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‘Shtisel’ Prequel Series ‘Kugel’ Attracts Viewers From More Than 100 Countries, Says IZZY Streaming Platform
Sasson Gabai sas Nuchem Shtisel in “Kugel.” Photo: IZZY
“Kugel,” the prequel to the international hit Israeli television series “Shtisel,” is already a success a mere two weeks after its first season premiered worldwide exclusively on the global streaming platform IZZY.
Written by “Shtisel” co-creator and award-winning writer and director Yehonatan Indursky, “Kugel” premiered on Feb. 28 on IZZY, which specializes in bringing Israeli content to audiences around the world. The show focuses on the charming but also scheming jewelry dealer Nuchem Shtisel, played by Sasson Gabai, and his 22-year-old daughter Libi, played by Israeli actress Hadas Yaron of Hulu’s “We Were the Lucky Ones.”
“When we realized we had an opportunity to be the exclusive global home of ‘Kugel,’ we knew this series could potentially be transformational for IZZY,” Nati Dinnar, the co-founder and CEO of IZZY, told The Algemeiner. “And it has already been just that for us, and it’s only been two weeks. Since we first announced that the prequel to ‘Shtisel’ was coming to our platform, we have seen our subscriber growth skyrocket with people signing on from more than 100 nations around the world. And the best part of this, truly, is that this is bringing further exposure to all the other great films, series and documentaries that we have on the service coming out of Israel.”
Unlike the Jerusalem-based “Shtisel” show, “Kugel” takes place in the ultra-Orthodox Jewish community of Antwerp, Belgium. Nuchem is the brother of “Shtisel” patriarch Shulem Shtisel. “Kugel” is set years before Nuchem and Libi travel to Israel, where Libi falls in love with her future husband, Shulem’s son Akiva Shtisel, played by Michael Aloni.
In the first three episodes of “Kugel,” viewers see Libi’s life as she works as a teacher while aspiring to be a successful writer and hoping to get married. She also gets mad at her parents for divorcing and is worried about how it will affect her chances at finding love.
“She devotes all of her energy and resources to becoming a successful writer. But then, a chance encounter with an orthodox man on the Antwerp tram throws a wrench into her plans,” according to a synopsis of the series, provided by IZZY. “Libi must decide whether the path to success for her lies in marriage, love, or pursuing her dream of being an author.”
In the first three episodes, viewers also understand why the show is called “Kugel” and the significance of the Ashkenazi potato-based dish. Nuchem loves visiting a local husband and wife-owned restaurant that serves kugel and his favorite part is the burnt sections. When the restaurant’s owner suddenly dies, Nuchem befriends his widow Pnina Baumbach, played by Israeli comedian Rotem Abouhab. She inherited the restaurant and Nuchem partners with her to reopen the establishment. He finds a new passion helping with the restaurant but also gets romantically closer to Pnina while navigating his divorce.
“Kugel is a show that wants to tell a story — a funny, heartbreaking, human story—to remind us how each person is
unique, a once-in-a-lifetime noodle in the great sea of noodles that makes for one big, brown, Jerusalem-style kugel. A bit spicy, a bit sweet,” said Indursky.
“Shtisel” followed members of the Shtisel family living in an ultra-Orthodox community in Jerusalem. All three seasons of the show were previously available for viewing in the US on Netflix but earlier this year Amazon Prime Video acquired the series.
The post ‘Shtisel’ Prequel Series ‘Kugel’ Attracts Viewers From More Than 100 Countries, Says IZZY Streaming Platform first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.