Netflix under fire for casting Israeli actor to play the Virgin Mary in upcoming biblical drama
Netflix is facing severe backlash after releasing the trailer for its biblical drama Mary, which stars several Israeli actors, including Noa Cohen playing the titular role.
Slated for a December 6 release, Netflix said the movie offered a fresh perspective on the representation of Jesus’ birth, “through the eyes of Mary”.
According to Middle East Eye, the film chronicles Jesus’ birth, Mary’s journey as an unwed mother facing societal rejection and King Herod’s — played by Anthony Hopkins — murderous hunt to track them down, fearing a threat to his rule.
The cast includes several other Israeli actors, such as Ido Tako, who depicts Joseph, Ori Pfeffer, Mili Avital, Keren Tzur and Hilla Vidor.
The trailer drew criticism from audiences, who accused the streaming giant of erasing the characters’ Palestinian roots and casting predominantly white actors in a story set in the Middle East.
‘Everybody white’
Ironic, insensitive, disgusting audacity
Many X (formerly Twitter) users called out the irony of casting Israelis in a movie about Mary and Jesus, while the state of Israel committed horrific atrocities against Christian Palestinians in the birthplace of Jesus himself.
“While Israel bombs churches and settlers harass Christians in Jerusalem and Bethlehem, Netflix thought it would be a great idea to choose an Israeli with an Instagram face to portray Virgin Mary,” a netizen wrote.
Other social media users highlighted that the casting of an “outspoken Zionist” to play Mary did not make sense while “Israel actively eradicates the oldest Christian population on Earth”.
One person called it “deeply blasphemous” to cast an Israeli as Mary while “Israel is carrying out a genocide against Palestinians, killing some of the oldest Christian populations in the area and destroying their heritage sites.”
Another user pointed out that it was okay to cast a Jewish individual as Mary, who many claim was Jewish. However, choosing an Israeli for the role “when Israel is currently bombing the oldest Christian community in the world is just wrong [and] insensitive.”
Historical inaccuracies
People also mentioned the inaccuracies depicted in the trailer, with one X user claiming that the Bible did not mention that Mary was barren, nor did anyone start riots against her when she was pregnant.
“The actors and actresses are Israelis and not an ounce of melanin can be seen in the trailer.”
Another user said the movie was “violent erasure” because “historically Mary was a Jewish Palestinian woman”.
They added that in Christianity, “so many records of her miracles are her literally appearing to children in times of war. So just symbolically what an insult to cast an ‘Israeli.’”
Ensure authenticity
Meanwhile, the film’s director, DJ Caruso, described the film as a “coming of age” story about a “smart, strong-willed young woman facing monumental challenges: overcoming social stigma, evading a jealous king and bearing the weight of a world-changing destiny.”
Caruso also defended the decision to cast Israeli actors saying it was “important to us that Mary, along with most of our primary cast, be selected from Israel to ensure authenticity.”
Last month, audiences condemned Netflix’s removal of an entire library of Palestinian movies, in a move dubbed anti-Palestine by many. However, the streaming platform claimed that titles were removed due to licenses expiring.