Last weekend, Israeli newspaper Haaretz – presumably driven by the decision of Hollywood megastars to produce a film about the murder of five-year-old Hind Rajab and her family by an Israeli tank and comments by actor Javier Bardem that he could never work with anyone who justifies genocide – published an article appealing to the arts world and the world in general not to ‘force Israeli artists into isolation’.

Haaretz: bleating for Israel

The Haaretz article, co-written by screenwriter Margalit (Magi) Otsri and actress Neta Riskin, bleats that it is unfair [in the midst of a genocide, Israel is always the victim] that:

For many years, Israeli artists have been cast as enemies of the nationalist regime. We’ve been relentlessly persecuted by governments that made us an easy target for hatred. Our names have been publicly defamed, ministers have branded us “traitors,” and our budgets have been stripped because of our views. Theaters have been shut down, plays banned, films boycotted. Artists have been attacked both online and in person, subjected to threats of rape and torture, even their lives, and many have lost their livelihoods.

Notably, the authors still call it a ‘war in Gaza’:

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, blows from outside Israel have joined those that strike us from within.
Our films are rejected by festivals, our books go untranslated and publishers close their doors to us. We are boycotted and condemned. Our voices go unheard.

Know this: the only beneficiary of the suppression and silencing of our voices is the current Israeli government that despises art and artists alike. Neither freedom, nor peace, nor justice is served by silencing Israeli art. Nor are the Palestinians, who are suffering under a cruel and unending war.

Self-justification

After some lengthy self-justification on behalf of the Israeli film industry, it concludes with a plea to the world to :

This is what the violent government wants; this is its ambition. The moment the threat of humanistic art is removed, they’ll be able to destroy Israeli democracy without opposition, undermine the process of free elections and continue the war in Gaza indefinitely.

We won’t stop creating. We’ll never give up. But we need you to help us keep breathing. Better days will come. We believe this with all our hearts.

As long as we continue to dream, as long as we continue to imagine, no boycott and no government can extinguish our spirit. Help us be the pillar of fire at the forefront until we drive out the darkness, until the light prevails.

So far, so liberal. But Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Mosab Abu Toha, a Palestinian based in Canada who was abducted and suffered sexual torture by the occupation regime, has published another facet to the story in the form of revelations about Otsri, one of the piece’s authors. He wrote:

One of the writers of this opinion essay, who I have never heard of before now, wrote this about me when I was abducted and sexually abused by the terrorist Israeli forces in Nov 2023 in Gaza. I saw screenshots of her comments today after her piece was published by Haaretz.

Her first comment was on a post by The New Yorker sharing news of my horrendous abduction and the second on a post by PEN America expressing their concern and calling for my protection.

This “writer” was accusing me of having other “hobbies” like killing Jews and raping women.

Supposed ‘evidence’

To support his account, he published screenshots of Otsri’s comments. First, she replied to a thread posted by a third party about Abu Toha’s (later award-winning) work:

Then, presumably in case anyone had missed the first go, she partially remade her point:

There are a few – a very few – genuine resisters in Israel, such as the outstanding journalist Gideon Levy and young Israeli journalist and filmmaker Andrey X. But four out of five Israelis are not troubled by Israel starving Gaza, an even higher proportion support US president Donald Trump’s plan to turn Gaza into a Palestinian-free beach resort and three quarters believe “there are no innocents in Gaza”.

Half – according to a poll conducted by Haaretz itself – support the complete extermination of the Palestinians, while 92% believe ‘Amalek’ – Netanyahu’s shorthand for the Palestinians – should be treated like biblical Amalek, which was wiped out by Israel, including babies and even livestock.

Liberal Zionism is still Zionism – and Zionism is a racist ideology supporting a settler-colonial project that is more than happy to murder, maim, rape and torture – and to smear the real victims who managed to escape its clutches.

Featured image via the Canary

By Skwawkbox

This post was originally published on Canary.