RSS
Israeli Actors Face a New Bias in Hollywood; But They Are Determined to Keep Fighting
Michael Aloni as Gabriel, Hila Saada as Rosa, and Swell Ariel Or as Luna in a photo from “The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem” production. Photo: Yes Studios.
“Just being Israeli in Hollywood means that ‘your existence is a political act,’” Swell Ariel Or told me during a recent conversation about her career as an actress. Swell, best known for her starring role in the Netflix hit The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, now faces a reality where casting decisions are no longer based primarily on talent or professionalism, but on her identity as an Israeli.
“If, before October 7, getting a role was 30 percent talent, 20 percent how you look, 20 percent how you sound, and 10 percent based on your previous work — like, that was the whole equation — now I feel like at least half of it is about where you come from and where you stand on the [Middle East] conflict,” she said.
Swell’s experience mirrors what many of us are seeing across creative industries. As an author and editor, I’ve seen the same bias take hold in the literary world. Jewish authors and publishers are being shut out, marginalized, or blacklisted based on their support for Israel or their Jewish identity. Like the author community, Swell’s strategy for overcoming this bias involves creating “more connections with Jews or allies in the industry,” she said.
Or’s new film, Kissufim, directed by Keren Nechmad and now streaming on Netflix, is set in 1977 and follows the lives of young Israeli soldiers and volunteers living on a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip. The film, inspired by Nechmad’s personal connection to the kibbutz through her father, captures a moment of youthful idealism as the characters experience love, friendship, and the challenges of coming of age. Against the backdrop of post-Yom Kippur War Israel, Kissufim explores the tension between the personal and political, highlighting the characters’ struggles with the trauma of war and the hope for peace.
Tragically, many of the current residents of the real-life Kibbutz Kissufim, where much of the movie was shot, were among the victims of the October 7 terrorist attacks. Swell and the film’s cast and crew had worked closely with members of the kibbutz during production, forming bonds with many who later lost their lives. The crew had received security briefings from local residents before filming, some of whom were later killed in the attacks.
Still, Swell believes that Kissufim has the potential to educate US audiences about the idealistic foundations of Israel, particularly through the lens of kibbutzim. She expressed concern that many, especially anti-Israel activists, mistakenly view kibbutzim as “right-wing, illegal settlements, extremists,” when in reality, they are communities of “people of peace” who want to “work the land” and have historically been strong advocates for Israeli-Palestinian cooperation.
The film aims to humanize Israelis by depicting the daily lives of kibbutz residents.
When I first interviewed Swell last year, just after the October 7 attacks, she was starting to use her platform on Instagram to raise awareness about Israel and combat antisemitism. Now, nearly a year later, I asked her how those efforts were going. While she sees some progress, the situation is still tough. “I feel like it’s getting better a little bit,” she said, but quickly added, “It’s not good yet.”
Swell explained that her approach on social media is not about directly confronting or trying to persuade people who hold anti-Israel views. “My goal is not to convince them,” she said. “It’s to make them think about a more complex situation.”
She wants her followers to see the humanity in Israelis and to understand that their experiences are not so different from people around the world.
“What’s the difference between the Nova Festival and Coachella?” she asked, highlighting the similarities between Israeli and American youth cultures to bridge the gap in understanding. She hopes to expand perspectives and dispel myths about Israel, particularly for younger audiences who may have only been exposed to negative portrayals of the country.
Swell also addressed an open letter signed by more than 200 actors and celebrities, including people like Ben Affleck, Jessica Chastain, and Dua Lipa, urging President Biden to call for a ceasefire in Gaza. She noted that while the hostages were mentioned, there was nothing about the horrors of October 7.
What would she like to say to her fellow actors? “I wish I could talk to them, just like have coffee and talk,” she said.
Swell noted that every time she returns to Israel, she disconnects from the Hollywood world to reconnect with her roots. But now that she’s back in Los Angeles, she’s ready to resume the fight against antisemitism in whatever way she can.
As for upcoming projects, Swell is waiting to see where Kissufim takes her career, and whether it opens new doors. She’s also hopeful for potential future seasons of The Beauty Queen of Jerusalem, though she didn’t have any concrete updates. “Hopefully, I’ll be back home soon with a project or a next season of something,” she said.
