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Netflix Epic on Moses Platforms Biased Scholar Who Expressed Joy on Oct.7
A newly-released Netflix documentary series on the Biblical story of Moses has given a platform to an Egyptian scholar who referred to the Biblical Promised Land as “Palestine” and expressed happiness during Hamas’ October 7 massacre in southern Israel, HonestReporting revealed this week.
Testament: The Story of Moses is currently riding high in the Netflix Top 10 in numerous countries, including Israel and others in the Middle East.
But the exposure of one of its interviewees — Dr. Monica Hanna from Egypt’s College of Archaeology and Cultural Heritage — casts a shadow over an otherwise enjoyable and informative documentary drama released just in time for Passover.
In the show, which depicts the saga of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, Hanna shoehorns “Palestine” into the narrative, although it did not exist at the time.
Referring to the Pharaoh at the time, Hanna says that “when he comes to power, he leads several campaigns to the area of Syria Palestine. He conquers areas even as far as Beirut in Lebanon.”
In fact, the Biblical term for the Promised Land during this period was “Canaan,” as mentioned by the series’ narrator himself.
Palestine, or officially “Provincia Syria Palaestina,” was a name invented by the Romans in 135 CE as a replacement for “Judea,” in an effort to eliminate all expressions of Jewry in the region following the defeat of Bar Kohba in the Jewish rebellion against the Roman Empire.
The period of the Pharaoh in the Exodus story is believed to have been some 1,300 years before that. Put simply, the term “Palestine” did not exist at that time.
As David Levine writes: “The not-so-subtle use of the words ‘Syria’ and ‘Palestine’ is misleading and historically incorrect. She seems to be implying that ‘Palestine,’ and therefore, ‘Palestinians’ date back to at least this ancient period. As an Egyptologist and expert in cultural heritage, she should know better.”
Some may argue that academics use the term “Palestine,” even anachronistically. And some may claim that Hanna tried to use it as a more familiar term instead of “Canaan” (like she did by mentioning Beirut in Lebanon).
But why did she insert a political term into an ancient historical story that connects the Jewish people to the Land of Israel?
The answer seems to lie in Hanna’s posts on X (formerly Twitter), which reveal her underlying anti-Israeli sentiment.
On October 7, as Hamas terrorists massacred 1,200 people in Israel and kidnapped some 240 more, Hanna shared posts reading in English and Arabic: “Sweet October” with a smiley face, and “Beautiful are the gifts of the 50th anniversary,” an apparent reference to the 1973 Yom Kippur war in which Egypt and Syria launched a surprise attack on the Jewish State.
One of Hanna’s 100k+ followers on X replied in a way that shows the message has been clearly received: “October 6 is Egyptian [The Yom Kippur War] and October 7 is Palestinian,” he exclaimed with a victory mark.
Hanna also declared “Long Live Free Palestine,” in a post she shared last month, after being honored by a Palestinian Authority official for her academic work:
So when Hanna uses the term “Palestine” in a top Netflix documentary, it’s loaded.
Is this a scholar who merits such a respectable and wide-reaching platform?
And couldn’t the Netflix team, whose producers and researchers worked so hard to present a balanced array of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim experts on the show, perform minimal due diligence on their interviewees, or notice when facts have been distorted?
Sadly, it seems they chose to pass over this issue.
HonestReporting is a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Netflix Epic on Moses Platforms Biased Scholar Who Expressed Joy on Oct.7 first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.