The people demand a boycott
Symbols of resistance are being lost, adding another layer of complexity to negotiations that could otherwise lead to a ceasefire - something the Israel
Published: 03:10 PM,Oct 26,2024 | EDITED : 07:10 PM,Oct 26,2024
While official institutions in the Sultanate of Oman, particularly those in the entertainment sector, have shown respect for the Palestinian Nakba, a year after the genocide, they now seem to be returning to normalcy. Festivals, entertainment events, and celebrations are being revived, despite the fact that the occupation is pursuing its agenda more aggressively than ever. This has culminated in the ongoing siege of northern Gaza, which has now lasted three weeks. The situation is dire: hospitals are encircled and burned, essential supplies of food, water, and medicine are cut off, and electricity has been severed, leaving patients who depend on medical equipment in peril.
Doctors are forced to make heartbreaking choices about which patients to save, and deaths from starvation are increasing. The bodies of martyrs lie on roadsides or remain buried beneath rubble. Amidst this, symbols of resistance are being lost, adding another layer of complexity to negotiations that could otherwise lead to a ceasefire — something the Israeli side shows no interest in pursuing.
In this context, Muscat Municipality announced on its social media channels: “Warner Bros characters are coming during Muscat Nights! Activities and games for the whole family, with live shows. Capture the best moments with your loved ones!” This announcement was met with widespread anger among Omanis, as Warner Bros is known for its support of the Israeli occupation (evidence of which will be provided later).
The public outrage was further fuelled by the fact that over RO 4 million had been allocated for the event, as reported by the Oman Daily Observer newspaper.
Warner Bros, an American film and entertainment company, became a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) following a merger completed in 2022. The company’s chairman and CEO, David Zaslav, comes from a Jewish diaspora family and was born in New York. Zaslav is considered one of the world’s most influential people, having been named among Time’s 100 most influential people in 2022. After the Al Aqsa flood, Zaslav issued a memo to his employees, describing the event as a 'terrorist attack' and calling it 'inexcusable.'
As the head of a powerful media company, Zaslav emphasised the responsibility of his organisation to 'shed light on injustice,' but only from the perspective of the occupying power. Given that CNN, which is notoriously biased toward the Zionist narrative and justifies the genocide of Palestinians, is part of his company, Zaslav praised its role in conveying events and narratives to the world.
This is where we see blatant double standards and the manipulation of public opinion in the West, which serves as an explanation rather than a justification. These institutions are responsible for promoting a biased and misleading narrative, as demonstrated by CNN’s report highlighting the psychological trauma Israeli soldiers face from killing Palestinian children or driving tanks over civilians, both dead and alive. The report even features the psychological suffering of a soldier who killed an eight-month-old Palestinian child, framing it as a tragic consequence for the perpetrator, not the victim.
Such propaganda highlights the moral and ethical blindness of Zionist rhetoric, where the Palestinian victim is entirely erased from the narrative. If Palestinians are acknowledged at all, it is only as fighters or future threats. This narrative distorts everything we understand about morality, humanity, and basic logic.
The decision by Muscat Municipality to invest such a large sum in an event during this sensitive time is perplexing and has understandably provoked public outrage. Now that the situation has escalated, the people’s demand is clear: cancel the event and cease cooperation with companies complicit in the ongoing genocide.
Translated by Badr al Dhafari
The original version of the article was published in the print edition of Oman Arabic newspaper on October 24.
By Nouf Al Saidi
The author is an Omani writer
Doctors are forced to make heartbreaking choices about which patients to save, and deaths from starvation are increasing. The bodies of martyrs lie on roadsides or remain buried beneath rubble. Amidst this, symbols of resistance are being lost, adding another layer of complexity to negotiations that could otherwise lead to a ceasefire — something the Israeli side shows no interest in pursuing.
In this context, Muscat Municipality announced on its social media channels: “Warner Bros characters are coming during Muscat Nights! Activities and games for the whole family, with live shows. Capture the best moments with your loved ones!” This announcement was met with widespread anger among Omanis, as Warner Bros is known for its support of the Israeli occupation (evidence of which will be provided later).
The public outrage was further fuelled by the fact that over RO 4 million had been allocated for the event, as reported by the Oman Daily Observer newspaper.
Warner Bros, an American film and entertainment company, became a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) following a merger completed in 2022. The company’s chairman and CEO, David Zaslav, comes from a Jewish diaspora family and was born in New York. Zaslav is considered one of the world’s most influential people, having been named among Time’s 100 most influential people in 2022. After the Al Aqsa flood, Zaslav issued a memo to his employees, describing the event as a 'terrorist attack' and calling it 'inexcusable.'
As the head of a powerful media company, Zaslav emphasised the responsibility of his organisation to 'shed light on injustice,' but only from the perspective of the occupying power. Given that CNN, which is notoriously biased toward the Zionist narrative and justifies the genocide of Palestinians, is part of his company, Zaslav praised its role in conveying events and narratives to the world.
This is where we see blatant double standards and the manipulation of public opinion in the West, which serves as an explanation rather than a justification. These institutions are responsible for promoting a biased and misleading narrative, as demonstrated by CNN’s report highlighting the psychological trauma Israeli soldiers face from killing Palestinian children or driving tanks over civilians, both dead and alive. The report even features the psychological suffering of a soldier who killed an eight-month-old Palestinian child, framing it as a tragic consequence for the perpetrator, not the victim.
Such propaganda highlights the moral and ethical blindness of Zionist rhetoric, where the Palestinian victim is entirely erased from the narrative. If Palestinians are acknowledged at all, it is only as fighters or future threats. This narrative distorts everything we understand about morality, humanity, and basic logic.
The decision by Muscat Municipality to invest such a large sum in an event during this sensitive time is perplexing and has understandably provoked public outrage. Now that the situation has escalated, the people’s demand is clear: cancel the event and cease cooperation with companies complicit in the ongoing genocide.
Translated by Badr al Dhafari
The original version of the article was published in the print edition of Oman Arabic newspaper on October 24.
By Nouf Al Saidi
The author is an Omani writer