Rival Hollywood open letter denounces Israel boycott call

PARIS (AFP): A new open letter signed by more than 1,000 actors and film figures has denounced as “antisemitic” calls to boycott some Israeli film institutions over the war in Gaza, underlining growing tensions in the entertainment world.

The letter from a collective called the Creative Community For Peace and The Brigade accused the more than 8,000 people who have backed a boycott, including stars Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix, of “amplifying antisemitic propaganda.”

The biggest names behind the counter letter include Liev Schreiber (“Spotlight”) Mayim Bialik (“Young Sheldon”) and Sharon Osbourne, as well as top business figures such as the CEOs of Universal Music and FOX Entertainment Global, Bruce Resnikoff and Fernando Szew.

“Israeli film institutions are not government entities. They are often the loudest critics of government policy,” the letter claims, adding that boycotting was a form of “collective punishment”.

“We call on all our colleagues in the entertainment industry to reject this discriminatory and antisemitic boycott call that only adds another roadblock on the path to peace,” it said.

It also noted the difficulty in deciding which institutions should be boycotted because of their supposed “complicity” in war crimes or genocide.

The letter does not condemn the Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza, which UN-mandated investigators determined earlier this month was a genocidal bid to “destroy the Palestinians”.

“If you want peace, call for the immediate release of the remaining (Israeli) hostages (in Gaza). Support filmmakers who create dialogue across communities. Stand against Hamas,” the counter letter added, referring to the Palestinian militant group.

From the music, film to publishing industries, growing numbers of Western artists are calling for a cultural boycott of Israel over the conduct of the Gaza war, hoping to emulate the success of the apartheid-era blockade of South Africa.

An open letter from a collective called Film Workers for Palestine, published on September 8, has gathered thousands of signatories who have pledged to cut ties with Israeli institutions such as festivals or production companies “implicated in genocide”.

The groups defines “implicated in genocide” as “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.”