‘Profoundly misguided’: Israeli film industry responds to filmmaker boycott pledge

The Israeli Producers Association has issued a statement, following the news earlier this week that more than 1,300 artists, including Hollywood and international A-listers like Olivia Colman, Tilda Swinton, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Riz Ahmed and Javier Bardem, have signed a pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

The artists – actors, directors, screenwriters and producers – have signed a pledge created by Film Makers for Palestine and decry the “unrelenting horror” in Gaza, further urging the industry to "refuse silence, racism, and dehumanisation and to do everything humanly possible to end complicity in their oppression".

Examples of being complicit in Israeli rights violations include “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them”.

Other high-profile names having signed the pledge include include Ken Loach, Yórgos Lánthimos, Asif Kapadia, Joshua Oppenheimer, Lily Gladstone, Ayo Edebiri, Cynthia Nixon, Brian Cox, Josh O’Connor, Rebecca Hall, Benedict Wong, Gael García Bernal, and Susan Sarandon.

Since the publication of the pledge this week, the number of signatories has reached 3,500.

Scroll down to read the full letter

Representatives of Israeli cinema have started to speak out against the move.

The screenwriters’ guild of Israel has said that the campaign that has now won backing from 1,800 filmmakers will only “deepen the darkness”, while the Israeli Producers Association said that “the signatories of this petition are targeting the wrong people” and that the pledge is “profoundly misguided”.  

“For decades, we Israeli artists, storytellers and creators have been the primary voices allowing audiences to hear and witness the complexity of the conflict, including Palestinian narratives and criticism of Israeli state policies,” reads the statement of the Israeli Producers Association.

“We work with Palestinian creators, telling our shared stories and promoting peace and an end to violence through thousands of films, TV series, and documentaries.”

It continues: “This call for boycott is profoundly misguided. By targeting us – the creators who give voice to diverse narratives and foster dialogue – these signatories are undermining their own cause and attempting to silence us. This shortsighted act seeks to eliminate precisely the collaborative efforts working toward ending violence and achieving peace. We will not allow this and will push back in our efforts to end violence and bring just peace to our region for the benefit of all.”

It is worth noting that the pledge signed by the filmmakers earlier this week notes that there are “a few Israeli film entities that are not complicit” and the FAQ clarifies that the pledge does not prohibit the filmmakers from working with Israeli individuals.

“The call is for film workers to refuse to work with Israeli institutions that are complicit in Israel’s human rights abuses against the Palestinian people,” the statement reads. “This refusal takes aim at institutional complicity, not identity. There are also 2 million Palestinians with Israeli citizenship, and Palestinian civil society has developed context sensitive guidelines for that community.”

Here is the full letter:  

As filmmakers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognize 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 world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, has ruled that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, and that Israel’s occupation and apartheid against Palestinians are unlawful. Standing for equality, justice, and freedom for all people is a profound moral duty that none of us can ignore. So too, we must speak out now against the harm done to the Palestinian people.

We answer the call of Palestinian filmmakers, who have urged the international film industry to refuse silence, racism, and dehumanization, as well as to “do everything humanly possible” to end complicity in their oppression.

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.

* Examples of complicity include whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.