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<a class="gmail-domain gmail-reader-domain" href="https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/09/27/from-exodus-to-marvel-a-brief-history-of-hollywoods-justification-of-israeli-war-crimes/">counterpunch.org</a>
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<h1 class="gmail-reader-title">From Exodus to Marvel: A Brief History of Hollywood’s Justification of Israeli War Crimes</h1>
<div class="gmail-credits gmail-reader-credits">Ramzy Baroud - September 27, 2022<br></div>
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<p>The introduction of an Israeli Mossad agent as the latest Marvel
movie character crosses the line, even by Hollywood’s poor moral
standards. However, the Israeli superhero, Sabra, must be understood
within the rational progression of the Israelification of Hollywood, a
phenomenon that is surprisingly new.</p>
<p>Sabra is a relatively old character, <a href="https://www.arabnews.com/node/2160921/lifestyle">dating</a> back to a Marvel comic, the <em>Incredible Hulk</em>, in 1980. On September 10, however, it was <a href="https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20220912-marvel-film-to-feature-israeli-superhero-sabra/">announced</a> that the Israeli character will be included in an upcoming Marvel film, ‘<em>Captain America: New World Order</em>’.</p>
<p>Expectedly, many pro-Palestine activists in the United States and
around the world fumed. It is one thing to introduce an ordinary Israeli
character, with the mere aim of normalizing Israel, an unrepenting
apartheid state, in the eyes of Marvel’s impressionable young audiences;
but it is far more sinister to normalize a state intelligence agency,
the Mossad, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/jul/22/rise-kill-first-secret-history-israel-targeted-assassinations-ronen-bergman-review-mossad">known</a> for its numerous bloody assassinations, sabotage and torture.</p>
<p>By adding Sabra to its cast of superheroes, Marvel Studios has shown
its complete disregard for the massive campaign by millions of fans
around the world who, in 2017, <a href="https://www.france24.com/en/20170617-wonder-woman-kindles-controversy-arab-world">protested</a> the inclusion of a former Israeli soldier, Gal Gadot, as Marvel’s <em>Wonder Woman</em>. Gadot is a vocal <a href="https://variety.com/2021/film/news/gal-gadot-israel-palestine-wonder-woman-1234971511/">supporter</a> of the Israeli government and military.</p>
<p>In response to the news, many rightly highlighted Hollywood’s inherent bias, starting in the 1960’s movie, <em>Exodus</em>,
by Otto Preminger, with Paul Newman as the lead actor, which provided
pseudo-historical justification for the colonization of Palestine by the
Zionists. Ever since, Israel has been elevated, celebrated and included
in an ever-positive context by Hollywood, while Muslims, Arabs and
Palestinians continue to be <a href="https://www.mediaed.org/transcripts/Reel-Bad-Arabs-Transcript.pdf">vilified</a>.</p>
<p>Although Israel was represented in a positive light by Hollywood
filmmakers, the Israelis themselves were quite marginal in the content
creation process. Until recently, the Israel construct was mostly built
on behalf of Israel, not by Israel itself. “Things began to change in
1997,” <a href="https://momentmag.com/the-epic-battle-in-hollywood-over-the-holy-land/">wrote</a> <a href="https://momentmag.com/author/brian-schaefer/">Brian</a>
Schaefer in ‘Moment Magazine’. It was then that the L.A. Federation’s
Entertainment Division and the Jewish Agency launched the project, the
‘Master Class’, which, “for nearly 15 years … brought countless actors,
directors, producers, agents, managers and top studio and network
executives to Israel, introducing many of them to the country for the
first time, and taught Israelis how to pitch their projects.”</p>
<p>The indoctrination of American actors and filmmakers through these
visits and the introduction of many Israeli actors and filmmakers to
Hollywood paid dividends, leading to a major change of narrative on
Israel. Instead of simply communicating Israel to American and
international audiences using references to historical victimization,
positive association or even humor, Israelis began to make their case
through Hollywood directly. And, unlike the haphazardness of past
messages – good Israel, bad Arabs – the new messages are far more
sophisticated, tailored around specific ideas, and designed with full
awareness of the politics of each era.</p>
<p>Steven Spielberg’s <a href="https://www.mymovies.it/film/2005/munich/">movie</a>, <em>Munich</em> (2005), was released within the cultural context of the US invasion of Iraq as part of Washington’s so-called ‘<a href="https://www.georgewbushlibrary.gov/research/topic-guides/global-war-terror">war on terror</a>’, where human rights were violated on a global scale. <em>Munich</em> was a selective ‘historical’ account of the supposedly difficult <a href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/Operation-Wrath-of-God">choices</a>
