Hit International Series Debuts on KCET on May 6;
Season 1 Reboots on Link TV on May 11
KCETLink and the Levantine Cultural Center to Hold Community Screening Event
for Arab Labor May 4 at 5 p.m. at Harmony Gold Preview House
BURBANK, Calif. - April 24, 2014 - While race relations in the Middle East arent typically a laughing matter, ARAB LABOR, an award-winning Israeli sitcom, has engaged an enthusiastic global audience by poking fun at the cultural and political differences in Israel s mixed society. Today, KCETLink announced that the first season of ARAB LABOR will debut exclusively on KCET in Southern California with two half-hour back-to-back episodes Tuesday nights beginning May 6, 2014 at 9 p.m.
Additionally, the series will reboot from season 1 on national satellite network Link TV (via DirecTV 375 and DISH 9410) on Sunday, May 11, 2014 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. ARAB LABOR, broadcast in Arabic and Hebrew with English subtitles, debuted in the U.S. on Link TV in the fall of 2008.
Created by Sayed Kashua, an Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, ARAB LABOR (translated from the Hebrew Avoda Aravit, which colloquially implies shoddy or second-rate work) is a controversial hit Israeli comedy series that focuses on Amjad Alian, a Palestinian journalist and Israeli citizen in search of his identity, as he seeks high status in the society into which he was born, but where his car is searched everyday when he drives to his job in Jerusalem.
Humorously highlighting the collision of language, religion and custom, the milestone series depicts Israeli society through the eyes of an amusing Muslim Arab family and their constant desire to conform. When it premiered in Israel in 2007, the sitcom marked a milestone on Israeli television as the first program to present Palestinian characters speaking Arabic in primetime.
We are excited to introduce this unique and daring series to Southern California audiences, who represent a cultural melting pot, said Lorraine Hess, Vice President of Programming and Acquisitions for KCETLink, who first introduced ARAB LABOR to U.S. audiences on Link TV. We are confident this series can help enlighten viewers to some of the nuances around the Arab/Israeli experience that perhaps arent evident from mainstream news reporting.
A community screening of ARAB LABOR will take place on Sunday, May 4, 2014, at 5 p.m. at the Harmony Gold Preview House at 7655 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. The screening, presented with the Levantine Cultural Center, will be followed by a panel discussion with community leaders, moderated by Jordan Elgrably, the Centers executive director. Media can RSVP at rsvp@levantinecenter.org.
ARAB LABOR stars Amjad Alian (Norman Issa), a Palestinian-Israeli journalist working in Jerusalem; Meir (Mariano Idelman), Amjads Jewish-Israeli coworker at the newspaper; Bushra (Clara Khoury), Amjads wife, mother of Maya; and Amal (Mira Awad), a Palestinian-Israeli attorney to whom Meir is attracted.
Episodes will stream online for two weeks following each broadcast at kcet.org/arablabor and linktv.org/arablabor.
Season One Episode Descriptions
The Car
Amjad is stopped regularly on the road for a security check by police and does not understand why, because he thinks he looks like the average Israeli. Meir tells him that it is because the Subaru he drives is considered an Arab car. Amjad decides to trade in his Subaru and gets into trouble with the owners of the chop shop. All this is going on while Amjad the journalist has to explain in the media why Arabs are involved in more traffic accidents.
The Sheep
Amjad moves from the news desk to the magazine. The editor asks him for a colorful, sexy piece. Amjad is not sure and deliberates until he hears from his father about a very special sheep who understands what the soldiers say.
Kindergarten
Amjad understands that it is time for his parents to stop babysitting his daughter every day and for her to go to kindergarten and broaden her horizons. At first, he tries an Islamic kindergarten with a good reputation in the village. The little girl becomes religious, and Amjad decides to look for a strictly kosher Jewish kindergarten for her. He tries several options and encounters expected and unexpected difficulties.
Kidnapping
Amjad and Meir are preparing an article about the Arab Miss Israel. Meir, who remains in the village to take pictures, is kidnapped by the taxi driver and his cronies. Amjad and his father set out on a rescue mission to free Meir from his kidnappers.
Passover
It is the week of Passover. Meir meets with Amal, an attorney and friend of Bushra. He invites her to the Passover Seder. Amjad is also invited along with his wife and children to the home of a reform family whose son goes to kindergarten with Maya. Amjad is enthusiastic about the Seder ceremony and decides to adopt the concept of the Haggadah into Eid al-Adha (Festival of Sacrifice).
Reserve Duty
Amjad is called into the police and asked to help supply information to the security forces. He gets very scared and tries to find a way out. His mother-in-law, who just moved in with them while her apartment is being remodeled and, as always, manages to annoy Amjad, will be his way of giving the GSS (General Security Services) what it wants.
Loyalty
Amjad interviews the leader of a new political party that advocates a repartitioning of Israel between Jews and Arabs. Amjad, who is not at all sure of which side he wants to be on in this new partitioning, goes to a psychologist to find resolution. Now the story starts getting really entangled.
Crime on the Border
Bushra honks at a BMW that is blocking them, and Amjad is afraid that he is about to get into it with one of the village criminals. He goes up to them to apologize for his wifes honking and gets into even more trouble. In the mean time, Meir is beside himself with jealou
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Hit International Series Debuts on KCET on May 6; 
