Boycott calls over Israeli cast as Mary in Netflix’s Jesus mom epic
Claiming mother of Jesus was Palestinian, social media users say it’s offensive to cast Israeli actress as titular character in movie amid war in Gaza; Anthony Hopkins also stars
Michael Horovitz is a breaking news editor at The Times of Israel
Online backlash among pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel users raged this week over the Israeli cast members of an upcoming Netflix Biblical epic about Mary, the mother of Jesus, following the release of its trailer on Tuesday.
Set to begin streaming in early December, “Mary” stars 21-year-old Israeli actress Noa Cohen in the titular role, as well as 22-year-old Israeli actor Ido Tako as Joseph.
The two young Israelis share the screen with the British film and stage legend Anthony Hopkins, who portrays King Herod.
But critics of the casting choice accused filmmakers of erasing what they called the “Palestinian identity” of Jesus’s parents and took particular offense at the casting of Israeli actors amid the IDF’s offensive in Gaza, launched after Hamas-led terrorists massacred 1,200 people in southern communities, and took 251 hostages to the Strip.
“There is something profoundly offensive about having an Israeli actor play Mary, the mother of Jesus, while Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians, killing some of the oldest Christian communities in the world and erasing their heritage sites,” one online poster wrote. Israel has strongly denied all accusations of genocide.
“Netflix thought it was a good idea to cast an [Israeli] to place [sic] Mother Mary like [they] aren’t bombing the homeland of Jesus himself as well as all the churches,” another post claimed.
Another account complained that “the whole main cast is white Europeans except for one biracial guy.”
“A film [about] a Palestinian woman played by actors from the settler state that is currently mass slaughtering Palestinian women. Oh the disgusting audacity,” another claimed.
Many of the posts on the film also drew antisemitic comments from online users.
Some pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel activists identify Jesus and his parents as Palestinian even though Biblical lore states they were Jewish and lived in the territory then called Judea.
Commenting on his choice for Israeli actors in the lead roles, director D.J. Caruso told Entertainment Weekly last month that it was “important to us that Mary, along with most of our primary cast, be selected from Israel to ensure authenticity.”
Cohen has starred in several Israeli movies and TV shows, such as “Silent Game” and “8200,” but the lead role in a Netflix movie about one of the most famous figures in history will bring her in front of international audiences for the first time.
The film’s cast also features several other Israeli actors, such as Ori Pfeffer, Mili Avital, Keren Tzur and Hilla Vidor.
While most of the cast are relatively unknown Israeli actors, two-time Academy Award-winning Hopkins brings star power to the movie as the king of Judea.
The film, shot in Morocco, grapples with the young Mary’s immaculate conception, the birth of Jesus, and King Herod’s “murderous hunt” to track them down, fearing a threat to his rule.
Understanding the sensitivity that comes with portraying a story from the bible, especially one as important as Jesus’ birth, the film’s director said that the film’s writing and production were done with “great care” to create “a story that feels both sacred and modern.”
The epic will be released on Netflix on December 6.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
