ARAB LABOR, which has been described as a cross between All in the Family and Curb Your Enthusiasm, is a big but controversial hit in Israel. Created by Sayed Kashua, an Israeli-born Palestinian journalist, Arab Labor is a valiant, consistently hilarious attempt to explore the tensions and contradictions of everyday life through the eyes of an Israeli Muslim Arab.

On one hand Kashua has managed to barge through cultural barriers and bring an Arab point of view – mostly expressed in colloquial Arabic – into the mainstream of Israeli entertainment. On the other, Arab Labor reflects a society still grappling with fundamental issues of identity and belonging in a Jewish state that, Kashua says, still largely relates to its Arab minority as “a fifth column or a demographic problem. “I want to bring likable Arabs into the average Israeli living room,” he said.

The Santa Fe Jewish Film Festival will screen three episodes. It’s a unique opportunity for Santa Feans to look at Israeli life through a very different prism.