Editor's Note: After publication, the Post became aware of the fact that Farha is no longer broadcasted on Netflix.
Circulating on social media platforms is a petition for Netflix not to screen an antisemitic film depicting the Israel Defense Forces as monsters. The film Blood Libel, by Jordanian director Darin J. Sallam, has Israeli soldiers murdering a Palestinian family.
The setting of the film is in 1948, and the central character is Farha, a 14 year-old-girl, whose father locks her in a warehouse to keep her safe from Israeli soldiers who have frequently attacked the family’s village.
The producers claim that the movie is based on a true story. Though over seven decades have passed since the alleged incident, in today’s climate of violent antisemitism and pro-Palestinian fervor, the screening of such a film will add fuel to the fire.
OF ALL the horrific acts of antisemitism that have taken place in various parts of the world, few, if any, have received as much attention on traditional media, social media, in political spheres, and in the street as the terrorist attack during a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
The attack in October 2018 on the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, which resulted in 11 deaths, was widely reported, and there were reactions throughout the Jewish world, but not nearly as much as the Hanukkah shooting in Bondi.
In the United States, for instance, Democratic Caucus Chair and Assembly member Rick Chavez Zbur (D – Hollywood) released a statement on the day of the murder: “Today, we saw another horrific antisemitic act of terror against the Jewish community, at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia.
Jews, including a Rabbi, were murdered at a Hanukkah celebration – a holiday that celebrates the triumph of light over darkness.
“My heart aches for the Jewish community right now. And to my fellow non-Jews, I ask: ‘How much longer must the Jewish community sound the alarm and plead with the world to address this clear and growing threat to their safety and lives?’
“Now must be a moment of moral clarity, allyship, and action for leaders around the world. We must all stand with the Jewish community, condemn this rising hate, and work across cultural and political divides to stop it.
Chavez quoted Holocaust survivor, Nobel Prize laureate, and internationally acclaimed author Elie Wiesel, who said: “Wherever men and women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.”
“Today, Bondi Beach is the center of the universe,” Chavez said.
MEANWHILE, ISRAEL’S ambassador to Australia Amir Maimon attended the funerals of the victims, adding his own floral tribute to the growing mass of flowers brought by Jews and non-Jews in sorrowful recognition that the deaths of innocent people were caused simply because they were Jews.
As a sign of identification with his faith, and in solidarity with Australian Jewry, Maimon donned tefillin (phylacteries) and said that his heart was torn apart. The attack was not only against Jews, he declared, but at Australian citizens of the Jewish faith.
With reference to the tragedy, he said that he was not just talking about the Jewish community, he was talking first and foremost about Australia – about Australian citizens of the Jewish faith who should be free to worship their God.
The enormity of the tragedy has been such that it has been extensively covered in the Australian media, aided by police press conferences on the subject and statements and op-eds by such prominent Jewish figures as President of the Australian Zionist Federation Jeremy Leibler and former national treasurer and deputy leader of the Liberal Party Josh Frydenberg.
WHILE ANTISEMITISM keeps rearing its ugly head around the world, Jewish life in Poland is enjoying a dramatic revival. This, despite the fact that Poland too has seen a spike in antisemitism.
Nonetheless, the creation of Polin – the Museum of the History of Polish Jews, the expansion of Chabad institutions along with those of other streams of Judaism and the annual Jewish festivals in Krakow and Warsaw, as well as Jewish activities in smaller communities, have brought previously hidden Jews out of the woodwork, and sparked increased interest amongst non-Jews about Jewish history, culture and traditions.
While Jewish life in Poland will never be what it was before the Holocaust, in the immediate aftermath of the war, those Jews who chose to remain in Poland published Jewish periodicals, attended Yiddish theater and other cultural events, and in Warsaw for instance, attended services at the Nozyk Synagogue, the only synagogue out of some 400 in Warsaw, that was not destroyed by the Nazis.
It was inaugurated in May 1902, and after the war, served as a meeting place for Holocaust survivors.
Nowadays, even in places where Jews are very few in number and have mostly intermarried with non-Jews, some Jewish traditions have remained or have been revived.
