Anyone watching TNT’s mini-series “The Grid” may have noticed something amiss if they were watching closely. At the end of the episode, moderate Muslim Dr. Raghib Mutar, who turned his ner-do-well brother in to British Secret Service hands his MI5 contact, Derek Jennings, a token of his appreciation: a Hamsa.
“To insure accuracy and avoid negative stereotypes, the producers also consulted with academic and think-tank experts to verify their portrait of the evolving Arab media and the Arab response to terrorism. In addition, the BBC contributed its vast experience of producing material for and about the Arab and Muslim worlds.”
The series, featuring Jewish Juliana Margulies (oh, nurse hathaway!), aims to accurately portray the Arab world. Okay, so what’s the stink? The hand-shaped good luck charm is a common symbol among Arabs, not just Jews. Well, the particular model handed to Jennings, which got just a split second shot, was the popular Sephardi pewter type with blue tinted stone that’s common at Jewish bookstores.
It was a Jewish Hamsa, not an Arab one. What’s the diff? This one had the Hebrew word MAZEL written on it…
