HaChraztufim (Hebrew: החרצופיםnote ) was an Israeli satirical puppet show which ran on Telad (Channel 2) from 1996 to 2000, being essentially the local version of Spitting Image.
Famous sketches/themes include:
- The SpitRoaches (החרג'וקים)note : The daily ongoings of a family of four cockroaches, Hannan (father), Levana (mother) and their two kids Jifa and Nevo, who live under Sara Netanyahu's kitchen sink. Commonly believed by more right-leaning elements to satirize the family life of the Netanyahus themselves. Retooled to be time-travel themed after Ehud Barak's election.
- In a similar vein to how Geoffrey Howe was portrayed as a boring man who talks to sheep in the British original, Dan Meridor was portrayed as a spineless coward who turns invisible and talks to his pet cat Mitzi. This killed the real Meridor's political career, and is remembered in Israel to this very day for that very reason.
HaChraztufim provides examples of:
- Adaptation Personality Change: In Spitting Image, Bill Clinton was just another warmongering US President just like Reagan and Bush Sr. - Contrast that with his Chraztufim version, who's practically obsessed with getting a Nobel Peace Prize.
- Annoying Laugh: Ariel Sharon had one, roughly put on text as "Heh-heh!". Sometimes, a few more "heh"'s were added, which landed him in Spongebob territory.
- Butt-Monkey: Dan Meridor and Benny Begin for the Likud. Yossi Beilin and Shlomo Ben-Ami for the Labor Party.
- Catchphrase: Several characters had a Verbal Tic, sometimes derived from the real-life counterparts, other times invented or popularized by the show itself.
- Hallelujah, [...]. Hallelujah - Ehud Barak
- Scoop! - Ya'akov Melon
- Particular - Shlomo Ben-Ami
- Moufletta! - Oscilated between this and Phrase Catcher for David Levy.
- Yitzhak would have wanted [...] - Leah Rabin
- Aryeh Deri calls everyone Raffi, as if he's interviewed by Raffi Reshef.
- Dumb Muscle: Avigdor Kahalani and Rafael Eitan.
- Fat Bastard: Baiga Shochat embezzled citizens' money when he was Ehud Barak's Finance Minister.
- Funny Foreigner: Nathan Sharansky was depicted as absolutely clueless about Israeli customs.
- Husky Russkie: Avigdor Liberman. Back when he was Bibi's chief of staff, he terrorized his boss's opponents.
- Phrase Catcher: Whenever the word "Innocent" came out of Aryeh Deri's mouth, it got followed by cries of "He's innocent!"
- Please, Don't Leave Me: Moshe Shahal is desperate to be a Minister again and constantly asks everyone for a comeback.
- Porn Stache: Amir Peretz's puppet was nothing but this, which makes him look like a Huge Holographic Head.
- Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: Benny Begin was very verbose.
- Soapbox Sadie: Shulamit Aloni.
- Talkative Loon: Ezer Weizman, the President of Israel at the time of the show, was a rambling old man who typically made misogynistic comments, like how women shouldn't give childbirth because it's painful and demanding enough to be a men-only job.
- The Oldest Profession: At least two sketches showed David Levy as a prostitute.
- Those Two Guys: Rafael Eitan and Ariel Sharon. One wonders why...
- Wrong Turn at Albuquerque: A sketch shows then-Foreign Minister David Levy lost on his way to a meeting with Jordan's King Hussein. He then violently demands to know where Amman is... while a local explains that he's in Beijing.
