Pallywood Executives Mull Reboot Of Blood Libel Franchise

A number of indie – short for indifada – studios specialize in adapting the blood libel cachet to current goings-on.

Pallywood, June 2 – Studio executives in this field know an international sensation when they see one, often before most others do. That ability is what gives an edge in the media production industry, where the right staging, editing, and cropping of videos can make the difference between a compelling indictment of Israeli policies and just another pathetic attempt to slander the IDF. Increasingly, rather than pursue new formulas and ideas, those executives are relying on old standbys that have proven ability to generate the right reaction. Chief among those is the classic blood libel, in which Jews are accused of murdering non-Jewish children for the ritual use of blood.

Franchise reboots of this sort play on both nostalgia and excitement for a new take on a familiar theme. While the strictest form of the blood libel – Jews kneading the blood of a murdered non-Jewish child into their Passover matza – remains popular in much of the Muslim world, in Pallywood executives see greater potential in interpreting “Jews” as the State of Israel, and in replacing blood in matza with more up-to-date forms of exploitation such as organ harvesting. Thus they aim to tap into a growing market of anti-Israel sentiment in the Middle East, Europe, the Americas, and wherever anyone seeks a reason to hate Jews.

Profitability aside, many factors go into studios’ decision to commission entirely new libels or to fall back on the blood libel formula. “The classic formula will always resonate to some degree,” acknowledges Edward Narwij, a Vice President at Al-Durra Films. “But there are enough outfits doing just that, more or less, and it’s better to have a little variety. You don’t have to stick to unleavened bread and Christian children. We’ve already had plenty of success casting IDF soldiers in the role of villain, and portraying wanton murder of Palestinian children and youths instead of some Jewish religious mumbo-jumbo.”

The phenomenon is by no means the exclusive province of the more established Pallywood production houses. A number of indie – short for indifada – studios specialize in adapting the blood libel cachet to current goings-on. “We just produced a ‘documentary’ detailing how Israel, under the guise of taking in Palestinians for medical treatment, takes their blood and body tissues without consent, then uses that blood and tissue to treat IDF soldiers wounded by the Resistance,” said Mustafa Farhud of Sabra and Shatila Films. “We also had a hand in the classic ‘Jenin, Jenin,’ but I don’t want to overstate our role in that production,” he added.

Industry insiders say they understand the pull of proven franchises, but that endless reboots of the same basic story might eventually tire the audience, which in general cannot be bothered to distinguish between multiple iterations of the same story. “I would much prefer to see some creativity in developing new methods for manufacturing evidence of Israeli atrocities,” said film critic Leni Reifenstahl. “If not an entirely new kind of atrocity of which to accuse the Jews.”

“Who wants to see everybody marching in lock step?” she added.