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Paramount has responded with an aggressive pushback today to a pledge signed by more than 4,000 Hollywood actors and other professionals<\/a>\u2014including Oscar winners Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, and Olivia Colman\u2014calling for a boycott of large swathes of the Israeli film industry. Organized by Film Workers For Palestine, the pledge targets no named individuals, but calls for a boycott of film festivals, production companies, theaters, and broadcasters viewed as \u201cimplicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.\u201d<\/p>\n In its response (per\u00a0Variety<\/a>), Paramount executives condemned the boycott. \u201cAt Paramount, we believe in the power of storytelling to connect and inspire people, promote mutual understanding, and preserve the moments, ideas, and events that shape the world we share. This is our creative mission,\u201d the company\u2019s chief communications officer, Melissa Zukerman, said in a statement.<\/p>\n We do not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers. Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace. The global entertainment industry should be encouraging artists to tell their stories and share their ideas with audiences throughout the world. We need more engagement and communication\u2014not less.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The pledge was originally published on Monday, when it already featured signatures from folks like Colman, Mark Ruffalo, Adam McKay, Yorgos Lanthimos, Tilda Swinton, Melissa Barrera, Ayo Edebiri, Javier Bardem, and more than a thousand others. Since then, even more have added their names to the pledge, which specifically cites as its model boycotts employed against South African apartheid in the 1980s; new signatories included Stone and Phoenix, as well as Rooney Mara, Andrew Garfield, and The Zone Of Interest<\/a>\u00a0director Jonathan Glazer. (You can see the full list of signatories here<\/a>.)<\/p>\n