In Character: Shadi Tarif

Duty.

It's the founding principle I live by.

I'm a sergeant major in the IDF. I've been a soldier now for nearly twenty years, and I'm in for life. I believe in my country and in my fellow soldiers.

I'm also a Druze. Our people are spread out through parts of Israel, Lebanon, and Syria. We're Muslim, though a fair amount of mainstream Muslims might object to the idea of that. We're fiercely loyal to the land we live in. Which is why it's not out of the question for Druze to serve in the Israeli military, as I do. It's an honorable profession, and I've gotten good at it.

They've offered me the chance to become an officer in the past, but I've passed on the promotions. I'm a fighter. I belong with my men. Besides, while it's the generals who give the commands, everyone knows it's the sergeants who really hold things together and get the business of an army done. I'm right where I should be.

I've been seconded to protection detail for the last few months. The man I'm assigned to is a Palestinian politician named Sayid Nahas. He sits in the Knesset, which to an outsider might seem odd, but there are, in fact, Palestinians sitting in the Israeli Parliament. What makes him stand out is that he genuinely wants peace. It makes him a bridge between two worlds, between two peoples. And he means it.

I decided awhile ago that he and his wife are the sort of people worth taking a bullet for. That's high praise coming from someone in the protection detail. There are plenty of politicians who, frankly, aren't worth the bullet. Fortunately, I'm not charged with their protection. I protect a man that I can respect, and trust.

Today they tried to kill him.

A terrorist group called the Covenant claimed responsibility for a car bombing. My partner was killed, and the only reason we're alive is that he went ahead to fetch the car. Otherwise we'd be dead too.

They tried and failed to kill one good man today. They managed to kill another good man. Will they try again?

I could see this character in either Oded Fehr (The Mummy) or Pierfrancesco Favino (Prince Caspian)...