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Edited by: TJVNews.com
A new drama on Netflix centered on a haredi Orthodox family that runs a business in Antwerp’s famed diamond district hit the platform last week and is drawing comparisons to the hit Israeli series “Shtisel.”
“Rough Diamonds,” a joint production from Israel’s Keshet International and Belgium’s De Mensen, follows the Wolfson family as it navigates internal tension and business struggles in the wake of a death in the family. The protagonist, who left the haredi world 15 years earlier, returns to Antwerp to look into his relative’s death and help steer the family company back to prominence.
Until the past decade, Antwerp was home to over 80% of the world’s annual uncut diamond trade, and much of it was dominated by haredi Orthodox Jews. The city was home to a large Jewish population for centuries after welcoming many Jews who left Spain and Portugal in the wake of the Inquisition in the 15th century, including many diamond dealers who were barred from working in many other industries. Although the community was decimated by the Holocaust, by 2018 Antwerp was home to at least 20,000 Jews, many of them haredi Orthodox. In recent years, Indian families have assumed control of as much as three-quarters of Antwerp’s diamond industry.
“Rough Diamonds” is mostly filmed in a mix of Flemish and Yiddish, in addition to some French and English. Co-creators Rotem Shamir and Yuval Yefet, who are both Israeli and worked together on the Israeli military thriller “Fauda,” told the Times of Israel that they had to use a “lot of advisers and translators” while working on the show over the course of six years.
“We’re not from an ultra-Orthodox background, and we’re not from Belgian backgrounds. .. You have to kind of submerge yourself in this world to learn about it” Yefet said.
The show’s lead, Noah Wolfson, is played by Kevin Janssens, a popular non-Jewish TV actor in his native Belgium. About half of the Wolfson family are played by Jews, producer Pieter Van Huyck told the London Jewish Chronicle.
“We want to portray a normal Hasidic family in the most authentic way possible but, of course, it is a family which is in trouble so it is not a normal situation they are trying to survive,” he said. “It wasn’t easy finding Jewish actors who knew that specific way of living and so we had a mix of Jewish and local Flemish actors and we had quite a few Jewish coaches.”
Jews in New York City’s Diamond District were given the silver-screen spotlight in “Uncut Gems,” a 2019 drama starring Adam Sandler.
A recently published review of the new Netflix series that appeared on Forward.com said: “Shows about Haredi life tend to focus on someone who doesn’t quite fit into the community or seeks to break out, painting the Haredi world as unbearably repressive. But Noah doesn’t quite follow the template. While he starts out prickly and guarded, snapping at anything that reminds him of his old life, he soon loosens up and joins the family’s prayers at a shiva. His son — though not Jewish by Orthodox standards, thanks to his gentile mother — is drawn to the newfound customs, excitedly putting on a kippah and learning the Shabbat blessings. (Whether a Haredi family would embrace a grandson with a non-Jewish mother as a Jew seems perhaps unlikely, but it makes for a nice storyline.)
The main beats of the plot are attached to the diamond business and its drama, but all with the Haredi world as its backdrop. There are discussions of Jewish burial rules, weddings, kosher internet and synagogue drama, all of which are part and parcel of the politics of the diamond trade. There’s even a plotline in which the family uses a chevra kadisha van to smuggle illegal goods across the border to London.”
The reactions to “Rough Diamonds” have drawn some strong responses from the internet, mostly centered around the Orthodox Haredi Hasidic Jewish family, as was reported by leisurebyte.com. The series has garnered a plethora of comments related to the diamond district saga and has been trending on the platform ever since its release.
The show is divided into 8 episodes, with an average runtime of 50-55 minutes. Plus, the series is dubbed in the English Language.
Leisurebyte.com reported that the series has captured the interest of Twitter users who are expressing curiosity and enthusiasm in learning more about the Hasidic community and their way of life. Many users see this as a unique opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of a community to which they may not have had previous exposure, leisurebyte.com reported. The series has ignited a conversation around the traditions and values of the Hasidic community, and users are eager to gain more insight into their unique way of life.
On the other hand, for Twitter users who belong to the Haredi Hasidic community or have a personal connection to this group, the series is particularly significant, according to the review on leisurebyte.com. This is why they have shared their culture, traditions and practices with a wider audience.
The show’s focus on family and community is also resonating with viewers, who are appreciating the way that the series highlights the importance of these relationships in the Hasidic community, leisurebyte.com reported. Users are finding the show to be both heartwarming and uplifting, and are connecting with the show’s central characters on an emotional level.
All in all, Twitter users are responding positively to the series, with high praise for its nuanced portrayal of the community and its ability to shed light on a community that is often overlooked in popular culture, leisurebyte.com. Users are also finding the show to be both informative and entertaining and are appreciating its focus on family and community.
