[airplane engine humming]
[dramatic orchestral music]
♪ ♪
- Yo, I'm gonna take you
to get the best falafel in the world.
It's gonna make that little brown dick hard.
Your dick's brown, right?
- Yeah, um-- YUVAL: Nice.
- When-when do you think we're gonna meet the partners
and, like, talk out all the details and stuff?
- We're staying with the partners, habibi.
- At the same house?
- It's this big-ass mansion. Tons of rooms.
Great place to do drugs.
But I'm not gonna do any.
What I am worried about is your sketchy fucking homey.
- He-he's not my homey. He's my business partner.
I--he has to be with me.
- I need to talk to you. YUVAL: Jeez.
He's problematic.
He's gonna scare away the Jews.
- I know he seems, like, a little aggressive,
but he's actually--he's really a gentle kind of guy.
YUVAL: He's sketchy. - He's not--
YUVAL: What the fuck?
- One second.
What are you doing?
NASEEM: They wire under the carpet.
I'm sorry. - What?
- I--I was wrong.
I've always been afraid to come here.
Even with the American passport,
I knew they would fuck me
because I'm a Palestinian.
But-but your friends are going to get us in.
Look, I--I know I've said
some horrible things about them.
But I am thankful to these Jews.
I--I love them.
I finally get to see Palestine and make money,
my two favorite things.
- I--I'm not sure that we're gonna get
to go to the Palestinian side, 'cause the-the deal--
- No, habibi.
It is all the Palestinian side.
[chuckles] It's all the Palestinian side.
All of it. It's all Palestine.
♪ ♪
- Come with me. NASEEM: What the fuck?
Where am I?
I studied all the exit signs on the line.
This is not the Ben Gurion.
AGENT: It's a private hangar.
- Okay, I'm with them. Selim! Ramy!
Eh, hey! Hey!
Don't fucking touch me, eh?
I'm not going in there.
You're gonna fucking waterboard me.
AGENT: Sir, we just have a few questions.
- Stop. Hey! I'll walk, okay?
Listen, I can hold my breath for nine minutes.
I'm not afraid of water.
YUVAL: He'll be fine, man.
Couple hours, just processing vibes.
Why don't we go too, though,
before we get processed, you know?
- Yeah, but what's the process?
YUVAL: I don't know. I've never been stopped.
Hey, let's go. We should go.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
[hot tub bubbling]
[notification chimes]
YUVAL: Habibi, you texting your uncle?
- Yeah. Yeah, I'm just checking on him.
- He's gonna be fine. Inshallah, right?
RAMY: Inshallah.
- Just tell him to do whatever the IDF says.
They're good people,
but make sure he bends to their will.
Text him that. - Yeah.
YUVAL: Yeah, shoot that out pretty quickly.
In all caps.
AYALA: Ramy. Trust is everything.
I meet anyone we do business with,
even the men who drive our trucks.
I have coffee with them.
- Yuval's been helping Ramy out for a while now,
and he's got an impressive business.
- Yeah. We're on fucking fire.
I told you that DUI was nonsense. - [speaks Hebrew]
I'd like to trust you.
But I'm sure you understand the obvious issue here.
- Uh, w-what issue?
AYALA: It's hard for me to trust a Muslim.
You can imagine, living here,
I've had some experiences.
I need you to prove to me
that your faith won't get in the middle.
[pen clicks]
Draw the prophet.
- Um, what?
- Draw the prophet.
If faith is not an issue for you,
then draw the prophet.
- Y-you want me to-- AYALA: Yeah, a small drawing.
A stick figure will do. Just draw something.
Tell me it's Mohammad, and, uh, we'll be good.
Those fanatics, they care over pictures.
If you are not one of those, shouldn't be an issue for you.
- Uh, um...
- [mouthing words]
- [chuckles]
Don't touch that pen.
[laughter]
- She always pulls this one.
AYALA: It's a joke.
- Uh, oh.
- She fucking got you.
Gave you a little tug, huh?
- [chuckling] I love to laugh.
- [chuckling] Me too.
S-so good. - Okay.
Uh, we have dinner this evening
with me and my partners.
We'll talk over details and see if it works.
This is my mother, Chaya.
She is why trust means so much to me.
She used to live in a world without it.
She's the only person of our family
who survived the Holocaust.
- Uh, wow.
Um, that's--
congratulations.
Wow.
- What did you say?
- Um, I said, uh--
- "Congratulations"?
Are you being sarcastic?
- Sor--no, no, I--
no, no, of course not. No, I meant it.
