3 Reasons Why Everyone Should Cancel Netflix
Dave Chappelle's "The Closer," the Streamer's Support of Palestinian Propaganda, and Its Founder's Financial Support of an Islamist-Funding Foundation Soured my Appreciation for the Company.
This post is the twenty-fourth in an ongoing series on antisemitism and culture. See the previous installments here:
What It Means When the Leader of the Republican Party Dines With THREE Antisemites
When & Why Conspiracy Theorists Sometimes Stumble Onto the Truth
The JFK Conspiracy Theory Which Makes the Most Sense & Why It Matters Today
An Open Letter to Elon Musk Thanking Him for the Correct Decision Shutting Down Neo-Nazi Kanye West
4 Stupid Reasons People Don't Take Antisemitism as Seriously as They Should
Obsessing Over 'the Left' Sabotages the Fight Against Antisemitism
Elon Musk Brings Onboard 'How to Fight Anti-Semitism' Author Bari Weiss to Twitter 2.0
Even the Smartest Brains Can Become Infected with Antisemitism
Is Qatar the Most Terrible State in the Middle East? Or Is Iran Worse?
Indifferent to Racist Hate in America, Indifferent to Genocidal Hate in Ukraine
Please, My Jewish Friends: We Desperately Need You Here in America
7 Reasons This Christian Hippie Became a Zealot Against Jew Hatred
Bipolar Disorder Is Not an Excuse for Kanye West's Jew Hatred
Why This Bible Thumper Is Going to Keep Using Plenty of Profanity
The Torah Should Be the Moral Foundation for All
These writings are part of my ongoing effort to overcome my PTSD by forcing myself to try to write and publish something every day commenting on and analyzing current cultural affairs and their impacts on politics, faith, and, well, everything. “Politics is downstream from culture,” the late Andrew Breitbart popularized among conservative bloggers while he was alive. I’d go a step further: Everything is downstream from culture. The cultures you embrace determine who you are and who you become. You become what you worship.
Lawyer-Writer
recently critiqued Netflix at his substack, noting that the original streaming giant has a notable problem of often ending their shows way too quickly before they can properly resolve them:He rightfully warns that Netflix won't necessarily last forever and that it could go the way of its predecessor Blockbuster:
Among the major streamers, Netflix has first-mover advantage and remains the “default” streaming service in the minds of many. No one ever talks about “Paramount Plus and chill.” But it wasn’t that long ago that Blockbuster Video looked like an unstoppable juggernaut, too.
I trust that Penny is correct in his critique as he generally seems on point in his musings, but I can’t know for sure, because I cancelled my Netflix subscription due to the antisemitic jokes Dave Chappelle employed at the start of his “The Closer” comedy special in 2021. Check out this solid write-up from
at the substack, one of my very favorite Jewish and Zionist-themed writers, for a first-rate take-down of the too-popular comedian and his deeply problematic anti-Jewish comedy. I've been planning to do my own critique explaining why I'm no longer a Chappelle fan but Eliashav does such a good job I'm not sure I really need to go to the effort. (This op/ed by Jonathan S. Tobin also does a formidable job.)But this isn’t the only problematic association Netflix has made with antisemites which should caution supporters of the Jewish people from signing up to the streaming service. Here are two more you may not know about.
First, in 2021, Netflix promoted a slate of pro-Palestian films, celebrated and promoted by America’s most prominent Islamist, anti-Israel activist, the despicable Linda Sarsour:
Frequent Algemeiner columnist Gidon Ben-Zvi of the media watchdog Honest Reporting noted at the time:
In October of last year, Linda Sarsour tweeted about Palestinian films and documentaries arriving on Netflix. She urged her 325,000 followers to “learn about the Palestinian experience.”
Sounds innocuous enough, until one realizes that out of the 17 films and documentaries advertised by Sarsour, the vast majority featured either a plot or subtext that was nakedly hostile to the existence of Israel.
And in contrast to many of the films and television series made in Israel that have very little to do with “the conflict” or Palestinians, Netflix’s selection of Palestinian films was focused on perpetuating the victimhood narrative.
Similar to Hala Gabriel, Linda Sarsour has a history of echoing the age-old antisemitic trope that Jews believe they are a “superior” race. Sarsour has publicly declared that Israel was founded on the idea of “Jewish supremacy.”
The third reason why Netflix is deeply problematic to supporters of the Jewish people is perhaps the most obscure and I came across it way back in 2017 when I was coordinator of Islamist Watch. See this article at the Daily Caller presenting my research and activism into the heavily tech-funded Silicon Valley Community Foundation:
The Silicon Valley Community Foundation, which claims to be the largest community foundation in the world, gave more than $330,000 to CAIR and Islamic Relief between 2008 and 2015, IRS filings show.
A group of self-described “moderate Muslims” implored the foundation in a letter to cease giving donations to the two groups, which they described as Islamist and opposed to Western values. The letter said that Islamic Relief “gives charitably to terrorist sympathizers and enablers, including affiliates of Hamas.”
Signatories of the letter included Muslim academics and representatives from organizations including the Center for Islamic Pluralism and Muslims Facing Tomorrow.
Five Republican congressmen wrote a similar letter to the foundation in June, asking them to cease giving money to CAIR and Islamic Relief. The foundation has given no indication that they plan to cease funding the two groups. A spokesperson for SVCF pointed TheDC to a statement the foundation released in August, standing by its support for CAIR and Islamic Relief.
And who is funding this significant financial support to the anti-Israel, Islamist organizations CAIR and Islamic Relief? Netflix founder and CEO Reed Hastings:
Hastings is heavily involved in philanthropy, especially in promoting changes to the American education system. Hastings has donated to a number of education organizations, though the recipients are not all known due to Hastings’s use of a private donor-advised fund account through the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. [25] Hastings contributed $100 million to the Foundation in 2016
Look, there are now a whole bunch of other streaming options out there - Hulu, Disney+, HBOMax, YouTube’s premium option, and my personal favorite, art film heaven the Criterion Channel:
If you care about the Jewish state and the Jewish people then cancel your Netflix subscription and embrace the plethora of other, non-problematic streaming options.
