Farha, a story of a 14-year-old girl who witnesses atrocities by Zionist militias during the Nakba (TaleBox/Netflix)
The screening of Farha on Netflix, the world’s largest streaming service, signifies a significant breakthrough in exposing genocidal crimes committed against the Palestinian people during the establishment of Israel in 1948.
In the face of intense lobbying from Israeli officials, the US-based subscription screen service made a ground-breaking decision to play the harrowing Jordanian film based on the true story revealing the scope of the Palestinian Nakba through the eyes of a 14-year-old protagonist, Farha.
Despite being the world’s most prolific and longest-running violator (75 years) of international law, Israel has survived largely by sustaining a perpetual state of war and depending on its huge propaganda machine. Not only is its arsenal of illegal nuclear weapons ignored by much of the world, but it also heavily depends on its allies, especially western countries. Geopolitically, it is strategically located among Arab-Muslim countries and is embedded in American and European intelligence networks and joint security concerns.
In recent years, the definition of anti-Semitism has expanded, an extension exploited by apartheid apologists to stifle criticism of Israel, including censoring any mention of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which aims to end international support for Israel’s oppression of the Palestinians.
’It has become an art to silence all who dare to stand up for the rights of the dispossessed Palestinians, weaponising anti-Semitism and smearing it with the same brush. Simultaneously, Israel has exploited so-called European and American guilt over the Holocaust far more than any unspoken regrets they may have harboured about not only allowing but also paving the way for the establishment of such a racist entity on stolen territory.
It is quite rare for the Palestinian side of the story to be heard, and it will be interesting to see how it fares for Jordan’s Oscar nominations in 2023. Let us hope that this is just an opportunity for the rest of the world to learn about the brutal Nakba so that Israel can no longer hide how the country came to be.
The exposure of Israeli atrocities on the small screen for Western audiences may be a long-overdue step, but it is critical given that if the crimes are to stop, they must first be exposed.
READ MORE
