Um Harun
Um Hārūn is a Kuwaiti-style TV series that started airing during the 2020 Ramadan TV season, a time when TV viewership in Arabic-speaking countries is very high. Most of the actors and actresses are from Arab states of the Persian Gulf, with the most notable being from Kuwait
The series portrays the relations between the Muslim/Christian and Jewish communities within an unnamed Persian Gulf country, which according to the historical events of the show checks out to be Kuwait around 1948,
It portrays the disruptions in social life suffered by the Jewish community during the peak of the Zionist movement and the nakba, followed by the systematic racism and discrimination they faced in Israel after they voluntary and involuntary emigrated from their home country. Their immigration, as well as many of the acts that were perceived as anti-Semitic, were facilitated by members of the Zionist movement in their hometown in order to create disruptions and convince the unbudging anti-Zionist Jewish community to emigrate, which mirror some of the actual recorded cases of anti-Jewish acts that took place in the Arab world, which were perpetrated by members of the Zionist movement for similar reasons.
Before it started airing, the show brought mixed reactions, with many claiming that show is an attempt to temper the desire to normalise relations between Arab-states, most of whom don't have relations with Israel, at least in an official capacity, and Israel. Many of the actors and actresses including the lead actress, as well as the series' writer and the broadcasting network deny the charges.
Premise
The series begins with the Kuwaiti actress speaking Hebrew in a modern Mizrahi accent, telling the story of Um Harūn, an elderly Jewish obstetrician, that she wrote in a notebook titled אמו של אהרון. It shows a multi-religious community living in harmony, with shops, houses, and places of worship next to each other. It shows Muslims congratulating their Jewish neighbors on weddings by saying mazal tov, as well as Muslims and Christians cooking Sabbath dinner together.The lead actress and the writer said the series was influenced by the real story of the Bahraini Jewish lady Um Jān, from which the appearance and occupation were taken.
Characters
Um Hārūn
Um Hārūn, is an elderly Jewish nurse who works at the city's hospital. She is played by the Kuwaiti actress Hayat Al-Fahad.Rabbi David
Rabbi David or Rabbi Dawūd is the city's Rabbi. He is very religious, and he also takes care of the city's synagogue in which he teaches Jewish children and leads the Sabbath. Rabbi David also takes care of the other needs of the local Jewish community, such as their financial needs. He is married to Masʿūda, and has two daughters: Rāḥīl, and Rifqa, who is married to ʿIzra, and all of them live under his roof. The Rabbi is a friendly person, often seen with his house- or shop- neighbours Mulla ʿAbdissalām and Bu Sʿīd, or chatting with Um Hārūn who had more than once reproached him for being too extreme about his religion, such as when he refused to marry his daughter Raḥīl who is deeply in love with her neighbour Mḥammad to him. Rabbi David is anti-Zionist, and had for many times warned his son-in-law of the dangers of such movement on the country and the Jewish people who live in it to no avail.Rabbi David is played by, a Saudi actor from Al-Ahsa. He besieged the help of a Bahraini Jewish MP in order to perfect his role, and he also as practice Hebrew using recodrings to improve his language.
Mulla ʿAbdissalām
Mulla ʿAbdissalām is the local mosque's imam. He is the father of Mḥammad. Despite holding some extreme views, he is often seen with Rabbi David, who is also his neighbour and whose shop in the sūg is next to his, fighting over petty stuff, having a friendly conversation, or teaming up for a common task, such as advising Miriam in one episode, or scolding Father Samuel for distributing the Bible on Muslim and Jewish kids in another. He is also a close friend of Bu Sʿīd. Mulla ʿAbdissalām is played by the Kuwaiti actor Mḥammad Jābir.Father Samuel
Father Samuel is the city's pastor.Bu Sʿīd
Bu Sʿīd, is a big merchant and a close friend of Mulla ʿAbdissalām, whom he always advises against holding extreme religious and nationalistic views. He is married to Hind, and later on marries Miriam as well. He is the father of ʿAlya and the father-in-law of her husband Jabir, the four of whom live in his house. Bu Sʿīd is played by the Emirati actor Aḥmad il-Jasmi.Miriam
Maryam is a Christian orphan who lived alone before marrying Bu Sʿīd. She was deeply in love with Jabir. Jabir, however, chooses money and power by marrying ʿAlya instead despite his love for her, so she gets back at him by marrying his father-in-law and moves on to live in the same house as he.Ezra
ʿIzra is Rabbi David's son-in-law who lives under his roof with his wife, Rifqa. A staunch believer in Zionism, he both helps other Zionists in the city immigrate to Israel and tries to convince non-Zionist Jews immigrate. Throughout the series, he grows more radical, stockpiling firearms in the city's synagogue, burning the house of Yaʿgūb in order to create a false sense of anti-Semitism and an urgency to immigrate, and stealing the Rabbi's safe with money and gold designated for the poor and needy of the Jewish people in order to help the movement. He has connections with other Zionist, such as British Zionists who reside in the British protectorate and deliver him news and support his activities.Zannūba
Zēnab, more commonly known by her pet-name Zannūba, is a mentally-challenged young woman. She is very nosy, and she is the reason news spread around town fast.Response
The show stirred mixed reactions in Arabic-speaking countries, mostly as it was perceived as an attempt to soften Arabs' hard-held stance against establishing relations with Israel. According to the New York Times's Ben Hubbard, the series portrays a time period that does not get as much attention. He adds that viewers of this show and "Makhraj 7", a concurrent TV show which portrayed supposedly-current Saudi attitudes towards Palestinians, as a mix of "entertainment with propaganda."Arab World
