How Israeli priorities changed the American film industry

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.
Sabra is a relatively old character, dating back to a Marvel comic, “Incredible Hulk,” in 1980. On Sept. 10, however, it was announced that the Israeli character would be included in an upcoming Marvel film, “Captain America: New World Order.”
Expectedly, many pro-Palestine activists in the US and around the world fumed. It is one thing to introduce an ordinary Israeli character with the mere aim of normalizing Israel, an unrepentant apartheid state, in the eyes of Marvel’s impressionable young audience. But it is far more sinister to normalize a state intelligence agency, Mossad, which is known for its numerous bloody assassinations, sabotage and torture.
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, protested the casting of a former Israeli soldier, Gal Gadot, as “Wonder Woman.” Gadot is a vocal supporter of the Israeli government and military.
In response to the news, many rightly highlighted Hollywood’s inherent bias, starting with the 1960 Paul Newman movie “Exodus,” 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 vilified.
Although Israel has long been represented in a positive light by Hollywood filmmakers, Israelis themselves are quite marginal in the content creation process. Until recently, the Israeli construct was mostly built on behalf of Israel, not by Israel itself. “Things began to change in 1997,” Brian Schaefer wrote in Moment magazine in 2018. It was then that the LA Federation’s Entertainment Division and the Jewish Agency launched the “Master Class” project, 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.”
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 in the 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 haphazard nature 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.
Steven Spielberg’s 2005 movie “Munich” was released within the cultural context of the US invasion of Iraq and Washington’s “war on terror,” where human rights were violated on a massive scale. “Munich” was a selective “historical” account of the supposedly difficult choices that Israel, namely Mossad, had to make to fight its own so-called war on terror. That was the era when Tel Aviv tirelessly underscored its affinity to Washington, since both countries had purportedly been victims of “Islamic extremists.”

Israel has been elevated, celebrated and included in an ever-positive context by Hollywood, while Muslims, Arabs and Palestinians continue to be vilified. 

Ramzy Baroud

Unlike “Munich,” the widely popular TV series “Homeland” was not just another pro-Israel American argument that justified Israeli wars and violence. The series, one of the most racist and Islamophobic shows on television, was entirely modeled on the Israeli show “Hatufim” (Prisoners of War). The writer and director of the Israeli show, Gideon Raff, was included in the American version, serving as an executive producer.
The change in ownership of the narrative may seem superficial, as pro-Israel Hollywood propaganda is being replaced by organic Israeli propaganda. However, this is not the case.
The pro-Israel agenda of the past — the romanticization that followed the creation of Israel in 1948 — did not last long. The Israeli defeat of Arab armies in 1967, thanks to the massive US military support of Tel Aviv, replaced the image of nascent, vulnerable Israel with that of the brave Israeli army, capable of defeating several rival militaries at once. It was then that Israeli soldiers toured US colleges and schools talking about their heroism on the battlefield. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon and the subsequent massacres, like that of Sabra and Shatila, forced a rethink.
Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, Israel largely existed in US entertainment as a comic relief, from shows like “Friends” and “Frasier” to, more recently, “The Big Bang Theory.” References to Israel were often followed by a laugh — a clever and effective way of giving Israel positive, happy associations.
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.
The exploitation of Israeli women on magazine covers — Maxim, for example — was a whole different shady business, catering to a different audience. The half-naked female Israeli army soldiers 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.
Israel’s growing influence on the Marvel movies is a combination of all these elements: The sexualization of the supposedly strong, empowered woman, the normalization of those who carry out Israeli crimes — Gadot, the soldier, and Sabra, the Mossad agent — and the direct injection of Israeli priorities into everyday American reality.
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 publics, often indirectly. But the wars on Gaza, the exponential growth of the Palestinian boycott movement and the proliferation of social media have forced Israel out of hiding.
The new Hollywood Israeli is now a warrior, often forced to make difficult moral choices, but 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.

• Ramzy Baroud has been writing about the Middle East for more than 20 years. He is an internationally syndicated columnist, a media consultant, an author of several books, and the founder of PalestineChronicle.com. Twitter: @RamzyBaroud