Thousands of people on social media have called for people to boycott the famous world's leading internet television network, Netflix, over its support for Israel.
The boycott campaign against companies and products that support Israel was launched on social media, after the outbreak of the Israeli war against the Palestinians in Gaza, where more than 11,100 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since October 7, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The boycott campaigns were launched against all brands, even the ones who support Israel indirectly, recently Netflix platform joined the growing list after accusations of being “Truly Israeli”!
A photo from Netflix website accompanied posts with the hashtag "#Boycott_Netflix" and the title “Netflix is now truly Israeli” on X platform (formerly Twitter).
Another advocate said: "We canceled our membership today as they announced officially that they support zionists."
Boycott Movement
BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctionsis) is a vibrant nonviolent protest movement, founded by groups of Palestinian civil society. The movement attempts to put economic pressure on Israel. The goal of the movement is to push Israel to recognize the rights of Palestinian citizens currently living in Israel; allow Palestinian refugees to return to their homes; and withdraw from all land that it seized after the 1967 Arab-Israeli war, including the occupied West Bank.
BDS started in 2005, just one year after the International Court of Justice issued an advisory opinion that “Israel’s building of a barrier in the occupied Palestinian territory is illegal” by a coalition of about 170 grassroots and civil society groups. They call for a boycott of Israel, and international companies that are complicit in violations of Palestinian rights. In addition to the international companies that are suspected of supporting Israel.
What Is Netflix and How Does It Work?
Netflix is a popular entertainment streaming service that offers a vast catalog of movies, TV shows and documentaries from various genres, and in multiple languages. The service is provided through an internet subscription on TV, computer, and mobile devices. The company has a business presence across the Americas, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and Asia-Pacific. Netflix offers on-demand video content with a mix of third-party and in-house content. What’s notable about Netflix is that it gathers detailed data on subscribers’ viewing habits and provides choices close to their preferences.
To What Extent “Netflix Is Truly Israeli” ?
A call to boycott Netflix has been launched on social media, over a claim that the American company supports Israel. The campaign has been accompanied by calls for users to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.
The viral campaign on social media used a photo from the Netflix platform website with a press release titled “Netflix is now Truly Israeli.”
The photo dates back to 2017, where it was posted with an article by Netflix, to announce that the company has officially added a “truly Israeli” service, using local language (Hebrew), currency and adding Israeli TV shows in addition to Netflix’s original programming. Prior to this, Israeli consumers could only access the service through virtual private networks.
Palestinian Stories on Netflix
The American company has a user base of approximately 223 million paying customers worldwide in 2022. And as a streaming platform, Netflix mainly focuses on the viewing needs of individual users. The company targeted the Middle East subscribers with the announcement of launching “Palestinian Stories” collection on October 14, 2021 where 32 different award-winning films are available to watch on the giant streaming platform.
The collection showcases films that feature works of some of the region’s most critically-acclaimed film-makers, including but not limited to, Annemarie Jacir, Mai Masri, Mahdi Fleifel, Susan Youssef, May Odeh and Farah Nabulsi. Netflix labeled the collection as a tribute to the creativity and passion of the Arab film industry as Netflix continues to invest in stories from the Arab world.
The collection has drawn criticism from Israelis as they considered Netflix featuring propaganda films directed by BDS supporters. Netflix did not comment directly on the connection of the films to BDS, releasing a statement on its reason for releasing the films and reaffirming its support for Israeli programming, saying, “Netflix believes in artistic freedom and is continuously investing in authentic storytelling from all over the world. The Palestinian film collection will showcase the depth and diversity of the Palestinian experience, exploring people’s lives, dreams, families, friendships, and love. Since its launch, Netflix invested in dozens of Israeli titles and recently released an official statement on Twitter and Instagram outlining its position against antisemitism in all its forms, including the worrying increase in hate crimes and Holocaust denial.” The Palestinian collection is still available on the platform by access to Netflix.com/PalestinianStories and by searching “Palestinian Stories” on Netflix.
Israel Previously Tried To Cancel Films About Palestine Being Featured on Netflix
Farha, a Jordanian film that had been released on the streaming platform Netflix in December 2022, is an example. The film tells the story of a Palestinian teenager who was locked in a room by her father to protect her from Israeli soldiers. The girl watches from the place she hides in, the Israeli soldiers execute her family in cold blood while leaving her newborn sibling to die during the Nakba of 1948.
The controversial topic of the film provoked accusations of antisemitism from social media users who threatened to cancel the streaming service. Moreover, an online petition demanded Netflix to remove the “antisemitic” film for claiming that it portray true events. "The film presents the IDF soldiers as bloodthirsty monsters who amuse themselves with the death of helpless innocents," the petition reads. However, the film received praise from several Palestinian Twitter users, and has been nominated to represent the Arab country at the 2023 Academy Awards.
Netflix and the Support of Israeli Content
Throughout its history, the American platform ‘Netflix’ has provided the subscribers with Israeli content that humanizes and glorifies the Israeli government, security and army and portrays a victimhood narrative, unlike the Palestinian content, which indicates that the release of Palestinian Stories does not necessarily mean the support of the Palestinian cause.
Key titles range from "Fauda" (Arabic for 'Chaos') which premiered in 2015, focuses on the Israel-Palestine conflict in a complex non obvious way. Then there is “The Red Sea Diving Resort,” which casts Israel as greatly concerned about global refugees. Also, “Mossad 101,” a thriller show about a celebrated Mosssad agent.
This year, Netflix has added a large number of Israeli-made films in addition to 16 high-quality Hebrew language classics from the past three decades, possibly as an effort to lure back subscribers after the fall-out over streaming “Farha” movie, which is described as “Anti-Israel film.”
According to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement, “Fauda” series featured on Netflix, has been in the Cultural Boycott since March 29, 2018. Palestinians urged Netflix to dump “Fauda” series created by former members of Israeli army death squads that legitimizes and promotes racist violence and war crimes.
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