Facing criticism, Netflix insists it does invest in original Israeli content
After coming under attack by local industry executives, streaming platform points to Hebrew-language ‘Bros’ and upcoming project with Lior Raz and Rotem Sela
Jessica Steinberg, The Times of Israel's culture and lifestyles editor, covers the Sabra scene from south to north and back to the center
After members of Israel’s television industry took Netflix to task for not investing enough in local productions, the streaming platform said it was supporting original Israeli content, even during the ongoing war.
Speaking to The Times of Israel on Monday, Netflix pointed out that it had produced its first Hebrew-language original series, “Bros” (“Through Fire and Water” in Hebrew), which was filmed in Israel, Georgia and Ukraine and premiered in April 2024.
“Bros” was slated to premiere on Netflix in early November 2023 but was postponed in the wake of the Hamas massacre on October 7.
The streaming platform also picked up several original Israeli productions for 2025, including “Bad Boy” from Ron Leshem and Hagar Ben-Asher; “The Girl from Oslo,” about Israeli captives taken in the Sinai Desert; Keshet series “Trust No One”; and “Off-Road,” an original project starring Lior Raz and Rotem Sela, with Raz’s creative partner, Avi Issacharoff.
Netflix is a partner in the Sam Spiegel Film School Series Lab, bringing students to work with professional showrunners to develop Israeli series.
The response from Netflix came after Israeli executives and screenwriters wrote a letter to Netflix executives, part of their push for a regulatory framework in Israel, similar to those of several European countries, that would legally obligate industry platforms to invest in original Israeli creation.
Several Netflix executives, including Larry Tanz, vice president of content for Netflix Europe, Middle East and Africa, were in Israel in late January to discuss the long-debated Broadcasting Law, meeting with Israeli television creators and Communications Minister Shlomo Karhi, among others.
International streaming platforms such as Netflix, and media companies like Cellcom and Partner, which came into the market over the last decade bringing dozens of channels to Israeli viewers, are not obligated to invest in local production, unlike local companies Hot and Yes, which legally have to take 8% of their revenue and reinvest it in original productions.
Netflix has said that flexible regulatory environments are better tools to attract investment, particularly in the highly competitive television industry, with countries adopting production incentives to attract production.
Only eight of the 27 European Union member states have investment obligations, according to Netflix.
