A new feature film has taken the UK by storm. “Palestine 36” is the latest work by seasoned director Annemarie Jacir. The movie can be described as an antidote to “Exodus,” the 1960 film starring Paul Newman that depicted the establishment of the state of Israel.
“Exodus” exemplified Hollywood Zionism. In it, the Arabs are depicted as murderous and cowardly. They are the traitorous people who abduct and torture, while the Jews are portrayed as courageous and working for a noble cause: Zionism.
Hollywood has always had a Zionist tone and been demeaning of Arabs and Muslims. The media helped propagate this Zionist narrative, which portrays Israelis as a ray of hope and civility in a sea of barbarity.
The negative portrayal of Arabs by Hollywood did not start with “Exodus.” Prior works facilitated this perception. Many of Rudolph Valentino’s movies revolved around him saving his beloved after she had been captured by a vicious Arab. “Lawrence of Arabia” showed Arabs as tribespeople with no loyalty or ethics, fighting among themselves, and as petty, greedy and cruel.
Pro-Israel directors and producers have dominated Hollywood. For example, Harvey Weinstein, the Hollywood mogul who was arrested in 2018 on rape and sexual harassment charges, said “I’m an Israeli in my heart and mind” while promoting a movie about the Warsaw Ghetto uprising.
Hollywood has inundated the American viewer with movies about the Holocaust and the Second World War. The Hollywood narrative has always portrayed Jews as victims, with a special focus on the Second World War.
Zionist Hollywood makes sure that people only see one side of the story. It has never shown what the Zionists did in Palestine — the massacre at Deir Yassin or the crimes of the Irgun and the Haganah. None of its movies show the assassination of diplomats like Count Folk Bernadotte or Lord Moyne. Only half of the story is told in Hollywood. Only the suffering of the Jewish people has been presented in order to drive the viewer to the conclusion that they are deserving of Palestinian lands, without even thinking of the Palestinians.
Hollywood movies have shown Jews being sent to concentration camps and Jews rebelling against injustice in the Warsaw Ghetto. They have never shown the vicious Zionist gangs who went to Palestine, raped women and girls, slaughtered innocent civilians and kicked families out of their homes. Hollywood has not shown what the Zionists did to the peaceful people living on the shore of the Eastern Mediterranean. The victims had committed no crimes, but their land was claimed as their own by European Zionists.
But people are now starting to question the propaganda that has been fed to them by Zionist Hollywood. Things are starting to change. The other side of the story is starting to be told. “Palestine 36” is about what the Zionists did when they went to Palestine. Viewers can see how this projects into the present day and can understand what Israel is now doing.
However, this is not the first movie about Palestine. Despite the fact that many films on this subject have been nominated for Oscars — like “Omar,” “The Present” and “Paradise Now” — their distribution has been very limited. This is changing and new movies are being made. With the public appetite for Palestinian content increasing, it is difficult for the Zionists to keep control of the message, the truth and historical facts.
The Zionist system that dominated Hollywood limited the public’s access to Palestinian movies. No distributor wanted to handle movies that would put them at odds with the Zionist industry moguls. Stars like Mark Ruffalo, Javier Bardem and Olivia Colman, who have supported the Palestinian cause, are probably on the rumored Paramount blacklist of “antisemitic” industry figures. Netflix has removed many Palestinian movies from its library. All such efforts to suppress the message will backfire.
“No Other Land” this year won an Oscar for best documentary. This work shows the viciousness of the settlers and the complicity of the Israeli army. The Zionist machine worked at full steam to keep it out of sight. However, according to a source of mine, people in the US started organizing viewings in their homes. The power of the Zionist lobby could not suppress the truth. It is now streaming on Apple TV. In the end, “No Other Land” won.
The Zionist narrative in Hollywood is crumbling. In addition, more and more Arab producers and distributors are entering the entertainment business. Zionists like Larry Ellison and Rupert Murdoch still have important influence over the media, but alternative voices are starting to make a dent. It will only be a matter of time before Hollywood cleanses itself of the Zionist narrative.
BY: Writer Dr. Dania Koleilat Khatib is a specialist in US-Arab relations with a focus on lobbying. She is co-founder of the Research Center for Cooperation and Peace Building, a Lebanese nongovernmental organization focused on Track II.
Disclaimer: Views expressed by writers in this section are their own and do not necessarily reflect The Times Union‘ point of view
