Israeli Film Industry Leaders Call Growing Boycott “Counterproductive”

On Sept. 8, a group of industry workers vowed not to work with Israeli counterparts they contend are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” Two days later, the list of co-signatories has ballooned to nearly 4,000 individuals, including Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Lily Gladstone, Tilda Swinton, Ava DuVernay, Yorgos Lanthimos as well as other Oscar, Emmy and Palm d’Or winners.

Israel’s industry leaders believe the boycott effort is misguided and self-defeating — that its effect only undermines and isolates a group of people who are, within the country, among the most sympathetic to the Palestinian cause and perhaps best positioned to give voice to it. “For decades, Israeli creators, artists, and storytellers — myself included — have devoted our work to reflecting the complexity of our reality,” Nadav Ben Simon, chairman of the Israeli screenwriters’ guild, told The Guardian. “In times like these, we as creators must be devoted to amplifying the light,…