PA daily columnist complains that Egyptian show has Hebrew in it
Column written by Mahmoud Abu Al-Haija about an Egyptian TV series called Naji Atallah Squad. The main character holds a senior position in the Egyptian embassy in Tel Aviv, and plans to rob Bank Leumi in Israel. The writer complains that the series is shallow and does not properly reflect the reality in Israel.
Headline: "Naïve imagination and normalization"
"We might say that the series is Ramadan entertainment and nothing more, but in fact in many instances it is loathsome and harmful entertainment, because of all these mistaken representations. However, what is most grave about this series is not all of these things, but rather the normalization of the Hebrew language, insofar as it [the series] makes it [Hebrew] familiar to Arab ears. Many of the conversations brought thus far in the show have been in that language, with no justification – not even the sense of realism that the director seeks to achieve in his work. The [other Egyptian] series Raafat Al-Haggan brought the word 'adon' (i.e., 'sir' in Hebrew) to the Arab street, and the greeting 'boker tov' (i.e., 'good morning' in Hebrew), and now the series Naji Atallah is shoving more Hebrew words onto this [same] street."
Headline: "Naïve imagination and normalization"
"We might say that the series is Ramadan entertainment and nothing more, but in fact in many instances it is loathsome and harmful entertainment, because of all these mistaken representations. However, what is most grave about this series is not all of these things, but rather the normalization of the Hebrew language, insofar as it [the series] makes it [Hebrew] familiar to Arab ears. Many of the conversations brought thus far in the show have been in that language, with no justification – not even the sense of realism that the director seeks to achieve in his work. The [other Egyptian] series Raafat Al-Haggan brought the word 'adon' (i.e., 'sir' in Hebrew) to the Arab street, and the greeting 'boker tov' (i.e., 'good morning' in Hebrew), and now the series Naji Atallah is shoving more Hebrew words onto this [same] street."