Skip To Content
JEWISH. INDEPENDENT. NONPROFIT.
Fast Forward

Hollywood Execs Back Netflix After BDS Threat Over ‘Fauda’

(JTA) — More than 50 entertainment industry executives have signed a letter in support of Netflix, after the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel threatened a lawsuit over its distribution of the Israeli drama series “Fauda.”

The show focuses on a commando unit of the Israeli Defense Forces whose members embed themselves in the Palestinian community, gathering intelligence and preventing terror attacks. Fauda is an Arabic word meaning “chaos.” The show incorporates both Arabic and Hebrew dialogue. It airs on Netflix with English subtitles. Netflix is set to release the second season of the series next month.

The letter sent to Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, chief content creator, and Peter Friedlander, vice president of original series, praised “Fauda” for presenting a “nuanced portrayal of issues related to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict,” Variety reported. The letter also said that the show, “mirrors the power of the arts in general; they bring up difficult but important conversations, expanding our horizons and allowing us to experience different points of view.”

Among the executives signing the letter, according to Variety, were Rick Rosen, head of television at WME; Marty Adelstein, CEO of Tomorrow Studios; Gary Ginsberg, executive vice president of corporate marketing and communications of Time Warner Inc.; Jody Gerson, chairman and CEO of Universal Music Publishing Group; Neil Jacobson, president of Geffen Records; and Ben Silverman, chairman and co-CEO of Propagate Content.

The BDS movement in a statement posted on its website last week from the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel called on Israel to “nix” the series, calling it “an anti-Arab racist, Israeli propaganda tool that glorifies the Israeli military’s war crimes against the Palestinian people. Failing to do so will open Netflix to nonviolent grassroots pressure and possible legal accountability.”

Specifically, the statements demands that Netflix suspend production of season three of the series, refrain from releasing season two and remove season one from its streaming service.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse..

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

Republish This Story

Please read before republishing

We’re happy to make this story available to republish for free, unless it originated with JTA, Haaretz or another publication (as indicated on the article) and as long as you follow our guidelines. You must credit the Forward, retain our pixel and preserve our canonical link in Google search.  See our full guidelines for more information, and this guide for detail about canonical URLs.

To republish, copy the HTML by clicking on the yellow button to the right; it includes our tracking pixel, all paragraph styles and hyperlinks, the author byline and credit to the Forward. It does not include images; to avoid copyright violations, you must add them manually, following our guidelines. Please email us at [email protected], subject line “republish,” with any questions or to let us know what stories you’re picking up.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.