Against Erasure and Cancellation – Our Narrative is Our Right and Duty

Statement on Netflix's Policies Toward Palestinian Visual Content

Amidst the ongoing genocide faced by the Palestinian people wherever they exist, especially in Gaza, where there is intense repression of the Palestinian voice, from banning journalists from entering Gaza since October 7 to the clear bias in institutional media toward the Israeli narrative and the spread of falsehoods, and restricting content on social media platforms, which has hindered one of the key pillars of social media in our current era – Netflix, the widely-viewed visual content platform, has joined major media and production companies in erasing the Palestinian voice as well.

Recently, the American company Netflix has removed most Palestinian visual content, including films and series that portray Palestinian narratives. This includes 19 Palestinian films, some of which have won awards and received critical and popular acclaim for amplifying the Palestinian voice and the justice of its cause.

In a statement, Netflix claims that this erasure was due to the expiration of licenses for these films since their acquisition in 2021, stating that they did not see the benefit in renewing them. This overlooks the fact that this decision was a submission to racist civil society institutions in Israel, especially "Im Tirtzu" as well as global Zionist organizations and American lobbying groups that systematically pressured the company since 2021 to erase these films and series.

Through persistent efforts over recent months and years, these groups succeeded in pressuring the company, continuing campaigns to control major mass media companies in broadcasting and distribution.

Given this suppression and the global popular movement supporting the justice of Palestine and its people despite all distortion and falsehood, and with the company's vast budget approaching $300 billion, there is no logical reason for Netflix to remove Palestinian films from the platform except to serve Israeli policies that are openly waging war on the Palestinian narrative. This war, which grows more intense alongside the genocide in Gaza, seeks to erase the Palestinian identity on the daily – especially in Gaza – including the archives that preserve their social and political history specifically, and their cultural heritage more generally.

The struggle for narrative and the right to express the magnitude of oppression and suffering experienced by Palestinians, which even international institutions, with their diplomatic and traditional rhetoric, often portraying the oppressor as the victim, is a noble attempt to prevent their voice and cause from being erased through various artistic fields, including narrative and documentary films, as well as other forms of audio-visual expression. It is a human and moral right, facing political and governmental suffocation in several places worldwide, where artistic displays and participation by supportive artists are canceled across multiple platforms. Each repressive act against this voice is an active participation in suppressing justice and the right of the oppressed to raise their voice and convey their message.