Letter to Netflix executive leadership team urging reinstatement of 19 films by or about Palestinians that Netflix had deleted.
October 25, 2024
Reed Hastings, Founder and Executive Chairman
Greg Peters, Co-CEO
Ted Sarandos, Co-CEO
Netflix
121 Albright Wy
Los Gatos, CA 95032
Dear Netflix Executive Team,
We are deeply concerned by Netflix’s decision to delete at least 19 films by Palestinian filmmakers or about Palestinian stories from your platform last week — on October 13th and October 14th. Three years ago, Netflix announced the launch of “Palestinian Stories,” a Netflix collection of 32 films that would “showcase the depth and diversity of the Palestinian experience, exploring people’s lives, dreams, families, friendships, and love.” In the U.S., the “Palestinian Stories” Netflix page now shows only one film that is available for viewing. Netflix has deleted almost all of its Palestinian films and has failed to explain why, despite a global outcry from thousands of people via social media.
We urge you to explain your decision and to reinstate every film by or about Palestinians that Netflix deleted last week. We are deeply concerned that Netflix’s deletion of nearly its entire library of Palestinian films will further marginalize Palestinian voices at a time when over two million Palestinians in Gaza are being subjected to genocide by the Israeli military. This erasure of Palestinian voices by Netflix follows many ugly decades of suppression of Palestinian viewpoints and narratives by Western news and entertainment media companies. The systemic suppression of Palestinian voices and censorship of content prevents U.S. and Western societies from being aware of and understanding the reality of Western governments’ support for Israel’s brutal policies of occupation, apartheid, ethnic cleansing, and now, genocide of Palestinians.
Thousands of concerned people worldwide have already attempted to contact Netflix via social media regarding its deletion of these films by or about Palestinians. On October 13th, Freedom Forward executive director Sunjeev Bery tagged @Netflix in a social media post on the platform X, highlighting the 19 films by or about Palestinians that Netflix has deleted. Freedom Forward’s social media has been re-shared by over 7,000 people, liked by over 20,000 people, and viewed by over 1.3 million people. In addition, many people worldwide have also tagged @Netflix in their own social media posts criticizing the Netflix decision and asking why Netflix has removed these Palestine-related films. But despite this global concern, you have remained silent on your decision to delete nearly your entire Palestinian film library on Netflix.
For the past year, Israel has been perpetrating a genocide in Gaza, with the Palestinians death toll being potentially as high as 9% of the total population, or 186,000 dead, according to a piece published in the British medical journal Lancet. Given this horrifying reality, Netflix should be promoting – not deleting – Palestinian films so that more people can learn about Palestinian life under Israeli military domination and occupation, especially given the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion that the Israeli occupation is illegal, a grave human rights violation, and must end.
Because of Netflix’s removal of Palestinian films and subsequent public silence, we write to you now with the following specific questions:
- Why did Netflix remove at least 19 films by Palestinian filmmakers or about Palestinian stories from your streaming platform on October 13th and October 14th of 2024?
- Why hasn’t Netflix made any public statements explaining your decision to remove these 19 films by or about Palestinians?
- Why has Netflix ignored the thousands of people who have raised concerns and tagged @Netflix in posts via the social media platform X?
- How does Netflix justify the removal of so many films by or about Palestinians, one of the world’s most politically marginalized communities, especially at a time when Palestinians are facing genocide in Gaza?
- What role, if any, have external political pressures, including from government officials or international investors, played in Netflix’ decisions?
- Did pro-Israel lobbying or advocacy organizations push Netflix to delete these films by or about Palestinians?
- Given the growing global outcry and reaction to Netflix’s action, will Netflix reinstate the Palestinian films in question and promote them to Netflix’s global audience?
We urge you to move quickly to answer our questions and to reinstate these 19 films so that Netflix subscribers can once again access important content that is by Palestinian filmmakers or about Palestinians. We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
Freedom Forward
Arab American Action Network (AAAN)
Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR)
Muslim Anti-Racism Collaborative (MuslimARC)
National Network for Arab American Communities
U.S. Palestinian Community Network (USPCN)
Action Corps
Anethum Global
Brave New Films
Breaktide
Bronx Neighbors for Palestine
CODEPINK
DAWN
Doctors Against Genocide
Documentary Association of Pakistan
Falasteen Diaspora United RI
FLI
For Artists By Artists (FABA)
Hindus for Human Rights
Holy Land Christian ecumenical Foundation
International Jewish Anti-Zionist Network
Jewish Voice for Peace – Rhode Island
Mommying While Muslim
Our Kitchen Table
Palestinian Christians for Justice
Peace Action
Physicians For Humanity
Presente.org
SAG-AFTRA & Sister Guild Members for Ceasefire
The Institute for the Understanding of Anti-Palestinian Racism
Treasure Coast for Palestine
Unmute Humanity
URI Bay Campus Students for Palestine
Virginia Coalition for Human Rights
Women’s Institute for Freedom of the Press
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (DC-MD-VA Branch)
Zero Hour Media