Racism in Hollywood

Fans who have attended early screening’s of Riddley Scott’s “Gladiator II” have expressed surprise that Palestinian-Egyptian actress May Calamawy, who was tested for a lead role, has been relegated to background shots. In May, “Deadline” revealed that she was cast along Peter Mensah, Derek Jacobi, and Denzil Washington in the sequel to box office hit “Gladiator.” That film was released in 2000 and won a five Oscars at the 2001 Academy Awards, including for director Riddley Scott and actor Russell Crowe. The character he played was killed in the original and could not be resurrected.

Middle East Eye reported that “social media users have criticised the makers” of “Gladiator II” for cutting scenes where Calamawy was featured along with Washington and had a speaking part. While Riddley apologists argued cuts were necessary to shorten the 3.5-hour film to 2.5 hours, Calamawy fans contended this was “due to her Palestinian heritage and public support for Gaza” during Israel’s brutal war. Regional film buffs had been enthusiastic about her elevation to a major role after her “breakout” in “Moon Knight” and the “Rami” series. Some critics suggested she had been replaced in “Gladiator II” by Israeli actress Yuval Ronen.

Born in October 1986 in Bahrain, Calamawy’s father was Egyptian and mother Palestinian Jordanian. The family travelled to Qatar and Texas for her father’s work as a banker. Calamawy attended school in Bahrain and majored in industrial design at university in Boston. In 2015, she moved to the US to study acting at Emerson College in California. Her first major role was in “Djinn,” a horror film produced in the United Arab Emirates. After taking a number of roles in films and mini-series, she played the Marvel comic book Egyptian super-heroine the “Scarlet Scarab” and signed on for more films, including “Gladiator II” which raised false expectations.

One angry social media poster, cited by Middle East Eye, charged the film makers of succumbing to the “racism and discrimination against Palestinians in Hollywood just for being Palestinian and needs to be addressed.”

Racist discrimination in Palestine began with the notorious 2017 Balfour declaration in which Britain promised to facilitate the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine while referring to native Palestinians, then 94 per cent of the population, as “non-Jewish communities.” Since the establishment of Israel, its leaders have repeatedly said Palestinians do not constitute a nation but are Arabs indistinguishable from Egyptians and Syrians. This is flagrantly untrue. Palestinians wherever they are consider themselves to be rooted in the land and millennial culture of Palestine. On Monday this week, the BBC interviewed an Israeli official who repeated the falsehood. Israel’s Arab citizens are referred to as “Israeli Arabs” – or dismissively, as “Aravim” – rather than Palestinian citizens of Israel which they are.

Expatriate Palestinian public figures who speak about the plight of Palestinians living under occupation are often targeted by Israel and its influential supporters. US supermodels Bella and Gigi Hadid – whose father is Palestinian and mother Dutch – have been criticised by Israel and its lobbyists during advertising campaigns but fashion houses have shrugged off pressures to fire them. This summer the sisters donated $1 million for Palestinian relief charities. In May, Bella Hadid dared Israel by donning a red keffiyeh designer dress at the Cannes film festival.

Netflix has been blasted for casting Israelis in starring roles in its film about the mother of the founder of Christianity “Mary” which tells her story from her pregnancy through the birth of Jesus and flight to Egypt to escape King Herod’s decree to kill all baby boys. Social media posters complained that Israeli actors were playing in this film while Israel is bombing and killing Palestinians and destroying ancient Christian churches.

Ben & Jerry’s ice cream has launched legal action against its parent company Unilever which is accused of trying to stop the Jewish ice cream makers Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield from making statements in support of Palestinians in Gaza. Unilever is also charged with threatening to dismantle the firm’s board of directors who support the Palestinian cause. In 2022 Ben & Jerry’s decided to stop selling its ice cream in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Unilever has blocked the firm’s Palestinian initiatives which the company says are part of its “social mission.”

Neo-colonialism, racism and ignorance are the main causes of prejudice and discrimination. Assertive Palestinians, Arabs, Muslims and their defenders have for decades faced prejudice. persecution and boycott. Palestine’s most prominent academic Edward Said wrote in his 1981 book “Covering Islam” that anti-Muslim, anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian attitudes are rooted in the historical competition between Islam and Christian Europe. The 19th century Zionist movement and Israel have exploited this uneasy relationship by falsely claiming Arabs and Muslims pose a threat to the West. Said compared these attitudes to lingering US hostility towards Communism in the 1950s and in Washington’s rising antipathy to China and Russia. In his book “Scratches on Our Minds” Harold Isaacs discussed negative US perceptions of Chinese and Indian fellow citizens. These extend to their former homelands and persist today. Following Usama bin Laden’s September 2001 strikes on New York and Washington, there were around 300 attacks in the US against Sikhs of Indian origin who were believed to be Muslims. During the Covid pandemic US citizens of Asian background were subjected to hate crimes and violence.

When Donald Trump returns to the White House on Jan.20, 2025, he could revive anti-Arab and anti-Muslim measures. On Jan.27, 2017, a week after assuming the presidency, he signed an executive order banning for 90 days entry to the US of citizens from seven majority-Muslim countries: Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. A revised 90-day ban excluding Iraq was issued later after he was informed Iraq was an ally . Trump signed further entry bans targeting Muslims in September and October of that year. While these bans were challenged in the courts, Trump’s restrictions were ended only on Jan.20, 2021, by President Joe Biden the day he took office.

Photo: TNS