Swell remains determined to pursue her acting career despite the challenges Israeli actors face in Hollywood. “I’m still fighting and going to auditions because I feel like it’s a trend and it’ll pass,” she said. “I think that I believe in the goodness of people.”
I’ve interviewed many authors who were blackballed for their Jewish or Zionist identities. Their solution has been to find allies, build new networks, and most of all, keep writing. Swell is doing the same. Like those authors, she won’t let the haters win.
Howard Lovy is an author and editor based in Michigan who is working on a book on how to fight antisemitism. His novel, “Found and Lost: The Jake and Cait Story,” will be released in 2025 from Vine Leaves Press.
The post Israeli Actors Face a New Bias in Hollywood; But They Are Determined to Keep Fighting first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Faces Dual Attacks as Houthis and Hamas Target Major Cities, IDF Expands Ground Operations in Gaza
A Houthi fighter mans a machine gun mounted on a truck during a parade for people who attended Houthi military training as part of a mobilization campaign, in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 18, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
Millions of Israelis scrambled for shelter overnight as Iran-backed Houthi terrorists in Yemen launched a ballistic missile at Israel, setting off air-raid sirens across the center of the country and the Jerusalem area, and was followed hours later by a Hamas rocket barrage targeting Tel Aviv on Thursday afternoon.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) reported intercepting the missile from Yemen before it entered Israeli airspace, while the Iron Dome intercepted a further three missiles from Hamas later on, triggering sirens throughout the metropolitan area. While there were no reported casualties, shrapnel from intercepted rockets was found in Rishon Lezion. The rocket fire came as the IDF expanded its ground operations in Gaza, warning Palestinian civilians to avoid the Netzarim Corridor, a strategic seven-kilometer road that bisects the enclave.
The United States has urged Israel not to respond directly to the Houthi missile strike, according to a Hebrew-language Ynet report citing an Israeli official. US forces already carried out airstrikes against the Houthis — who have targeted American and Israeli ships in the Red Sea and disrupted global shipping through the critical trade route — in recent days and told Israel to “allow them to handle the situation,” the report said.
Eitan Shamir, a security expert, noted that, regardless, it would not be wise — and neither within its capabilities — for Israel to secure the Red Sea without help.
“Achieving this objective cannot be accomplished by Israel alone and will require the involvement of the international community,” he told The Algemeiner. “The Israeli Navy lacks the capabilities to secure Israeli shipping in the southern Red Sea independently. Politically, it is also undesirable for Israel to take on the responsibility of addressing a problem that is internationally recognized, particularly since Israel is often accused of causing it due to its attacks on Gaza.”
Nevertheless, Shamir added, Israel’s “goal for ending the conflict is to ensure complete freedom of navigation to and from its waters.”
Shamir, who is the director of Bar-Ilan University’s Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies, also underscored recent US State Department decisions against the Houthis, including reinstating its foreign terrorist designation and its $15 million reward for information on its financing. Still, he said, “the impact of these actions on the Houthis’ blockade in the southern part of the Red Sea is currently unclear.”
Shamir highlighted reports suggesting that China was providing financial protection to the Houthis to ensure its own ships remain unharmed.
The expansion of Iranian activities into the Mediterranean Sea has raised further concerns. Shamir highlighted the likelihood that Israel’s navy will need to increase its operational presence in both the Red Sea and Mediterranean, potentially requiring additional vessels to secure shipping lanes. Cooperation with the US Fifth Fleet and allied naval forces will remain crucial to maintaining stability in these waterways, he said.
Shamir warned against unilateral action, saying, “It is not in Israel’s best interest to act unilaterally to deter the Houthis.” Instead, he urged Israel to let the US take the lead, including pressuring Iran, which “undoubtedly has influence over the Houthis, to stop the attacks on Israel.”
Meanwhile, the IDF targeted key Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist operatives. Among those eliminated was Rashid Jahjouh, head of Hamas’s General Security Apparatus, who was responsible for maintaining internal security and intelligence operations, identifying and targeting “collaborators” and spreading propaganda. Also killed was Ayman Etsilah, a senior Hamas security official in Khan Yunis, and Ismail Abd al-Aal, a high-ranking figure in Islamic Jihad’s weapons smuggling network.
