Arab Labor

The series premiered on Keshet Channel 2 in Israel in 2007. The second season was broadcast in 2008 and the third season in 2012.{{cite web |url=http://www.go2films.com/%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%97%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9D/Arab-Labor-Third-Season |title=Arab Labor Third Season |publisher=Go2Films.com |accessdate=29 September 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520064123/http://www.go2films.com/%D7%A1%D7%A8%D7%98%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%97%D7%93%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%9D/Arab-Labor-Third-Season |archive-date=20 May 2015 |url-status=dead }} The series, whose title in colloquial Hebrew carries the implication of "shoddy or second-rate work", focuses on the family and work situations of Amjad, an Arab-Israeli journalist. Much of the comedy is derived from the paradox of Amjad's love-hate relationship with his Arab identity and his simultaneous wish to integrate comfortably into Israeli society.[http://www.haaretz.com/weekend/magazine/.premium-1.539247 Playing Sayed Kashua: Actor Norman Issa feels like the third brother of Arabs and Jews]

Poking fun at the cultural divide, Kashua's characters play on religious, cultural and political differences to depict the mixed society prevalent in Israel.{{cite news |title= Straddling Cultures, Irreverently, in Life and Art |first=Isabel |last=Kershner |authorlink= Isabel Kershner|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/world/middleeast/07kashua.html |newspaper=The New York Times |date=7 January 2008 |accessdate=29 September 2012}}

In the United States, the program aired nationally on Link TV. It also appeared on KCET in Los Angeles in 2014.

The show has won two consecutive Awards of the Israeli Television Academy for Best Comedy Series.

• Amjad Alian (Norman Issa) – An Arab-Israeli journalist working in Jerusalem{{cite web |url=http://arabwritersgroup.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/06-18-09-arab-labor-using-humor-in-israeli-sitcom-to-change-perceptions-of-arab-citizens/ |title=Arab Labor: Using humor in Israeli sitcom to change perceptions of Arab citizens |author=Ray Hanania |date=18 June 2009 |publisher=Arab Writers Group Syndicate |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20091105031213/http://arabwritersgroup.wordpress.com/2009/06/18/06-18-09-arab-labor-using-humor-in-israeli-sitcom-to-change-perceptions-of-arab-citizens/ |archivedate=5 November 2009 |accessdate=29 September 2012}}
• Meir Cohen (Mariano Idelman) – photojournalist, Amjad's Jewish-Israeli coworker at the magazine
• Bushra Alian (Clara Khoury) – Amjad's wife
• Amal (Mira Awad) – An Arab-Israeli attorney to whom Meir is attracted
• Ismael, Abu Amjad (Salim Daw) – Amjad's father
• Umm Amjad ({{ill|Salwa Nakra|he|סלווה נקארה}} -Seasons 1-3), (Alham Araff - Season 4)) – Amjad's mother
• Maya Alian (Fatma Yihye) – Amjad and Bushra's daughter
• Natan ({{ill|Dov Navon|he|דב נבון}}) and Timna ({{ill|Rona Lipaz-Michael|he|רונה ליפז-מיכאל}}) - Joined in Season 2, neighbors of Amjad and Bushra
• Yoske (Aryeh Moskona) and Yocheved (Sandra Sade) - Seasons 2 and 3 only, neighbors of Amjad and Bushra
• Ami Schuster ({{ill|Menashe Noy|he|מנשה נוי}}) - Joined in Season 3, Amjad's agent

The Chicago Tribune described it as "... a groundbreaking TV show that finds humor in sharing a homeland." The New York Times commented, "Kashua has managed to barge through cultural barriers and bring an Arab point of view ... into the mainstream of Israeli entertainment."

• {{cite news |title=Finding humor and truth amid conflict |author=Mary McNamara |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-nov-15-et-arablabor15-story.html |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=15 November 2008 |access-date=28 September 2012}}
• {{cite news |title=Meet the Palestinian Seinfeld. Who knew? |author=Jonathan Curiel |url=http://www.sfgate.com/default/article/Meet-the-Palestinian-Seinfeld-Who-knew-3185483.php |newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle |date=13 November 2008 |accessdate=29 September 2012}}
• {{cite news |title=Israeli sitcom about Arabs a hit |author=Ali Jaafar |url=https://www.variety.com/article/VR1117980014 |newspaper=Variety |date=1 February 2008 |accessdate=29 September 2012}}
• {{cite news |title=TV comedy depicts world of the Arab Israeli |author=Isabel Kershner |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/07/world/africa/07iht-journal.1.9050013.html |newspaper=International Herald Tribune |date=7 January 2008 |accessdate=29 September 2012}}
• {{cite news |title='Avoda Aravit' - breaking TV barriers |author=Anat Rosenberg |url=http://www.jpost.com/ArtsAndCulture/Entertainment/Article.aspx?id=90337 |newspaper=The Jerusalem Post |date=29 January 2008 |accessdate=29 September 2012}}

• Television in Israel
• Arab-Israeli peace projects

{{reflist}}

• [http://www.linktv.org/arablabor LinkTV website]
• [http://www.mako.co.il/mako-vod?partner=NavBarHP#/mako-vod-keshet/Arabic-work Full episodes at makoTV]
• [http://www.sizedoesntmatter.com/video/video-israeli-arab-sitcom-arab-labor-becomes-big-hit/ Israeli-Arab sitcom Arab Labor becomes big hit]
• {{IMDb title|0904447}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Israeli television series

Category:Israeli television sitcoms

Category:2007 Israeli television series debuts

Category:Channel 2 (Israeli TV channel) original programming