Photos for Hebrew street names in Amman, cars with Israeli license plates and young women wearing the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) suits in the Jordanian capital seem to spark massive anger among Jordanians.
Social media users went to circulate photos and videos for what was claimed to be an “Israeli film” in Amman and called to join a sit-in at the shooting location on Saturday.
Photos shared on social media showed the filming taking place in different parts of the capital city.
Translation: “The video below shows what we published yesterday on shooting a film in Amman that assumes it is Tel Aviv. This is a video was taken in Rainbow Street, Amman and shows cars had their license plates replaced with Israeli ones.”
The photos sparked anger and led “Itharrak” [take a move], a group that opposes normalization with Israel, to contact the state-run Royal Film Commission of Jordan demanding clarification on the issue.
Translation: “Waiting for the Royal Film Commission of Jordan response. This farce must be stopped and we will never accept using Amman to promote Tel Aviv.”
The Royal Film Commission responded, explaining that this was a Netflix-produced series that was using Amman as a backdrop for Jerusalm and Tel Aviv. They confirmed approving a request to shoot a series in Amman where it is assumed to be in Israel’s Tel Aviv without interfering in the content of any film or series being produced in Jordan.
Translation: “Amman Municipality told Al Ghad: “We don’t know about any film being shooted in Amman assuming it is Tel Aviv and that they will change the street names to Hebrew names.” My question to you: When will the Municipality be responsible about anything? Everytime they say they are not responsible about it.”
Later, authorities in Jordan confirmed it is a series being produced by a Jordanian production company, Desert Motion Picture in cooperation with Netflix and the casting crew are all Jordanians and Americans.
Public opinions varied. Some claimed shooting the series was rejected in Israel and that is why it is being shooted in Amman while others said shooting in Amman is cheaper than Tel Aviv.
Translation: “Netflix is shooting a film in Amman and changing names of places to Hebrew and the reason is because we are cheap. No, I am talking seriously. Cost of shooting in Amman is cheaper that Tel Aviv.”
Meanwhile, anonymous sources confirmed the footage shared on social media was taken out of context as the series called “The Old Story” tells the story of Palestine and highlights the Israeli forces “cruelty” against Palestinians. On top of this, the casting crew are 90% Jordanians and the rest are Americans with no Israelis being involved.
Translation: “We urge everyone to first know more about the context of the movie. What is wrong with filming it in Amman as if it is Tel Aviv it if it was for supporting the Palestine cause and clear out our point of view on the conflict? We should understand the message of the film before judging it!!”
