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Israeli Lead Actor in Netflix Series About Biblical Figure Moses Calls Support From Arab Countries ‘Heartwarming’
Avi Azulay, left, as Moses in the Netflix miniseries “Testament: The Story of Moses.” Photo: Screenshot
Israeli actor Avi Azulay, who stars as the biblical figure Moses in a new three-episode show streaming on Netflix, talked about the “amazing and very moving” feedback the miniseries has received from viewers around the world and especially in Arab countries.
Testament: The Story of Moses, which was produced in Turkey and released on March 27, is about the life of Moses and his rise to become the prophet and savior of the Jewish people.
“From the banks of the Nile to Mount Sinai to the Red Sea, Testament seamlessly interweaves gripping docudrama and expert interviews, revealing Moses’ intensely personal quest for redemption—setting in motion some of the most inspiring and iconic events in the Bible, Qur’an and Torah,” Netflix said in its synopsis of the show.
While some on social media have criticized various historical inaccuracies in Testament, the miniseries is currently the most watched series on Netflix in the US and the second most watched English-language series globally, with 13.5 million views around the world. It is also among the top 10 shows on Netflix in 91 countries and held the number one spot in countries like Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“What excites me the most is receiving feedback from Arab countries that support and love the series,” Azulay told Ynet about the success of Testament, which features other Israeli cast members as well. “We are currently in first place in many countries worldwide, and it’s simply heartwarming and immensely enjoyable. I am grateful for it.”
“It surprised me very, very positively to see all the Arab countries supporting us, loving the series, respecting the players,” he added. “Only really good things, from every direction. I receive around a thousand messages a day, not only from Arab countries of course – from all over the world, and as I said It really gives me hope.”
Azulay said fans in the Arab world have told him “You are our prophet” and “We love you,” and praised him for his “amazing role” in the miniseries. “I have not come across any comments about being Jewish or Israeli, which is lovely in my eyes and makes my heart and soul feel good,” he noted. “I suddenly feel that there is hope, it makes me feel good that there are people who see beyond.”
Azulay also talked about the timeliness of Testament and it being released after the deadly Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in southern Israel and amid a rise in antisemitism worldwide.
“There’s something about this series, and I have received a lot of feedback about it, that it’s particularly suitable for the situation we are in now,” the actor explained. “I received a lot of responses from Israelis because the message of the series is that we need to be together.”
The post Israeli Lead Actor in Netflix Series About Biblical Figure Moses Calls Support From Arab Countries ‘Heartwarming’ first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd
Magdeburg Christmas market, December 21, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Christian Mang
i24 News – A suspected terrorist plowed a vehicle into a crowd at a Christmas market in the German city of Magdeburg, west of the capital Berlin, killing at least five and injuring dozens more.
Local police confirmed that the suspect was a Saudi national born in 1974 and acting alone.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed his concern about the incident, saying that “reports from Magdeburg suggest something bad. My thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Police declined to give casualty numbers, confirming only a large-scale operation at the market, where people had gathered to celebrate in the days leading up to the Christmas holidays.
The post Germany: 5 Killed, Scores Wounded after Saudi Man Plows Car Into Christmas crowd first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister
A person waves a flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, as people gather during a celebration called by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) near the Umayyad Mosque, after the ousting of Syria’s Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, Photo: December 20, 2024. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo
Syria’s new rulers have appointed Murhaf Abu Qasra, a leading figure in the insurgency which toppled Bashar al-Assad, as defense minister in the interim government, an official source said on Saturday.
Abu Qasra, who is also known by the nom de guerre Abu Hassan 600, is a senior figure in the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group which led the campaign that ousted Assad this month. He led numerous military operations during Syria’s revolution, the source said.
Syria’s de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa discussed “the form of the military institution in the new Syria” during a meeting with armed factions on Saturday, state news agency SANA reported.
Abu Qasra during the meeting sat next to Sharaa, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani, photos published by SANA showed.
Prime Minister Mohammed al-Bashir said this week that the defense ministry would be restructured using former rebel factions and officers who defected from Assad’s army.
Bashir, who formerly led an HTS-affiliated administration in the northwestern province of Idlib, has said he will lead a three-month transitional government. The new administration has not declared plans for what will happen after that.
Earlier on Saturday, the ruling General Command named Asaad Hassan al-Shibani as foreign minister, SANA said. A source in the new administration told Reuters that this step “comes in response to the aspirations of the Syrian people to establish international relations that bring peace and stability.”
Shibani, a 37-year-old graduate of Damascus University, previously led the political department of the rebels’ Idlib government, the General Command said.
Sharaa’s group was part of al Qaeda until he broke ties in 2016. It had been confined to Idlib for years until going on the offensive in late November, sweeping through the cities of western Syria and into Damascus as the army melted away.
Sharaa has met with a number of international envoys this week. He has said his primary focus is on reconstruction and achieving economic development and that he is not interested in engaging in any new conflicts.
Syrian rebels seized control of Damascus on Dec. 8, forcing Assad to flee after more than 13 years of civil war and ending his family’s decades-long rule.
Washington designated Sharaa a terrorist in 2013, saying al Qaeda in Iraq had tasked him with overthrowing Assad’s rule and establishing Islamic sharia law in Syria. US officials said on Friday that Washington would remove a $10 million bounty on his head.
The war has killed hundreds of thousands of people, caused one of the biggest refugee crises of modern times and left cities bombed to rubble and the economy hollowed out by global sanctions.
The post Syria’s New Rulers Name HTS Commander as Defense Minister first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels
View of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) building in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib / Flash90.
i24 News – Sweden will no longer fund the U.N. refugee agency for Palestinians (UNRWA) and will instead provide humanitarian assistance to Gaza via other channels, the Scandinavian country said on Friday.
The decision comes on the heels of multiple revelations regarding the agency’s employees’ involvement in the October 7, 2023, Hamas-led massacre in southern Israel that triggered the war in Gaza.
Sweden’s decision was in response to the Israeli ban, as it will make channeling aid via the agency more difficult, the country’s aid minister, Benjamin Dousa, said.
“Large parts of UNRWA’s operations in Gaza are either going to be severely weakened or completely impossible,” Dousa said. “For the government, the most important thing is that support gets through.”
The Palestinian embassy in Stockholm said in a statement: “We reject the idea of finding alternatives to UNRWA, which has a special mandate to provide services to Palestinian refugees.”
Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel thanked Dousa for a meeting they had this week and for Sweden’s decision to drop its support for UNRWA.
“There are worthy and viable alternatives for humanitarian aid, and I appreciate the willingness to listen and adopt a different approach,” she said.
The post Sweden Ends Funding for UNRWA, Pledges to Seek Other Aid Channels first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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