The IDF and Shin Bet confirmed that these operations were part of broader efforts to dismantle the leadership and infrastructure of terrorist groups in the enclave.
Hamas and Islamic Jihad, like the Houthis, are both backed by Iran, which provides the Palestinian terrorist groups with weapons and funding.
Several other Hamas leaders have been killed since Israel resumed strikes earlier this week, including Yasser Muhammad Harb Musa, who managed Hamas’s security portfolio, and Ayssam al-Dalis, the head of Hamas’s Gaza government. Mahmoud Marzouk Ahmed Abu Watfa, responsible for Hamas’s internal security, and Ahmed Abdulla Al-hata, the group’s Minister of Justice, were also among those targeted.
The current escalation follows the collapse of a temporary ceasefire and hostage-release deal that lasted 42 days, during which the terror group released 30 living hostages and the remains of eight slain captives, while Israel freed nearly 2,000 Palestinian security prisoners.
The post Israel Faces Dual Attacks as Houthis and Hamas Target Major Cities, IDF Expands Ground Operations in Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
BBC Apologizes to Israeli Embassy for Seeking Anti-Netanyahu Guest for News Program
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a memorial ceremony for those murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, and those who fell in the “Iron Sword” war, at the Knesset, the Parliament, in Jerusalem, Oct. 28, 2024. Photo: DEBBIE HILL/Pool via REUTERS
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) issued an apology on Thursday after a producer asked the Israeli Embassy to the United Kingdom to help the BBC find a guest who would be critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This was a serious mistake which we have looked into,” the corporation said in a statement to The Jewish Chronicle. “It clearly falls well below our standards. We apologize unreservedly to the Israeli Embassy.”
Embassy spokeswoman Orly Goldschmidt shared Thursday on X that her team at the Israeli Embassy in London received a WhatsApp message from a BBC World Service producer, who was looking for guest who would appear on the television program “Newshour.” The producer said the show’s presenter would specifically like to interview “an Israeli military voice (can be former)” who would be “critical of Netanyahu” and Israel’s new ground operation in the Gaza Strip.
“We want someone who is going to be critical of Netanyahu and the ground offense (concern about remaining hostages, stretching the IDF capacity, destruction of Gaza or any other reason). Do you think you can help with this?” the producer wrote. Goldschmidt shared a screenshot of the message on X and denounced the comments, claiming that it shows “BBC bias (yet again).”
“Today my team received this remarkable message from a @BBC producer at @bbcworldservice,” she wrote. “They don’t want to interview someone knowledgeable, nor someone relevant, just someone who fits the predetermined narrative. There is nothing balanced or impartial about this.”
BBC BIAS (yet again)
Today my team received this remarkable message from a @BBC producer at @bbcworldservice.
They don’t want to interview someone knowledgeable, nor someone relevant, just someone who fits the predetermined narrative.
There is nothing balanced or impartial… pic.twitter.com/pm0loEeUFG
— Orly Goldschmidt
(@Orlygoldschmidt) March 20, 2025
The British volunteer-led charity Campaign Against Antisemitism (CAA) said the incident is another example “of @BBC putting its thumb on the scale to report its narrative masquerading as news.”
“Another time the BBC is caught out. Another apology. For all the times the BBC is caught out, how many times is it not caught out?” CAA added. “The unrelenting bias on our televisions, from our radios and on the BBC website answers that question. How many more scandals do there need to before there is an independent investigation into the BBC?”
Others who have criticized the BBC’s most recent blunder include politicians in the UK, and international human rights activist and lawyer Arsen Ostrovsky.
The incident followed the BBC late last month pulling a documentary about Palestinian children living in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war and apologizing for making “serious flaws” in the film after it was revealed that it was narrated by a Palestinian boy who is the son of a senior Hamas official. The BBC also acknowledged that licensing fee payments for the film “Gaza: How to Survive a Warzone” were given to the family of the Hamas official. The controversy sparked protests outside of the BBC headquarters in London, and an organization of pro-Israel lawyers in the United Kingdom reported the BBC to counter-terrorism police for possible terrorism offenses, which include allegedly funding a terrorist group.
