Hollywood has historically been used as a tool for pro-Israel propaganda, both directly and indirectly, thanks to its Jewish studio ownership, lobbying networks, and selective media representations. To examine how institutional mechanisms within Hollywood consistently advance Israeli narratives while marginalizing those pertaining to Palestinians, this study draws on media studies literature and propaganda theory. This study demonstrates how Hollywood functions as a soft power tool that can influence international public opinion in favor of Israel and change US foreign policy support through ownership structures, organizational pressure, and deliberate content creation.

The following inquiries are investigated in this study:

The economic endeavors of European Jewish exiles who fled persecution back home in the late 19th and early 20th centuries gave rise to Hollywood. The Warner Brothers, Louis B. Mayer, Samuel Goldwyn, and Harry Cohn would go on to establish the main Hollywood studios that would dominate American filmmaking for many years. Despite being pioneers in business and enterprise, these people had sensibility derived from their marginalization and antisemitism experiences.

A strong identification with Jewish causes was undoubtedly generated by the immigrant experience, and this association later extended to the Zionist endeavor of building a Jewish homeland in Palestine. According to Shaw and Goodman, “Hollywood personalities organized massive fundraising and promotional activities for pre-state Zionist organizations and, after 1948, for the State of Israel.” This led to the formation of a network of cultural practices and institutions that continue to influence Hollywood’s response to Middle East concerns.

Based on a Leon Uris novel, Otto Preminger’s 1960 film “Exodus” marked a turning point in Hollywood’s pro-Israel propaganda. Arabs were characterized as archaic and antagonistic, whereas Jewish settlers in Palestine were heroic and archaic enemies of independence movements. The foundation for later Hollywood depictions of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was established by its tremendous commercial success and ensuing cultural influence.

It was widely praised and perceived as a pro-Israel initiative funded by significant Jewish promotional efforts. A cursory examination of the film’s popularity indicated that Hollywood was becoming a propaganda tool for influencing public opinion through emotionally charged popular narratives that had the power to transform their political reality into moral stereotypes that supported Israeli opinions.

Steven Spielberg, whose Holocaust-themed picture Schindler’s List was released in 1993, is arguably the most successful. Thus, the primary moral foundation in Holocaust films is the pro-Israel narratives that are established by presenting the suffering of Jews. Despite not being for Israel, the film’s emotional moments and widespread cultural appeal foster empathetic attitudes toward Jewish concerns, such as Israeli nationalism as an idealized country in connection with shelter for persecuted Jews.

To make sure it adhered to accepted narratives about Jewish suffering and redemption, the movie, nevertheless, underwent a rigorous consultation process with Jewish organizations and Holocaust survivors. Its widespread popularity and widespread recognition make it yet another potent cultural relic that uses popular perception to represent historical experiences in comprehending modern-day Jewry and the actions of the Israeli government.

The Cold War-era “special relationship” between the US and Israel provided further motivation for Hollywood to create such pro-Israel fare. As Israel became closer to the United States in the Middle East, arguments in favor of Israeli narratives were less likely to provoke negative government censure or regulatory action and more consistent with some wider goals in US strategic politics.

Such congruence ultimately resulted in a mutually reinforcing arrangement: Hollywood’s pro-Israel productions would further the objectives of US foreign policy, while the latter’s endorsement of this........

© Paradigm Shift