I’m still on Season 1 of this fairly addictive series about Thirty-something Orthodox Jewish singles “ghettoized” in a Jerusalem neighborhood nicknamed “The Swamp.” Picture Sex In the City with Orthodox Jews who aren’t supposed to touch each other before marriage. For me it’s both intriguing and annoying. I keep trying to figure out intended audience, but from what I have read it is a major hit in Israel with religious and non-religious fans. The politics are both overtly and covertly conservative. Two thirds of the way through the season and so far, there’s only one brief flare of Arab-Israeli tension. One of the women has moved to a settlement outside of Jerusalem. She and another character run when they mistakenly think two Arabs may be near.
Friends Randy and Susan recommended the series. This is what they have to say about it.
We loved Srugim because the characters have some hard edges, especially Nati the MD. There’s a struggle between modernity and religious traditions that each character must solve individually. A related storyline is between feminism and the misogyny in Jewish tradition. Our favorite character is Hodaya portrayed by the wonderful Tali Sharon. Check out her movies on IMDB. [Spoiler Alert] Hodaya leaves Orthodox Judaism but not her friendships. We also loved Yifat played by Yael Sharoni who is hilarious on the Israeli satire series “The Jews are Coming”. Watch some on YouTube to enjoy secular Israeli blasphemy!
New York Cynic 