Netflix Subscribers Bolt Over a New Film Hostile to Israel

A new Netflix movie that plays fast and loose with the truth about some aspects of the 1948 Arab-Israeli War is being widely panned as antisemitic and causing some customers to cancel their subscriptions to the Los Gatos, California-based streaming service. “Farha” is the directorial debut of a Jordanian filmmaker, Darin Sallam, and portrays a fictionalized account of an apocryphal story about an Arab teenager caught up in the tumult of the war that a coalition of Arab states launched against Israel following Israel’s Declaration of Independence. One scene in particular — it depicts the girl hiding from Israeli soldiers while violence transpires in her village — has triggered widespread outrage due to the fact that Netflix is marketing the film as merely “inspired by true events.” That is several notches down from the more commonly employed “based on real events.” Ms. Sallam, for her part, told the Guardian newspaper that she made the movie on the basis of a story that she heard from a friend of her mother. In a statement, Israel’s outgoing finance minister, Avigdor Lieberman, said, “It’s crazy that Netflix decided to stream a movie whose whole purpose is to create a false pretense and incite against Israeli soldiers.”The film’s release this week folllows closely on the heels of the UN General Assembly’s vote to adopt a resolution to commemorate the “Nakba,” which means “catastrophe” and has latterly become the preferred Palestinian term for the establishment of the State of Israel.That resolution, which passed by a vote of 90 to 30, calls for commemorating “the 75th anniversary of the Nakba, including by organizing a high-level event at the General Assembly Hall” while also calling for the “dissemination of relevant archives and testimonies.” Jordan co-sponsored the resolution. Ynetnews reports that Netflix has blocked the film for its Israeli subscribers, many of whom have already reportedly canceled their subscriptions because of the company’s inclusion of the film in the December lineup. Those who haven’t will see the message that the film “cannot be viewed in your country,” according to Ynet. There is also an online petition calling for Netflix to pull the film, which it added to its roster on December 1. It reads in part that the film presents Israeli soldiers as “monsters who amuse themselves with the death of helpless innocents” but that “such events never occurred. The film is a total lie. It is a dangerous blood libel and incitement against the IDF that will lead to more antisemitism.” Israelis, such as the model Nataly Dadon, have taken to social media to lambast Netflix’s decision to carry the film and encourage subscription cancellations. While it is not likely the streaming giant will cancel the film — a cardinal rule of Hollywood being that even bad publicity is publicity — it may become harder to see it in Israel.In addition to its apparent blocking by the company itself, in-theater screenings will be few and far between. Haaretz reported that Mr. Lieberman has already taken steps to revoke state funding for a theater at Jaffa that has shown “Farha.” Israel’s minister of culture and sports, Hili Tropper, said the idea of any screening of the film in an Israeli theater is “a disgrace.”

Netflix Subscribers Bolt Over a New Film Hostile to Israel

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