that Israel, namely the Mossad, had to make to fight its own ‘war on
terror’. That was the era when Tel Aviv tirelessly underscored its
affinity to Washington, now that both countries are purportedly victims
of ‘Islamic extremists’.</p>
<p>Unlike <em>Munich</em>, the widely popular TV series <em>Homeland</em>
was not just another pro-Israel American argument that justifies
Israeli wars and violence. The series itself, one of the most racist, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/posteverything/wp/2014/10/02/homeland-is-the-most-bigoted-show-on-television/">islamophobic</a> shows on television, was entirely modeled after the Israeli show <em>HaTufim – ‘Prisoners of War</em>’ or ‘<em>Abductees</em>’. The writer and director of the Israeli show, Gideon Raff, has been <a href="https://jewishcurrents.org/how-hollywood-wrote-the-story-of-israel">included</a> in the American version of the show, serving as an executive producer.</p>
<p>The change in the ownership of the narrative may seem superficial –
as pro-Israel Holywood propaganda is being replaced by organic Israeli
propaganda. However, this is not the case.</p>
<p>The pro-Israel agenda of the past – the romanticization that followed
the creation of Israel in 1948 – did not last long. The Israeli <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-39960461">defeat</a> of Arab armies in 1967 – thanks to the massive US military <a href="https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-us-policy-israeli-palestinian-conflict">support</a>
of Tel Aviv – replaced the image of nascent, vulnerable Israel with
that of the brave Israeli army, capable of defeating several militaries
at once. It was then that Israeli soldiers toured US colleges and
schools talking about their heroism on the battlefield. The Israeli <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/2538330">invasion</a> of Lebanon and the subsequent <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/9/16/sabra-and-shatila-massacre-40-years-on-explainer">massacres</a>, like that of Sabra and Shatila, forced a rethink.</p>
<p>Throughout the 1980s and ‘90s, Israel largely existed in Hollywood as a comic relief, from shows like <em>Friends</em>, <em>Frasier</em> and, more recently, the <em>Big Bang Theory</em>.
References to Israel were often followed by a laugh – a clever, and
effective way of linking Israel with positive, happy associations.</p>
<p>The ‘war on terror’, starting in 2001, coupled with the creation of
the ‘Master Class’ project, allowed Israel to return to the Hollywood
universe, not as an occasional reference, but as a staple, with Israeli
shows, or joint US-Israeli productions, defining a whole new genre:
making difficult choices to fight terrorism and ultimately save the
world.</p>
<p>The exploitation of Israeli women on Magazine covers – for example, <a href="https://www.maxim.com/tag/hot-israeli-army-girls/">Maxim</a>
– was a whole different shady business, catering to a different
audience. The half-naked Israeli army girls have succeeded, in the minds
of many, in justifying war through sexual imagery. This genre became
particularly popular following the bloody Israeli wars on Gaza, which
killed thousands.</p>
<p>Israel’s growing influence on the Marvel movies is a combination of
all of these elements: the sexualization of the supposedly strong,
empowered woman, the normalization of those who carry out Israeli crimes
– Gadot, the soldier, Sabra, the Mossad agent – and the direct
injection of Israeli priorities as part of everyday American reality.</p>
<p>Yet, there is a silver lining. For decades, Israel has hidden behind
false, romanticized historical notions, making its case to the US and
other western public, often indirectly. The wars on Gaza, the
exponential growth of the Palestinian boycott movement and the
proliferation of social media have, however, forced Israel out of
hiding.</p>
<p>The new Hollywood Israel is now a warrior, often forced to make
difficult moral choices, but it is, like its American counterpart,
ultimately a force for good. Whether Israel will succeed in maintaining
this image will depend on several factors, including the pro-Palestinian
communities’ ability to counter such falsehood and hasbara.</p>
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<em>Ramzy Baroud is a journalist and the Editor of The Palestine Chronicle. He is the author of five books. His latest is “</em><a href="https://www.amazon.com/These-Chains-Will-Broken-Palestinian/dp/1949762092"><em>These Chains Will Be Broken</em></a><em>:
Palestinian Stories of Struggle and Defiance in Israeli Prisons”
(Clarity Press, Atlanta). Dr. Baroud is a Non-resident Senior Research
Fellow at the Center for Islam and Global Affairs (CIGA), Istanbul Zaim
University (IZU). His website is </em><a href="http://www.ramzybaroud.net/"><em>www.ramzybaroud.net</em></a>
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