I mean, surviving the Holocaust,
that--that's--that's huge, you know.
I mean, and the numbers were-- were not good,
so to--to get out, I mean, that--
I feel like that's-- that deserves
a big congratulations.
You say congratulations when someone does
something very special.
And what's more special than beating the Holocaust?
You know, like, that's, like...
wow.
Congratulations.
You know, like, and that's when I would say it,
like, big--big events.
Like, you just had a baby? Congratulations.
You survived a holocaust?
C-congratulations, you know?
And so I--I think-- you know what it is?
"Congrats," that's the sarcastic one.
When people say that, when they go, "Congrats,"
that's--they're--
they're trying to make something smaller.
I'm saying it like it's from the true sense of the word.
You know? Like, the real, historically--
like, historically, congratulations,
that's wow, like...
The word has been misunderstood, I think,
'cause people just use it in-- in a really wrong context.
Uh, it's--which happens to words, you know?
It's like, uh-- like Allahu Akbar, you know?
People use that in a really just wrong way,
but it's actually a very beautiful word.
Um, and I--so is this one.
So that was what I meant.
- Okay.
- So just from the bottom of my heart, congratulations.
And, um--
and Allahu Akbar, really.
'Cause God is-- God is great for...
- [panting]
You see that?
You see that? Huh?
Five minutes, almost six.
I have the lungs of a swimmer.
I can swim across the Dead Sea if you'd let me, but you won't.
I'm ready, you fucking cowards.
[door clicking]
[door bangs]
[chair scrapes]
Breath control.
Did you see that
on your little cameras out there?
NOAM: There are no cameras here.
We need your code to open it.
- 16-character encryption.
Good luck, bitch.
- You know, I screen a lot of people.
I can tell you're not a man who's easily broken.
- [chuckles] At least you see something.
NOAM: I can understand you don't want to talk to us.
But we have a job to keep our country safe,
and there are a lot of people who want nothing more
than to see us suffer.
So you can comply...
[sighs]
Or we can send you home.
- I am home.
- To New York.
[clacking]
- [speaking Arabic]
YUVAL: "Congratulations" is not normally
a Holocaust adjective.
Why don't you, next time, just say sorry
and move on, you know?
- Why would I say sorry?
I--I--I didn't do the Holocaust.
I'm sorry it happened.
- It's loaded, man, okay?
The whole thing's fucking loaded here.
We all have PTSD from that fucking event.
- Okay, I won't bring up the Holocaust.
But where the fuck's my uncle?
- They're probably holding him. It's random.
They do it with older Palestinian men,
sometimes younger ones,
women too.
- Sounds really random.
- The soldiers are kids with guns.
I know; I came out here when I was 17 to do my rehab.
Fucking best trip of my life.
I found God. I fucked a chick--
I swear to God it was Gal Gadot.
No one would believe me, but I know it was her.
Best trip of my life. And then what happens?
I turn 18, they put a fucking gun in my hands.
I ran away. - Yeah.
YUVAL: Eat the chicken.
- Nah, no, I'm, uh-- I'm not hungry.
I'll--I'll eat later.
- It's kosher and halal.
You know, we kill animals in the same way.
Just, you know... - It's--yeah.
YUVAL: You're fucking rattled.
We gotta pray-pray.
Use your credentials at the golden mosque.
I'd come with you, but I can't.
I'll go see my rabbi.
We'll pray for the night to go smooth, okay?
RAMY: Yeah.
YUVAL: If it was up to me, I'd kick everyone out.
Everyone can leave. Give it to Black people.
You know what I mean?
RAMY: Yeah.
[clacking]
[notification chimes]
[dramatic orchestral music]
♪ ♪
[notification chimes]
Taxi!
♪ ♪
[both speaking Arabic]
- Okay.
[horn honks]
[indistinct chatter]
VOICE OVER PA: [speaking indistinctly]
- Hey--hey, man, do you know how long this is gonna take?
I--I just-- I gotta meet somebody.
I want to tell her when I'll be there,
just, like, an estimate.
Do you have a line for people with American passports?
- Oh, shit.
[spoon clinks]
- I can't believe you actually came.
RAMY: Yeah, sorry I was late.
The fucking checkpoint took forever.
RASHA: Yeah, with checkpoints, times are never accurate.
- I know. It's--it's so frustrating.
Like, I'm--I'm from New Jersey, and we have--
have you heard of the Lincoln Tunnel?
It--it's basically a fucking checkpoint.
Like, it takes hours to get into New York.
