This past weekend, the Palestinian documentary No Other Land won at the Oscars — much to the shock of those who think they have silenced Palestinian voices in Hollywood. It seemingly defied all odds, but it didn’t come out of nowhere. Together we have been scratching at power and undermining the ground the zionists stand on. This was a victory for all of us. But, it’s important for us to understand what we are up against. The power brokers in Hollywood can (and have) functioned as a huge propaganda arm of the war machine — and it has a Zionist problem. We visited talent agency WME last week to deliver our petition to Angelina Jolie to pressure Netflix to reinstate the Palestinian stories on their site. Then on Sunday we demonstrated outside of the Oscars so no one could forget about Palestine. No Other Land winning is a sign the times are changing in Hollywood, but we learned that WME has a darker side than we had known, and there’s a lot more to expose. That’s why we’re going back to WME, this time with a petition to take action against senior partner Brandt Joel, who sent a violent message — "Screw the left kill all" — in a Whatsapp group of WME employees supporting Israel. This exposes the culture of hate and violence accepted by those at the top of the entertainment industry.

👉 William Morris Endeavor: Are these your values?

To understand why WME would protect someone like Brandt Joel, we need to look at the men at the top of the agency. CEO of Endeavor Ari Emanuel’s father was a member of the Irgun, the Zionist militia that carried out massacres and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians during the Nakba to violently establish the state of Israel. His brother, Rahm Emanuel, used his political career, notably his time as Obama’s Chief of staff to solidify U.S. support for Israel. At WME, Ari carries on the family tradition with a more subtle but equally dangerous method of violence — propaganda.

WME represents Keshet International, one of Israel’s most powerful propaganda tools. Through its subsidiary Keshet 12, it pushes Israeli propaganda that dehumanizes Palestinians and justifies the occupation, manufacturing consent from the Israeli public. From TV shows that glorify the Israeli occupation forces to programs that erase Palestinian history, Keshet pumps out content that maintains Israel’s manufactured reality which WME imports and distributes to Americans. This propaganda is a crucial tool for Israel and the U.S. to impose violence on Palestinians daily — a truth that never gets told. Hollywood executives in agencies like WME know it threatens their worldview for people to know the stories of Palestinians.

👉 Sign the petition to tell WME: Is this who you want representing you? WME allowing their senior partner to talk about carrying out violence on a whole group of people that they don’t like is unacceptable — and WME not taking immediate action exposes who they are and what they believe.

Back to the Oscars. No documentary has ever won an Oscar without a distributor, because Hollywood crushes the ability to tell stories by punishing those who would dare distribute them. We've been campaigning against Netflix for their erasure of Palestinian stories. But this censorship is not the exception — it is the rule. This is the gatekeeping power structure that decides which stories are allowed to exist and which are buried. We refuse to let them dictate reality — that's why we need you to add your name to this petition to demand WME address Brandt Joel’s comments now!

Now, as Netanyahu blatantly announces Israel will block humanitarian aid and tighten its chokehold on Gaza, the consequences of this propaganda are clearer than ever. Using starvation as a weapon is a war crime. Israel has undermined the ceasefire at every turn, continuing its provocations to destroy the ceasefire altogether. And yet, the U.S. continues its unwavering support because the propaganda machine is working as designed. The same industry that feeds us war glorification and dehumanizes Palestinians is the same one that silences real Palestinian narratives, allowing this propaganda to exist unchallenged.

 👉 Don't miss out:

• Join our call on 3/10 with Dr. Rupa Marya!
• Demand UCSF reinstate Dr. Rupa Marya!
• Our new website exposes US/UK bases in Cyprus!
• Sign up to organize and engage locally!
• Order pink keffiyehs from the West Bank!

Until Liberation,

Nour and the entire CODEPINK team