Autonomies
Autonomies () is an Israeli dystopian drama miniseries created by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky. The story is set in an alternate reality of present day Israel, a nation torn and divided by a wall into the secular “State of Israel”, with Tel Aviv as its capital, and the “Haredi Autonomy” in Jerusalem, run by an ultra-Orthodox religious group. The series stars Assi Cohen, Rotem Sela and Shuli Rand. Keshet received its Israeli premiere on Hot 3 on 6 September 2018. The series received its world premiere on 1 May 2018 at the in France. The series was also  the centrepiece of the New York Jewish Film Festival in January 2019. Plot summary. The series is set in an alternative reality in which the State of Israel is split into two territories, a secular state with its capital in Tel Aviv, and an ultra-Orthodox autonomy with Jerusalem as its capital. The series takes place in a parallel present, about thirty years after the bloody events of 1989, which ultimately led to the establishment of an ultra-Orthodox federation in Jerusalem where Jewish law reigns. However, Bnei Brak became a suburb of secular Tel Aviv. In order to move  between the two entities, permits and border controls are necessary The local economy in the Haredi autonomy is facing difficulties. In addition, the government is governed by Jewish law and its ultra-Orthodox interpretation, which includes a prohibition on selling non-kosher food. The police in the autonomy are known as "guards" and they are dressed in a kind of Hasidic coats on which the ranks and symbols of the state are placed. They are tasked with maintaining order and the laws of religion and modesty in the autonomy. At the center of the plot is an ultra-Orthodox "macher  named Broide (Assi Cohen), who makes his living from smuggling minor contraband between the secular State of Israel and the ultra-Orthodox autonomy. Goni, a girl raised by the secular couple Batia (Dana Ivgy) and Asher Luzzatto (Jacob Zada Daniel), turns out to be the daughter of Elka (Tali Sharon) and Hilik Rein (Dan Castoriano), the daughter and son-in-law of the Rebbe of Kreinitz (Shuli Rand). Broide gets an offer from the Rebbe, who also receives smuggled books from him, in which he is required to kidnap the girl who is at the centre of a legal battle 	Autonomies
8033136	over custody between the two ultra-Orthodox and secular families. When he refuses to accept the offer, he is coerced by the Rebbe and his henchmen into accepting. In the end, he agrees to do so only after he's arrested on murder charger and the Rebbe gives him the opportunity to accept the task and thus not need to stand trial. Demanding that the Rebbe make a commitment to take care of his family in the event that he's harmed and to grant him a divorce from his wife, Blumi (Rotem Sela), the Rebbe accepted his terms. Broide 	Autonomies
8033137	goes on a mission and together with Anna, a woman from the secular State of Israel, they kidnap the girl and smuggle her to Ukraine while on the journey, Broida cuts off his beard and wigs and plans to start a new life in Europe with Anna. During the events Elka accuses her father of organizing the kidnapping for political purposes to scorch the proposal of a union between the religious autonomy and the secular State of Israel. Independently of her father, she cooperates with Batia, which leads to criticism of her father which causes the Rebbe's health to 	Autonomies
8033138	deteriorate and to return to his community in the town of Kreinitz in Europe. This is where he also plans to reunite the kidnapped girl with her biological parents, but after his daughter tells the media that she is renouncing her claim to her daughter, he demands the return the child to her adoptive parents. The two parents leave for Europe to take the child back from the kidnappers. The girl gets away from her abductors, Broide and Anna. She is reunited at the local police station with both her adoptive and biological parents, where the adoptive parents then take 	Autonomies
8033139	her home with them. In the meantime, the Rebbe dies, and Broide and Anna continue on a journey into Europe without the child. They are involved in a fatal train accident in which Anna dies and Broide is seriously injured. The body of a dead passenger is mistakenly identified as the body of Broide, and a message is transmitted to his ex-wife, who is married to Brody's friend Leibish. Broide struggles with his demons and meets the late Rebbe in a vision and responds to his request for absolution. Then he wakes up and returns to the ultra	Autonomies
8033140	-orthodox autonomy. Upon returning he realizes that his ex-wife has remarried. He enters a Beit Midrash of a yeshiva and finds himself in a struggle between those who refuse to join the army and the Israeli Defence Force who are in the autonomy as part of the plan to annex the autonomy to the secular State of Israel. He becomes a conscientious objector and martyrs himself in opposition to the draft of Ultra-Orthodox men. Reception. An acclaimed series in its country of origin, Israel, The Jerusalem Post" described the show as darker than "Shtisel", the previous TV collaboration  of Elon and Indursky, concluding that "Autonomies is a disturbing, thought-provoking and alarming look at a world that never was.” A "Haaretz" writer was so intrigued by the concept of the show, suggesting it as a political point of discourse in Israel “I do not claim that Israel’s cantonization would solve all of the country’s problems. But “Autonomies” shows that it could lead to the point where Israel’s various cultures could begin to appreciate each other’s beauty rather than feeling mutually threatened.” "Tablet" compared the series favourably to "Fauda" and described it as “suspenseful.” U.S.  adaptation. Keshet International is in the early planning stages of an English-language adaptation of the format, set in the United States and using America’s own blue state-red state divide as a substitute for the original Israeli plot.