Czestochowa, an hour’s train ride away from Krakow, is a case in point. Revival of Jewish life there was funded by Polish American philanthropist and Holocaust survivor Sigmund Rolat, a Polin Museum founding donor, and a supporter of the Krakow Jewish Culture Festival, the Bronislaw Huberman Philharmonic Orchestra and Violin Festival in Czestochowa, and the Warsaw National Opera.
Rolat, who died in May 2024 at the age of 93, funded many educational and cultural projects in his birthplace of Czestochowa, even when fewer than 20 Jews lived there.
That number has increased somewhat, but is still very small. However, there was a relatively large Hanukkah celebration this week, attended by Izabella Sobanska-Klekowskahe chairwoman of the Czestochowa branch of TSKZ, the Social and Cultural Association of Jews in Poland, which has been operating since 1950 – and is the oldest Jewish organization in the country.
In welcoming everyone, she thanked all those who spread the word about the history and culture of Polish Jews, and said that Hanukkah presented a good opportunity to meet up and share the light of Hanukkah, the joy of happiness and freedom on the 75th anniversary of TSKZ in Poland.
Members of TSKZ Czestochowa, supporters, and distinguished friends honored the occasion with their presence. These included Czestochowa Deputy Mayor Ryszard Stefaniak, Czestochowa Museum Director Katarzyna Ozimek, Czestochowa Regional Cultural Center Director Małgorzata Majer-Setowska, and Czestochowa General Anders High School Principal Tomasza Tomczyk.
Also in attendance were: Vice-Principal of the Mechanical and Electrical High School in Czestochowa Ewa Teperska, Municipal Kindergarten No. 7 (named after the Seven Dwarfs) Marta Włodarczyk, Historical Documentation Center of Czestochowa Director Juliusz Setowski, Christian Foundation President Adulam Elzbieta Ferenc, and attorney Krzysztof Straus of the Foundation for Memory and Renewal in Czestochowa), who is active in various efforts to preserve the Jewish heritage of the city.
Also present was Gaude Mater Director Tadeusz Piersiak, as well as former director Ewina Brzezowska.
On view was an exhibit of photographs of TSKZ activities to pass on to the next generation. In discussions, emphasis was placed on interfaith cooperation together with intercultural and intergenerational dialogue.
The medal “For Excellence in TSKZ Activities” was ceremoniously awarded to Dr. Anna Goldman.
Long-time activist for TSKZ Sobanska Kłakowska was thanked and commended by Stefaniek for her devotion to public and community service. The deputy mayor was given the honor of lighting the first Hanukkah candle, and all present received traditional chocolate Hanukkah gelt.
Patricia Siewert-Szybka and Grzegorz Szybka performed Hanukkah songs in Polish and Hebrew.
The club in which several of those present have been meeting for many years was yet another gift to Czestochowa by Sigmund Rolat, as well as by fellow philanthropist Alan Silberstein.
AMONG THE shoppers in Mahaneh Yehuda market last Friday was US Ambassador Mike Huckabee, who had come to buy donuts and to explain via video what Hanukkah is all about, and why donuts and other foods fried in oil are the main culinary fare during the Hanukkah week.
He did a very good job explaining what the festival is all about. He then examined some fancy donut displays, after which he bought some donuts to take home. Can’t wait to hear his rendition of the Purim story. But he might surprise everyone and make a video about Tu B’Shvat before that.
FOR THE second time in his career, British-born Jason Pearlman has stepped down from the role of international media advisor to the president of Israel.
He was previously advisor and spokesman to the foreign media during the term of president Reuven Rivlin, but left to take up an enticing position in the United Kingdom. He was succeeded by Jonathan Cummings, another Brit, who later became the spokesman for then-transportation minister Merav Michaeli.
When President Isaac Herzog took office, his foreign media advisor and spokesman was Eylon Levy, yet another Brit, who later went on to tell Israel’s story to a wider global audience.
Though Pearlman was asked to return to the president’s spokesman’s team, he chose another path and is succeeded by yet another British gentleman, Benjamin Lee, who previously served in the IDF Spokesman’s Unit, including as head of International Social Media and head of the Strategy and Messaging Department.
Pearlman is not yet disclosing his new place of employment, but as he is also a strategist and crisis manager, there is a strong possibility that he is heading in that direction.