The Film Workers for Palestine pledge signed by over 4,000 prominent entertainers and filmmakers to boycott Israeli film and television industries is anathema to the industry itself. But apparently, actors and directors — recently among them Emma Stone, Andrew Garfield, Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix — support a boycott of the entire Israeli film and television industries.
“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 pledge reads.
This call to boycott is nothing new. In fact, similar efforts have been around long before the establishment of the State of Israel.
Instead of promoting the peace we all so desperately desire, these thousands of signatories have chosen to amplify hate.
Such efforts can be traced back to the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which presents itself as a social justice movement. It is no such thing. It is a political movement that seeks the defamation, delegitimization and eventual elimination of the State of Israel, as stated openly by the group’s founder and leader, Omar Barghouti.
“Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine,” Barghouti has said. He’s referring to the entire stretch of land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing the West Bank, Israel proper, and Gaza.
To advance their aims, the BDS movement presents a black and white narrative, insinuating that Israel is a uniquely evil state. They also explicitly reject “co-existence” and progressive groups unless they embrace the dismantling of the State of Israel as a form of “co-resistance.”
Boycott activists tactically weaponize inflammatory and incendiary terms to describe Israel. They understand that words like “genocide,” “apartheid” and “colonialism” elicit strong emotional reactions and conjure up images of the very worst human rights abusers in history. These rhetorical weapons not only denigrate the true meaning of these terms; they also fan the flames of hostility and dampen hope for peace.
The Film Workers pledge, published Monday with 1,300 original signatories — among them Mark Ruffalo, Olivia Colman and Javier Bardem– before ballooning to its over 4,000 at the time of publishing, contains obvious misinformation.
The pledge claims that “the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has ruled that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza.” This is obfuscation of the truth at best and intentionally misleading at worst.The only position the ICJ has taken is that Palestinians are a distinct national group and thus have rights under the Genocide Convention that could plausibly be infringed — not that genocide had been committed or may be being committed.The author of that decision, ex-ICJ president, Joan Donoghue, clarified the matter on the BBC.
The truth is that the film and television industry in Israel is a vibrant hub of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian artists and filmmakers, who work closely together every single day to tell complex stories that entertain and inform both communities and the world.
In these challenging times, especially for those seeking peace, this is an industry that must be supported.
For example, the award-winning miniseries “Our Boys” was written and directed by both Israeli Jews and Palestinians. Telling the true story of how the 2014 war in Gaza broke out, the series also included a cast and crew of both Jews and Palestinians. Drawing on one of the darkest episodes in the Israeli Palestinian conflict, it illustrates the human capacity for evil, regardless of background or heritage.
Yet, the production of “Our Boys” also demonstrates how Jews and Arabs not only co-exist but work in creative collaboration to tell difficult, important stories.
And it’s not alone.
The hit television series “Fauda” also features Jewish and Palestinian actors. The beautiful documentary “Dead Sea Guardians” follows three environmentalists, one Jewish, one Palestinian, and one Jordanian — on their quest to save the Dead Sea, a resource shared by all three peoples.
There are hundreds of similar projects.
There are also countless Israeli-made projects that showcase Palestinian-themed films.
These include the film “In Between”, that follows three Arab women navigating life in Tel Aviv, funded by the Rabinovich Foundation; “Let It Be Morning,” which tells the story of a Palestinian village under siege, backed by the Israel Film Fund and Mifal HaPais (it won seven Ophir Awards, Israel’s version of the Oscars); “The Sea,” a film about a 12-year-old Palestinian boy longing to see the ocean, also financed by the Israel Film Fund and Mifal HaPais (it is now nominated for 13 Ophir Awards); and “5 Broken Cameras,” a documentary about Palestinian resistance in Bil’in, supported by Israeli funds, which was nominated for an Academy Award.
These films would all be subject to this boycott.
Many don’t agree with every policy or action of the Israeli and Palestinian governments, just as we may not agree with the actions or policies of the American or British governments. Yet we all believe in the power of artists and filmmakers and their ability to affect lives and create positive change in the world.
While both sides of the conflict bear some responsibility for the current situation, creative endeavors, like films and TV shows, are crucial to helping bridge the cultural divide and bringing Arabs and Jews together.
Ultimately, this boycott call is an affront to Palestinian and Israeli moderates alike who seek to reach peace through compromise, exchange and mutual recognition. Silencing the voices of storytellers through a boycott does nothing to advance peace — in fact, it undermines it. The very artists and filmmakers who work across divides, grapple with painful truths and foster dialogue should be lauded. By targeting Israel’s creative class, this boycott does not punish politicians or policymakers, but it does target artists, storytellers and entertainers who strive to build bridges through culture.
If the entertainment community is serious about effecting positive change, then we must stand with those who create spaces for empathy.
The path to peace will not be paved by boycotts, censorship or exclusion, but by supporting the courageous individuals who refuse to give up on co-existence. Because in the end, peace will be written not by those who divide, but by those who dare to create together.
Ari Ingel is executive director at the Creative Community for Peace.
