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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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Iran Showcases New, Advanced Missile Systems Amid US Threat
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian during a meeting on the sidelines of the BRICS summit in Kazan, Russia, Oct. 23, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov
i24 News – The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corp revealed their latest missile systems on Saturday, which have been deployed on three different Iranian islands.
This comes amid increased US pressure to return to the negotiation table over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, with US President Donald Trump implementing a return to his “maximum pressure” policy.
Commodore Alireza Tangsiri, the head of the IRGC’s naval force, threatened that “the enemy would be beaten” in the event of a military confrontation. He boasted missile units, submarines, unmanned aircraft, and defense systems deployed in the Strait of Hormuz, located in the Persian Gulf, and in the islands in the region.
A new hangar was revealed in one of the sites that contains the new missile systems. According to the IRGC, these missiles have the ability to destroy maritime targets up to 600 kilometers (373 miles) from their deployment sites.
Last week, a US official told i24NEWS that Trump gave Khamenei a two-month ultimatum to reach a nuclear agreement. National Security Council Spokesperson Brian Hughes threatened “devastating” results.
Therefore, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian attacked Donald Trump in a speech he made, saying “I will not negotiate with you even under threats.” This, after a few days prior, Trump wrote a letter to Iran, asking to restart negotiations on the nuclear issue.
The post Iran Showcases New, Advanced Missile Systems Amid US Threat first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Houthis Falsely Claim to Successfully Hit Ben Gurion Airport, USS Harry Truman
Newly recruited fighters who joined a Houthi military force intended to be sent to fight in support of the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, march during a parade in Sanaa, Yemen, Dec. 2, 2023. Photo: REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah
i24 News – The Houthis claimed on Sunday that they targeted Israel’s Ben Gurion Airport with their alleged hypersonic Palestine 2 ballistic missile, with the strike “successfully achieving its goal.”
Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree boasted that air traffic at the airport was suspended for more than half an hour.
Additionally, Saree claimed Houthi forces launched missiles and drones at the American aircraft carrier USS Harry Truman in the Red Sea with missiles and drones. There is no indication that this attack succeeded, contrary to the Houthi statement.
At around 7:30 am, sirens blared throughout central Israel, with no injuries reported. The IDF said that a Houthi missile had been intercepted successfully outside of Israeli airspace.
This comes after the Houthis restarted their attacks on the Jewish state last week, triggering sirens in central Israel and the Jerusalem area.
Meanwhile, the US Central Command began an offensive against high-level Houthis and terrorist infrastructure in Yemen. US President Donald Trump has also stated that he will hold Iran responsible for any attack emanating from the Houthis.
The post Houthis Falsely Claim to Successfully Hit Ben Gurion Airport, USS Harry Truman first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas: Senior Official Salah al-Bardawil Killed in Khan Yunis Strike
Senior Hamas leader Salah al-Bardawil. Photo: File.
i24 News – Hamas confirmed on Sunday that Salah al-Bardawil, a member of its political bureau, had been killed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
His wife also perished in the attack. This targeted killing, initially reported by the Palestinian press agency Shehab, affiliated with Hamas, is said to have targeted “tents sheltering displaced persons.” The Israeli authorities have not yet commented on the reports.
This strike is part of a series of targeted operations carried out by Israel against the Hamas leadership. Over the weekend, the Israeli army and Shin Bet security agency also announced that they had eliminated Osama Tabash, who was the chief of military intelligence for Hamas in southern Gaza and led the organization’s surveillance and targeting unit.
According to the joint statement from the army and Shin Bet, Tabash was a “high-ranking terrorist” who possessed “significant operational knowledge for the terrorist organization.” He had held various positions of importance, including that of battalion commander in the Khan Yunis brigade.
The Israeli services attribute to him involvement in several attacks, including a suicide bombing carried out in 2005 at the Gush Katif crossroads in Gaza, which cost the life of Oded Sharon. In his recent roles, Tabash was responsible for developing the Hamas combat strategy and had participated in planning infiltrations during the massacre on October 7 in the Israeli communities in the south of the country.
The post Hamas: Senior Official Salah al-Bardawil Killed in Khan Yunis Strike first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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