Michael Sharfstein

A young operative is sent on a mission to follow an older agent who's behavior has come into question.

Five stories that combine fairy tales and fantasy with wisdom, crime, and lots of original and unique humor. The common denominator in all of them is the Jaffa atmosphere as seen through the eyes of Jaffa's community: the Big Solomon, the boy Jacob, Hazuka, the laughing Samson, old Hatzura, Babula, and a host of colorful characters surrounding them.

Giora (Assi Dayan) runs a bar and dreams of opening a restaurant. He has made a mess of his life — his marriage is in trouble, since he is pathologically cheating on his wife; his parents (Yosef Millo and Orna Porat) have separated; and his father arrives for an extended visit from Nahariya. Giora spends time with his army buddies, recalling their experiences during the War in Lebanon. His father is undergoing a major life crisis and finds both the loneliness of the city and his son's lifestyle unappealing. As a non-Jew in a Jewish society, he feels estranged, an outsider who has never been able to adapt, and contemplates suicide. Eventually, Giora's parents decide to attempt a reconciliation, until tragedy strikes.

After being tried for his crimes and released on parole, the young Captain Ran Nesher receives a new mission: to command a squadron of Mirage aircraft that not long ago lost its revered commander in battle. The squadron's deputy commander, Captain Eitan Rom is threatened by the appearance of his new commander, who seems to him to be irresponsible and inexperienced to the point of endangering the pilots. The power struggle between them causes tensions and dysfunction of the squadron. When the two crash land together in enemy territory, they are forced to learn to work with each other to survive. Upon their return to the squadron and the outbreak of the Six Day War, the two face a decisive battle and realize that only through cooperation will they be able to lead the squadron to victory. Love also has a place. Eitan, who is in love with Galia, the operations officer, learns precisely from his rival Ran how to overcome his fears and succeed.

In Israel's Central Prison, the security officer is corrupt, supplying drugs and stirring the hatred between Jewish and Arab prisoners to his advantage. Uri, in for 12 years for armed robbery, and Issan, in for 50 years for PLO violence, command the respect of their cells. When the Arabs are framed for the murder of a Jewish prisoner and a young inmate commits suicide rather than lie about what happened, Uri and Issan form an unlikely partnership, leading the security block on a strike. Prison officials try to break it. In the background are Uri's daughter and Issan's wife, women of beauty and passion who embody the distance from inside a cell to the outside.

A unit of new recruits sent to patrol Gaza during the First Intifada in 1989. A washing machine is deliberately pushed from the roof of a building as the patrol moves past, killing one of the soldiers. The perpetrator cannot be found. Four of the young soldiers are assigned to uncomfortable, boring, surveillance duty atop the roof, interacting with the Arab family that lives in the building.

A young operative is sent on a mission to follow an older agent who's behavior has come into question.

Five stories that combine fairy tales and fantasy with wisdom, crime, and lots of original and unique humor. The common denominator in all of them is the Jaffa atmosphere as seen through the eyes of Jaffa's community: the Big Solomon, the boy Jacob, Hazuka, the laughing Samson, old Hatzura, Babula, and a host of colorful characters surrounding them.

Giora (Assi Dayan) runs a bar and dreams of opening a restaurant. He has made a mess of his life — his marriage is in trouble, since he is pathologically cheating on his wife; his parents (Yosef Millo and Orna Porat) have separated; and his father arrives for an extended visit from Nahariya. Giora spends time with his army buddies, recalling their experiences during the War in Lebanon. His father is undergoing a major life crisis and finds both the loneliness of the city and his son's lifestyle unappealing. As a non-Jew in a Jewish society, he feels estranged, an outsider who has never been able to adapt, and contemplates suicide. Eventually, Giora's parents decide to attempt a reconciliation, until tragedy strikes.

After being tried for his crimes and released on parole, the young Captain Ran Nesher receives a new mission: to command a squadron of Mirage aircraft that not long ago lost its revered commander in battle. The squadron's deputy commander, Captain Eitan Rom is threatened by the appearance of his new commander, who seems to him to be irresponsible and inexperienced to the point of endangering the pilots. The power struggle between them causes tensions and dysfunction of the squadron. When the two crash land together in enemy territory, they are forced to learn to work with each other to survive. Upon their return to the squadron and the outbreak of the Six Day War, the two face a decisive battle and realize that only through cooperation will they be able to lead the squadron to victory. Love also has a place. Eitan, who is in love with Galia, the operations officer, learns precisely from his rival Ran how to overcome his fears and succeed.

A unit of new recruits sent to patrol Gaza during the First Intifada in 1989. A washing machine is deliberately pushed from the roof of a building as the patrol moves past, killing one of the soldiers. The perpetrator cannot be found. Four of the young soldiers are assigned to uncomfortable, boring, surveillance duty atop the roof, interacting with the Arab family that lives in the building.

Eldad is about to go abroad, but changes his mind at the last minute. Instead of going home to Jerusalem, he disguises himself and takes a cheap hotel room in Tel Aviv. There he meets the receptionist Judy who he makes believe he'll marry so she can go to American with him and get a working visa there. In another disguise he is mistaken for a deaf-mute Arab and joins a group of them both at their Israeli construction site and back in their village.

In the 1980s, an Israeli refugee, deemed a traitor, coaches West Germany's basketball team.

Love, family expectations, and religion mix in 19th century Jerusalem. Jacob and Rebecca marry; he's a rabbi, she's dutiful and loving. But she has no children. Months become years. Although Jacob is content, his mother reminds everyone she is waiting for a grandson. After 15 years, Rebecca determines that Jacob must take an additional wife, the young and beautiful Sultana. Rebecca fasts and prays, and in a state of near ecstasy, persuades everyone involved and then arranges an elaborate wedding. However, Sultana does not conceive, and Rebecca watches helplessly as Jacob's affection shifts to Sultana. She's near madness and the household is in turmoil. What can Rebecca do now?

An eighty-year-old man's body is found with three stab wounds to the chest and a number tattooed along his forearm. Amnon, a police detective and second generation Holocaust survivor, is reluctantly assigned to the case. As the plot weaves between the past and present, their stories unfold.