The post BBC Apologizes to Israeli Embassy for Seeking Anti-Netanyahu Guest for News Program first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Germany Reopens Embassy in Damascus, Establishing Official Diplomatic Ties With Syria’s New Regime
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock speaks during a press conference in Damascus, Syria, March 20, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi
Germany reopened its embassy in Damascus on Thursday, 13 years since its closure during the early days of Syria’s civil war, as both countries work to strengthen their bilateral relations.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock visited Damascus — her second trip since the fall of former President Bashar al-Assad’s regime in December — to mark Berlin’s establishment of official diplomatic relations with the new Syrian government.
“I am here in Syria for the second time in around 10 weeks because the country and its future are on a knife edge,” Baerbock said at a news conference. “We can’t predict what will happen in a few months or perhaps a few weeks’ time.”
As a show of support for Syria’s nascent regime, Berlin reopened its embassy in the country in an effort to improve diplomatic relations, while pledging economic assistance and sanctions relief to aid the new government and the country’s reconstruction efforts.
Of the European Union’s 27 member states, only Italy reopened its embassy last year before Assad’s fall, while Spain did so after his ouster.
In a statement, Baerbock said her trip was intended to convey the message that “a political new beginning between Europe and Syria, between Germany and Syria, is possible.”
She also said there are “clear expectations that there is freedom, security, and opportunity in Syria for all people — for women and men, for people belonging to all ethnic groups and religions.”
Earlier this month, clashes between fighters loyal to Assad and forces aligned with Syria’s new rulers sparked the worst violence since the new government seized power, leaving over 1,000 people dead. In a series of confrontations, fighters supporting the new Syrian government carried out mass executions of Alawite Muslim civilians.
According to Syria’s interior ministry, the pro-government fighters conducted “sweeping operations” to dismantle the last “remnants” of Assad’s regime, targeting primarily adult men.
However, the ensuing mass killing of Alawites, who comprise roughly 10 percent of the Syrian population, has raised concern among the international community about the safety of minority groups in the country.
Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa decried the massacres, claiming they undermined his efforts to unite the country and vowing to seek retribution for the violence.
“Syria is a state of law. The law will take its course on all,” Sharaa told Reuters. “We fought to defend the oppressed, and we won’t accept that any blood be shed unjustly, or go without punishment or accountability, even among those closest to us.”
In late January, Sharaa became Damascus’s transitional president after leading a rebel campaign that ousted Assad, whose Iran-backed rule had strained ties with the Arab world during the nearly 14-year Syrian war.
The collapse of Assad’s regime was the result of an offensive spearheaded by Sharaa’s Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate.
During her visit on Thursday, Baerbock said the recent clashes had “massively cost confidence” among the international community. Germany’s top diplomat emphasized that the new Syrian government “must have control over the actions of the groups in its own ranks and bring those responsible to account.”
After the recent clashes, Syria’s new Islamist-led government — backed by Turkey — and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militant group reached a ceasefire agreement.
Under the new deal between the Kurdish-led, US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and the Syrian government, the SDF will be integrated into Damascus’s institutions. In exchange, the agreement gives the Syrian government control over SDF-held civilian and military sites in the northeast region of the country.
Baerbock praised the “historic” agreement and emphasized the importance of including other groups to ensure they feel like they are “part of a new Syria.”
Since Assad’s fall, the new Syrian government has sought to strengthen ties with Arab and Western leaders. Damascus’s new diplomatic relationships reflect a distancing from its previous allies, Iran and Russia.
The new Syrian government appears focused on reassuring the West and working to get sanctions lifted, which date back to 1979 when the US labeled Syria a state sponsor of terrorism and were significantly increased following Assad’s violent response to the anti-government protests.
The Assad regime’s brutal crackdown on opposition protests in 2011 sparked the Syrian civil war, during which Syria was suspended from the Arab League for more than a decade.
Earlier this week, European Union countries pledged to continue supporting Syria’s new leadership through both financial aid and sanctions relief, despite an outbreak of sectarian violence threatening the country’s stability.
Germany committed to providing €300 million in support for food, health, and other essential services for the Syrian population.
“As Europeans, we stand together for the people of Syria, for a free and peaceful Syria,” Baerbock said during the annual donor conference for Syria in Brussels.
The post Germany Reopens Embassy in Damascus, Establishing Official Diplomatic Ties With Syria’s New Regime first appeared on Algemeiner.com.