More than 1,300 artists, including Hollywood stars Ayo Edebiri, Mark Ruffalo, Riz Ahmed, Tilda Swinton, Olivia Colman, and Javier Bardem, have pledged to boycott Israeli film institutions they say are complicit in rights violations against Palestinians.
The pledge, released on Monday, denounced the “unrelenting horror” in Gaza, where Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 64,000 Palestinians and devastated much of the territory.
Inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid who refused to screen their films in apartheid South Africa, we pledge not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions – including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies – that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.
The statement read.
Examples of complicity, the artists said, include “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.” The pledge also cited rulings by the International Court of Justice, which found that genocide allegations against Israel are plausible and reaffirmed that its occupation of Palestinian land is illegal.
Over the 23 months of conflict, rights groups, academics, and UN experts have accused Israel of committing genocide. Genocide is defined by the UN as acts intended to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial, or religious group.
Filmmaker Mike Lerner, one of the signatories, described the boycott as a “non-violent tool” against Israeli impunity.
It is the responsibility of every independently minded artist to use whatever powers of expression they possess to support the global resistance to overcome this horror.
He said.
Growing Shift in Hollywood
Hollywood has long maintained a reputation for being pro-Israel, with films like the 1960 classic Exodus glorifying the country’s founding. However, recent years have seen a notable shift, with more actors and directors openly criticising Israeli policies often at personal cost.
In 2023, actress Susan Sarandon was dropped by her talent agency after attending a Palestine solidarity rally. Melissa Barrera, another signatory to the boycott, lost her role in the Scream franchise following social media posts critical of Israel.
Despite backlash, support for Palestinians in the film industry has grown. In March, No Other Land, a documentary highlighting the destruction of the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta, won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. At the Venice Film Festival, The Voice of Hind Rajab, telling the story of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed alongside her family in Gaza, received a 23-minute standing ovation.
“Cinema Shapes Perceptions”
As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognise the power of cinema to shape perceptions. In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror.
The artists’ statement said.
The boycott comes as Israel continues its campaign in Gaza City, systematically levelling large sections of the enclave and forcing mass displacement.
Source: Al Jazeera