But sometimes it takes minutes,
so everyone's always just confused.
Like, is it gonna take a long time, is it not?
And then it costs, like, 20 bucks now
to--to get in.
It used to be 12. Now it's 20.
It's just--
At least you guys,
you don't have to pay, right?
- Yeah.
Our old checkpoint was like a tight metal cage,
barely any circulation.
And when it rained, it would get muddy.
Then they put the new paved ones.
- Uh, yeah, it did feel newly paved, actually.
Like, I could tell it was a nice--it was--
now that I think about it, yeah, it was nice pave work.
RASHA: I prefer the old checkpoint.
It was inhumane, but it felt temporary.
Now they spent millions on the new checkpoints,
and it's like they are telling us
it's going to last forever.
I prefer the mud on my shoes.
- Sorry. RASHA: No, it's okay.
We don't need to keep talking about this. [speaking Arabic]
- Uh, I work in jewelry. It--it's why I came.
W-what about you?
- I work in a restaurant in Ramallah.
But I'm starting my lingerie company.
RAMY: Really? - Yeah.
Super affordable lingerie, and the tag is,
"Everyone has the right to be sexy."
- Wow, your-- your family's okay with that?
Like, religiously? RASHA: [chuckles]
Muslims in the West are so fucking uptight.
You act like no one ever kissed before.
It's lingerie. Everyone wears it.
RAMY: Yeah, yeah, of course.
I'm--you know, I'm not-- I'm not uptight.
Like, I've kissed before.
W-what?
- This feels strange, right?
- Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like, the--
like, the--the barbed wire
and the--and the soldiers and stuff?
RASHA: No, I live here.
- Right.
It's like kissing a family member--
a cousin or something, you know?
- Yeah, I know.
RASHA: In your picture, you had a beard.
- Yeah. RASHA: It was cuter.
I feel tricked.
- Y-you feel tricked?
You invited me to your house and I had to go
through a fucking checkpoint and, like, a wall and shit.
Y-you said you lived in East Jerusalem.
- This is east.
It wasn't always this east, but...
[speaking Arabic]
- No, I--I get it. Stuff--stuff happened.
But--but look, I came all the way here.
What if we just come back here--
- Are we supposed to have sex
because you went through a checkpoint?
- No, I didn't-- I didn't say that.
I--I...
no, I'm--I'm just saying, you know, like,
do you--do you really have that many options?
- Do you think you are the best I can do
because of the occupation?
- Kind of.
It's--it's scary out there. Like--
NOAM: The name of your father? - Halim Mansour.
NOAM: The name of your father's father?
- Khaled Mansour.
NOAM: Your father's father's father?
- What the fuck?
I mean, how much information do you need?
- Your phone, it had some interesting things on it.
- There's nothing on there unless you planted it.
- No, no. Nothing illegal.
Just, uh...
some interesting applications.
[phone bangs on table]
- It's nothing. Eh?
It's--it's just, uh, to meet new people, you know?
To make new friends.
That's it. - Mm-hmm.
You know, I, uh--
I think you'd very much enjoy Tel Aviv.
You'd have a lot of fun, make a lot of new friends.
- Uh...
Are--are we--are we done with this shit or what?
- My boss is being very difficult.
Let me see what I can do.
[door bangs]
RAMY: I just, like, haven't been able to--
to get it up, you know?
Like--like, I will for a little bit,
but--but it just-- it's, like, I don't stay hard.
It--it's just--
maybe it's 'cause my head isn't in it.
My--my friend thinks it's 'cause I'm addicted to porn.
He--he's a doctor.
He's been doing studies on it.
- Sounds like you have a complicated life.
- I know, I know. But I just--
I really think if I could make a change--
like, this deal, if it--if it goes through...
and I understand if you think I'm--I'm a piece of shit
for--for doing business with-- - I would do it.
RAMY: Y-you would?
- Yeah, you have to do what works for you.
- Yeah, that--that's what I've been saying.
Like--like, if Muslims and Jews are working together, right,
like, that's how real change and dialogue can--can happen.
You know? - It's not about religion.
It's about the government.
They have no interest in our existence.
And they gaslight us like it's a war.
It's not. We don't have an army.
- Yeah.
RASHA: Have you ever read Chomsky?
- Um, yeah, I mean, I--I have-- I have a book of his, yeah.
RASHA: Which one?
- Um, you know-- well, you know, how, like,
sometimes you, um-- you don't finish a book
or--or start it but--but you bought it?
RASHA: No, I don't do that.
What Chomsky talks about is
the things that you have to do to become a nation
and to stay a nation.
