חומר רקע

Subject: Formal Protest: Netflix’s Exploitation of Geopolitical Crisis to Evade Cultural Obligations To the Executive Leadership of Netflix, We are writing to express our profound indignation at the cynical and predatory strategy Netflix has adopted in Israel. While Netflix's brand globally champions "Di- versity, Equity, and Inclusion," the company's actions on the ground in Israel reveal a stark willingness to exploit political instability for the sake of corporate greed. Netflix is no longer merely lobbying; it is engaging in high-level diplomatic coercion. By leveraging the U.S. Administration to pressure the Israeli government, Netflix has weaponized the most critical strategic alliance, the U.S.-Israel relationship, to secure a self-serving exemption from the Communications Law. The narrative that a modest 6.5% investment in local original content could some- how destabilize diplomatic ties is not only preposterous; it is a calculated manipula- tion of Israel’s current security and political vulnerabilities. We must ask: who fueled this deceptive rhetoric within the halls of the U.S. State Department? The answer is clear: a corporation that has traded its moral compass for a higher profit margin. In markets across Europe and North America, Netflix respects local sovereignty and complies with investment mandates. However, in Israel, it has identified a national distress as a "regulatory loophole" to be exploited. Israel is not a playground for corporate exploitation. Netflix extracts nearly 900 mil- lion ILS annually from Israeli households, yet it expends every effort to ensure not a single dime returns to nurture the local culture that feeds the platform. In the Jewish tradition, such conduct is met with the eternal condemnation: "Hast thou killed, and also taken possession?" (1 Kings 21:19). These tactics mirror the very exploitation that the foundations of Western ethics, which you claim to uphold, were built to oppose. Consider the words of Saint Ambrose, a cornerstone of Western moral thought, in his treatise on the greed of the powerful: "How far will your mad lusts extend, ye rich? Shall ye dwell alone upon the earth? Why do you cast out the partners of your nature and claim for yourselves the pos- session of all nature? The earth was created as a common possession for all... Why do you, the rich, claim exclusive right to the soil? The rich man covets what belongs to the poor, and if he cannot obtain it by fair means, he resorts to force... to inherit the little that remains to him." (Saint Ambrose, De Nabuthae) We demand that Netflix cease its reliance on back-channel diplomatic pressure. Stop exploiting our societal hardships to evade your cultural responsibilities. We call on you to return to the legislative table in the Knesset with transparency and integrity, as a partner rather than a predator. Respect Israeli democracy. Respect our culture. Sincerely, Israeli Content Headquarters: SGI – Screenwriters Guild of Israel. ACT – The Israeli Association of Cinema and Television Professionals. Shaham - The Israeli Actors Association. DGI – Directors Guild of Israel. Animation Guild of Israel. The Israeli Documentary Film Forum.