The lead actress Ḥayāt il-Fahad denied allegations of attempts at normalisation by making a distinction between the movement of Zionism, and Judaism whose "followers exist everywhere". When asked about the controversy, she said that the series does not deal with the "Zionist enemy" and their unacceptable acts, but is an illustration of a historical period, while expressing amazement at people who act as if there were no Jews in those countries during that time period. The series writer, ʿAli Šams, made similar statements in an interview.Aḥmad Darawsha, a writer for the Arab-Israeli Arab48, replied to the controversy saying that the show is not about normalisation but about a part of the history of the Arab world, while warning against portraying a story contradictory to historical facts as pushed by Israel, which draws Israel as the saviour of the Arab Jews in countries rife with anti-semitism, hides the racism they faced after immigrating to Israel by European Jews, and omits the discriminatory sate policies they had to face. He condoned the anti-normalisation stance Kuwait has taken and criticised the unsubstantiated calls for boycott over false premises, but showed support for people critical of the lead actress, Ḥayāt il-Fahad, who made racist comments against immigrant workers during the coronavirus pandemic. He also questioned the Egyptian director, Mḥammad el-ʿAdel, who directed previous series that were perceived as biased towards the view of the Egyptian government, as well as the support and funding of the show by the UAE, which he described as the leader of the "pro-normalisation propaganda campaign that it is leading in the region". The director was later criticised by many, including the lead actress, for attributing the success of the show to himself exclusively.
Saudi columnist Hussein Shobokshi praised the show for correcting biased views towards Jewish people, stating that "The Arabic television viewer, particularly the Khaleeji audience, is not used to seeing a strong Jewish character, unless they are in evil roles, whether it is from Islamic history or the present era," adding that "In Egyptian, Lebanese, Syrian or Iraqi films, which focused on the period before the 1940s, you can see Jewish characters living in Arab societies and portrayed favourably … when it comes to the Kuwait and Bahraini dramas there are no Jewish characters, despite their communities lived in that area for a long time."
The New York Times featured a quote by the prominent Palestinian journalist ʿAddilbāri ʿAțwān in which he says that 2020's Ramadan TV season won't be forgotten as it "witnessed the largest normalization campaign, driven by the Saudi media, with help from the government, and coordinated with the Israeli occupation state."
MBC, the network behind the show, stated that it is a drama series, not a documentary, and stated that it should not be linked to politics. ʿAbdilmiḥsin in-Nimir, the actor who played the rule of rabbi David, echoed similar sentiments, adding that the show paints the Jewish community in a negative light.
According to Yediʿot Aḥronot, Syrian, Gazan, and Lebanese commentators criticised Saudi Arabia for its aspirations towards normalisation of relations with Israel for its own benefit at the cost of Palestinians' suffering, and linked the show to those years-long attempts. Saudis pushed back against the attacks by claiming they stem from jealousy towards their state in particular, and GCC states more generally, according to the same paper. The New York Times states that MBC is the largest private network in the Arab world, but despite that it is "ultimately controlled by the Saudi state."
The Emirati English-speaking The National says that the show was criticised for the perceived attempts at whitewashing "Israeli crimes against Palestinians and trying to rewrite history."
The New York Times, in its report, points to some attempts at establishing relations with Israel made by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates in order to counter the perceived threat of Iran and the Muslim Brotherhood. Michael Stephens, an expert in Gulf politics, believes that the show is encouraged and sponsored by the governments, according to the same paper.
The leader of the Houthis, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi criticized the show for promoting normalization of ties with Israel.
Israel
's Spokesperson Avichay Adraee defended the show and its lead actress, Ḥayāt il-Fahad, saying that she was facing accusations by conspiracy theorists who prefer xenophobic TV shows that promote anti-Semitic lies, and who look to the word "normalisation" as an insult.Israeli journalist Edi Cohen demanded that Kuwait gives the Jewish community that was forced to unjustly emigrate their lands back and return their citizenships, in accordance with the Kuwaiti Constitution, which grants anyone who lived in Kuwait before 1920 citizenship.
Yediʿot Aḥronot, an Israeli newspaper, states that the airing of the series is important to open up the topic of forced emigration of Jews in Arab States in the 1950s and 1960s, adding that the Arab World is concerned about Israel utilising these events to undermine the right of return of Palestinians who were forced out of their cities in series of ethnic cleansings, a main demand of expelled Palestinians in the State of Palestine and in the diaspora.
Criticism
The show was criticised for historical inaccuracies, as in the first episode when the radio announced the establishment of the State of Israel in the Land of Israel, although the area was known at that time as Palestine, with David Ben-Gurion stating "the establishment of the Jewish State in Palestine, to be called Israel." The announcement of the occupation of Jerusalem in 1948 instead of nineteen years after was also pointed out.The series was further criticised for numerous shortcomings in the Hebrew language, both spoken and written, as well as the numerous dialects from over the Arab World being spoken in a single neighbourhood.
Some anachronistic errors were also spotted, such as when Um Hārūn used disposable medical gloves that were not invented until 1965.