Arab Labor, whose title in colloquial Hebrew carries the racist/discriminatory implication of "shoddy or second-rate work," focuses on the family and work situations of Amjad, an Arab-Israeli journalist. Amjad's often hilarious attempts to assimilate his family into mainstream Israeli society are an opportunity to satirize the prejudice and stereotypes that exist on both sides of the border. 

The Writer is a masterfully nuanced dramatic series about Kateb, a 40-year-old Israeli Arab writer, who is struggling with an identity crisis. Kateb faces many of the same challenges that Kashua has faced in real life: trying to achieve peaceful coexistence between secular and orthodox people, navigating the pleasures and pitfalls of a long-term marriage and the complexity of being a Palestinian who works in the media.

And Madrasa is a fast-paced comic TV series set at the Peace School for Bilingual Education in Jerusalem. Palestinian Israeli Khaled starts attending the school when his family moves from Haifa because his dad gets a job at Hadassah Medical Center. Shira, a Jewish Israeli student who is thinking about jumping ship for a larger "more normal" high school experience, falls hard for Khaled. Kashua and Alfi deftly portray how these young Arab and Jewish people communicate, while it's their parents who future-trip about what their attractions and attendance at the school means.

The three episodes screening tonight, one from each of these shows, are curated by series creator Sayed Kashua (himself an Arab Israeli), who has been likened to a Palestinian Dave Chappelle for his outrageous parodies of racial stereotypes. Whether it leaves you in stitches or up in arms, this irreverent Arab-Israeli sitcom will bring you the Middle East conflict as you've never seen it before . . . and that's a good thing.

With subtitles

Post-film discussion with series creator Sayed Kashua, teaching a course this summer on "The Politics of Israel and Palestine."