Netflix Hit “Fauda” Writer To Teach At Rutgers This Fall Semester

Top Israeli screenwriter Moshe Zonder , head writer of the smash Netflix series “Fauda,” will teach at Rutgers University this fall semester, sponsored by the Schusterman Visiting Israeli Artists Program

Fauda, about an elite Israeli undercover anti-terrorist unit in the West Bank, is the first Israeli TV series to be released as a Netflix Original and has generated widespread acclaim for its nuanced portrayal of Israelis and Palestinians.

As an artist-in-residence at Rutgers from Aug. 28-Dec. 21, Zonder will teach “Screenwriting for Television” in the Creative Writing Program and participate in outreach activities of the Allen and Joan Bildner Center for the Study of Jewish Life including the Rutgers Jewish Film Festival.

Zonder has written many screenplays for film and television, including the documentary film “Sabena Hijacking” shown in the Rutgers Jewish Film Festival in 2016. He is currently working on several projects, including writing a dramatic series about Israel's struggle against the Iranian nuclear program and writing a dystopian series about a futuristic State of Israel ruled by a king who builds the Third Temple in Jerusalem. Zonder began his career as an investigative journalist at Maariv, one of Israel’s leading Hebrew-language daily newspapers.

Now entering its second decade, the Visiting Israeli Artists Program is an initiative of the Israel Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based academic institute, aimed to enhance knowledge about modern Israel by bringing Israeli filmmakers, choreographers, musicians, writers, and visual artists to leading universities and other cultural organizations in North America for residencies.

Founded by the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation in 2008, the program fosters interaction between the artists and the communities in which they are based, exposing a broader audience to contemporary Israeli culture.

“The Schusterman Visiting Israeli Artists program is the bridge between the Israel Institute's academic and cultural programming. These visiting artists provide more than just classes that teach skills; these artists provide a window into the heart of Israel,” says Dr. Ariel Ilan Roth, executive director of the Israel Institute. “Cultural education provides insights into the fabric of a society in the way that other courses cannot, and the understanding of students enrolled in these classes is deeper and more enriched as a result.”
Since its inception, the program has supported 94 residencies at colleges and universities across North America. To date, 106 artists have participated, among them a recipient of The Israel Prize, Israel's most prestigious award; an Emmy nominee; numerous recipients of Israel's highest literary awards; and many winners of multiple Israeli Oscars.

Zonder will be among 10 Visiting Israeli Artists at U.S. campuses this fall semester, and in the spring semester of 2019. For his bio, visit: https://israelinstitute.org/re... . For details about the program, visit: https://israelinstitute.org/pr...

About The Israel Institute:

The Israel Institute works in partnership with leading academic, research and cultural institutions to enhance knowledge and study of modern Israel in the United States and around the world. Founded in 2012 as an independent, nonpartisan organization based in Washington, DC, the Institute supports scholarship, research and exchanges to build a multi- faceted field of Israel Studies and expand opportunities to explore the diversity and complexity of contemporary Israel.