Masses of outraged Israelis canceled their Netflix subscriptions this week after the streaming service's addition of an anti-Israeli film that portrays Israeli soldiers as merciless killers.
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"Farha," a debut by Jordanian director Darin Sallam, focuses on the so-called Nakba (catastrophe), the period of Israel's independence war during which Palestinians allege Zionist atrocities. The film includes a shocking 15-minute scene during which Israeli soldiers massacre a family of Palestinian refugees, including a baby. It premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, received critical acclaim and was even picked to represent Jordan in the Best Foreign Film category of the upcoming Oscars.
It has been condemned by Israeli officials as "creating a false narrative".
"The Jordanian incitement film that will be broadcast on Netflix proves how much hypocrisy there is in the world towards Israel, which was attacked with murderous terrorism even before its establishment," Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir said. "The Foreign Ministry should deal with this brainwashing with determination, by informing and presenting the real picture of who the actual bloodthirsty murderers are. We cannot be silent in the face of this blood libel that would reverberate around the world."
One streamer said, "After more than two years of subscription, I have decided to cancel it due to Netflix's support for the anti-Israeli film."
"Netflix supports such a shocking and unrealistic scene that is not in line with Israeli and Jewish morality at all. I cannot subscribe to a site that has endorsed such a shocking scene in which [Israeli] soldiers are portrayed as vile as murderers without heart and without any humanity," said another. "I hope that a massive abandonment by Israelis will make Netflix realize that they made a mistake buying the film and change their decision on this. There is always room for criticism, but an objective review based on real cases."
Other accused the site of "being controlled by enemies of Israel" and the anti-Israel Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, in particular.
On Wednesday evening, dozens of Israelis arrived at the Al Saraya Theater in Jaffa to protest the screening of "Farha," claiming it encourages Palestinian terrorism against Israelis.
Earlier in the day, Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman instructed the treasury to cut funding to the theater in response to the screening.
i24NEWS contributed to this report.
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