Following close after Mahmoud Abbas, President of the PLO, courageously attended the funeral for Simon Peres, a movie about about Anne Frank has raised the issue of antisemitism within Abbas’ rivals, the leadership of Hamas.
Croatian director Jakov Sedler made Anne Frank: Then and Now to bring the story of Anne Frank to the Arab world where most Arabs are Holocaust deniers. The movie is a documentary centering on the lives of eight Palestinian girls and two Israelis as they audition to play the role of Frank. Much of it was filmed in Gaza where Holocaust denial is common and supoprted by the state.
Director Jakov Sedlar hoped to change Arab opinions by making the movie in Arabic . He even manged to schedule a showing in Gaza despite Hamas officials branding the Holocaust “the big lie.”
Unfortunate Anne Frank: Then and Now was deemed “too dangerous.” The director was unable to attend the screening and the event had to be moved to a new location at last minute “due to safety reasons and out of fear that the 42 people who knew the time and place and did attend would face accusations and judgement”.