Condemning fanatics as evildoers might score short-term rhetorical points, but in the long run it will be necessary to recognize them as something far more disturbing — fellow human beings. That’s one reason to see Israeli director Joseph Cedar’s Time of Favor, a flawed but fascinating look at the politics of idealism and love.

The terrorism in this case comes from a different source — Jewish extremists. The Israeli army, it seems, has created a new "religious" company composed of volunteers from the yeshiva of Rabbi Meltzer (Assi Dayan), a radical who preaches restoring the Temple to the holy mountain now occupied by the Muslim mosque the Dome of the Rock. Heading the unit is Menachem (Aki Avni), a proud warrior and best friend of fellow yeshivite Pini (Edan Alterman), the sickly star student to whom the rabbi has promised his headstrong daughter Mikhal (Tinkerbell). But Mikhal can’t stand the rabbity Torah scholar, preferring the hunky officer instead, and this triangle ends up in a plot involving purloined explosives and a race against time. Acute when it demonstrates how the pettiest motives underlie the most grandiose and bloodthirsty ideals, but lacking in emotional resonance and suspense, Favor nonetheless serves as a corrective to those who seek to overcome their enemies by taking on their foe’s traits.