They're so cruel.
- Yeah, yeah.
RASHA: I'm just exhausted.
- Shit. My--my phone's dead.
Do--do you have a charger?
RASHA: Yeah, it's behind you.
RAMY: What this--this?
RASHA: Yeah.
- Okay, this is from, like-- like, 2012.
Do you have, like, the-- like, a new one?
RASHA: Uh, no, I don't have it.
- D-does your iPhone have a button?
- Sorry, but I don't have the newest phone
in the middle of the occupation.
- W-w-what time is it?
RASHA: It's, uh, 5:00? Almost 5:00.
RAMY: I--I gotta go. I can't miss this dinner.
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- [coughing]
- [coughs]
♪ ♪
RAMY: [groaning]
- Sorry.
There was nothing I could do.
I hope you come back.
I'll take you to the airport. I, um--I got you an aisle seat.
- The things you take from us,
and then you give me an aisle seat.
Fuck you.
[door slams]
[indistinct radio chatter]
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
RAMY: No, s-sorry, look, please, please,
I re--I really gotta get somewhere.
I'm--I'm-- - Go back to the line
and bring your papers.
[speaking Hebrew] - Wait, wait.
I don't-- I don't have my papers.
- Go get it. Next.
- No, I--you--I promise you, I have an American passport.
It's just--it's not with me.
- And I'm a good friend of LeBron James.
- No, no, it was--it was-- it was in my jacket.
And I'm--I'm telling you, I swear, I'm American.
'Cause these-- these Palestinian kids,
they were making fun of me.
And then they took my jacket, all my stuff--
- Whoa, whoa, whoa. What?
- They, like, fucking attacked me.
- Attacked you? RAMY: Yeah.
It was like a gang. Like a--
ZVI: A gang? - Like, a bike gang.
Yeah, and they took all my stuff.
- [speaking Hebrew]
- If you could just let me through--
ZVI: Come. Come with me, sir.
Come with me.
[engine turns over]
Tell me everything you remember about these kids.
- Uh, I--I don't--
I don't even really think I can remember them.
- Listen, I know you're in shock.
But it's common after a terrorist attack
to be in shock, you know?
- No, it's--it's not--
I wouldn't say it was a terrorist attack.
It was a-- it was, like, an argument.
ZVI: But I saw you. You were just crying.
Listen, you're in good hands.
We're trained by your people.
The NYPD come here every year to train us.
When we arrive there, stay in the car
for your own safety.
They might throw some rocks, you know.
[soldiers yelling]
[ominous music]
♪ ♪
[speaking Arabic]
[person groaning]
RAMY: No, no, don't!
No! [person sobbing]
♪ ♪
- Those savage kids.
They destroyed your jacket.
But I found your passport.
You must be cold, eh?
I'll get you a jacket.
[shouting]
[truck door slams]
Come, we'll give you a ride home.
[soldier speaking indistinctly]
AYALA: You kept the partners waiting.
RAMY: I, um--I got stuck.
I--I went to the other side.
- I thought you might.
RAMY: What's happening over there, it's--
it's fucked up. It's like--it's like a prison.
Like, I--I don't know how you just...
this kid, he got arrested for no reason.
He didn't even-- he didn't even do anything.
AYALA: Two days ago, I was in Cairo.
We have a big client there in Khanal-Khalili.
I bought a box of cigarettes.
Have you seen Egyptian ones?
Black lungs.
Every country in the world
put a picture of what might happen,
but not America.
Not Israel either.
We work so hard to hide what is really going on.
Are you proud to be an American?
- I don't--sometimes. AYALA: Yeah. Sometimes.
Sometimes I am proud to live here, you know?
Finally a place for Jews to rest.
But sometimes I d-- I don't believe in Zionism.
I don't believe in any country.
- I think you should read Chomsky.
- You seem to be a good person.
Don't worry about the kid.
We have connections in the army.
I'll make sure he gets home.
Just tell me what you know. I'll handle it.
- Okay.
AYALA: Take off this jacket.
It doesn't belong to you.
- Take-- AYALA: Yeah.
Unbutton your shirt.
Your pants.
When you leave, you'll get your first drop.
10 carats.
We'll need to have 250,000 within 48 hours.
Cash on delivery.
My deal is with you, not your uncle.
- Okay.
- Are you hard?
- Uh...
yeah, I...
I actually haven't in--in a while.
I...
- Congratulations.
[dramatic piano music]
♪ ♪
[singer singing in Arabic]
♪ ♪