Ephraim watching television (N evelot ) 75
5.1 Th e main characters in P arashat HaShavua 86
5.2 Shaul’s fi rst dream ( Parashat HaShavua ) 88
5.3 Shaul’s second dream (P arashat HaShavua ) 90
5.4 Shaul’s third dream ( Parashat HaShavua ) 91
5.5 Shaul’s third dream ( Parashat HaShavua ) 92
5.6 Shaul shouting, “Tolik Chernin, wake up!” ( Parashat HaShavua ) 100
6.1 Th e Zaguris (Z aguri Imperia ) 104
6.2 Rachel watching her mother and sisters performing a sh’chur
( Sh’chur ) 107
6.3 Chely as television show host (S h’chur ) 113
6.4 Avishag Zaguri dancing in Habima Square (Z aguri Imperia ) 115
6.5 Watching television on Israeli Holocaust Remembrance Day
( Zaguri Imperia ) 117
6.6 Watching television and performing a traditional ritual against
the evil eye ( Zaguri Imperia ) 117
6.7 Roy Hasan reading from his poem “Th e State of Ashkenaz”
( Zaguri Imperia ) 120

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viii Figures
6.8 Th e Zaguris watching the play, seated on their T V couch
( Zaguri Imperia ) 123
6.9 Avishai Zaguri and Shimrit founding a new religion
( Zaguri Imperia ) 124
7.1 Graffi ti on the route of the 2014 Tel Aviv Gay Pride parade:
“Tel Aviv is marching for equality!” 127
7.2 Dana International in the video of “Children Bring Joy” 128
7.3 How surrogacy works in Israel, “Dad and Dad” (S aturday News ) 142
7.4 Erez, Taliá, and Sammy in Ima VeAbbaz 144
7.5 Erez gets a blow job ( Ima VeAbbaz ) 145
7.6 Sammy wants to penetrate Erez, who refuses ( Ima VeAbbaz ) 147
7.7 Erez and Sammy as two men and a baby carriage ( Ima VeAbbaz ) 148
8.1 Amjad is talking to Big Brother ( Avodá Aravìt ) 152
cAknowledgments
This book would not have been possible without the support of my many
teachers and colleagues throughout the years; I owe them all a deep debt of
gratitude, chiefl y to Prof. Nurith Gertz and Prof. Jerome Bourdon.
A special thanks to two people who were lecturers at the beginning of my
studies, and later on became colleagues and friends: Dr. Boaz Hagin, who helped
me greatly over my academic journey, particularly in writing the manuscript for
this book; and Prof. Raz Yosef, whose writing greatly infl uenced my own (as can
be seen in the book), and who encouraged me to publish my research.
Another special thanks to Ariel Avissar, who went from being my student to
my teaching assistant, and from teaching assistant to colleague and friend; and
who not only taught me a thing or two about television, but also continues to this
day to be a key person with whom I regularly consult and from whom I receive
assistance.
Th anks to all those women and men, colleagues and friends, who advised me,
supported me, and answered my questions throughout. Also, thanks to each of
my Facebook friends, who over the years have helped me refi ne arguments,
fi nd examples, and remember during the endless task of writing that I’m not
alone. Th anks to H OT , Channel 1, Keshet, Channel 10, IBA, jcs, My T V , Anat
Asulin Productions Ltd, Herzliya Studios, Tedy Productions, Dori Media Paran
production, Hana Azulay Hasfari and Omer Tobi for their support and the
images found in this volume.
Finally, thanks to my amazing family, who helped and supported me all along
the way: my parents, Ofra and Uri; my sisters, Michal and Lihi; Tal Ben-Bina,
who together with me started our alternative family and made me a proud father;
and of course our son Avshalom, about whom no words could describe the
transformation that he brought about in my life.

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