Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik and Debra Messing are among more than 1,200 entertainment industry names who have signed a new open letter denouncing the call for a boycott of Israeli film institutions over the war in Gaza.
The letter, released on Thursday by the nonprofit organizations Creative Community for Peace and The Brigade, urges the nearly 4,000 signees of the boycott pledge — including Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix — to reconsider their stance. Other stars putting their names behind the new open letter include Gene Simmons, Sharon Osbourne, Greg Berlanti, Jerry O’Connell, Howie Mandel, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lisa Edelstein, Erin Foster, Anthony Edwards, Rebecca De Mornay, Sherry Lansing and Haim Saban.
“We know the power of film. We know the power of story. That is why we cannot stay silent when a story is turned into a weapon, when lies are dressed up as justice, and when artists are misled into amplifying antisemitic propaganda,” the letter begins. “The pledge circulated under the banner of Film Workers for Palestine is not an act of conscience. It is a document of misinformation that advocates for arbitrary censorship and the erasure of art. To censor the very voices trying to find common ground and express their humanity, is wrong, ineffective and a form of collective punishment.”
The boycott pledge, originally released on Sept. 8, said its signees would refuse to work with Israeli institutions and companies that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” Alongside Stone and Phoenix, signees included Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Adam McKay, Boots Riley, Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebiri, Lily Gladstone, Mark Ruffalo, Hannah Einbinder, Peter Sarsgaard, Aimee Lou Wood, Paapa Essiedu, Gael Garcia Bernal, Riz Ahmed, Melissa Barrera, Cynthia Nixon, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Joe Alwyn and Josh O’Connor.
As the letter points out, in spite of the boycott calls, much of the country’s left-leaning film and TV industry has been standing against the Israeli government at their own risk. Just last week, the film “The Sea” — which tells the story of a young Palestinian boy who risks his life to go to the beach in Tel Aviv — won the top prize at Israel’s Ophir Awards and was submitted as the country’s selection for the Oscars international feature race. As a result, the Israeli sports and culture minister vowed to cut funding from the awards.
“When artists boycott fellow artists based solely on their country of origin, it is blatant discrimination and a betrayal of our role as storytellers,” Messing said in a statement. “History shows us that boycotts against Jews have long been a tool of authoritarian regimes — by joining this effort, these artists are knowingly or unknowingly aligning themselves with a dark legacy of antisemitism.”
Added Bialik: “Artists and creatives have a unique opportunity and responsibility to remind the world of our shared humanity. Boycotting filmmakers, studios, production companies and individuals simply because they are Israeli fuels division and contributes to a disturbing culture of marginalization. Additionally, this boycott pledge does nothing to end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home, or help curb the alarming rise of antisemitism globally.”
The new open letter also comes on the heels of Paramount condemning the boycott call in a statement on Sept. 12. “We do not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers,” Paramount chief communications officer Melissa Zukerman said. “Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace,” the statement continued. “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 — not less.”
Read the full open letter below and see all the signees here.
To our fellow artists and the global film community,
We know the power of film. We know the power of story. That is why we cannot stay silent when a story is turned into a weapon, when lies are dressed up as justice, and when artists are misled into amplifying antisemitic propaganda.
The pledge circulated under the banner of “Film Workers for Palestine” is not an act of conscience. It is a document of misinformation that advocates for arbitrary censorship and the erasure of art.
To censor the very voices trying to find common ground and express their humanity, is wrong, ineffective, and a form of collective punishment.
Israel’s film industry includes groundbreaking, celebratory, and critical projects about Palestinians and Jews, which many of you have lauded and celebrated. Israel’s film community is restless, argumentative, and independent, where directors challenge ministers and many of the very festivals you target, consistently program dissent.
Israel’s entertainment industry is a vibrant hub of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian artists and creatives, who work together every single day to tell complex stories that entertain and inform both communities and the world. Israeli film institutions are not government entities. They are often the loudest critics of government policy.
The pledge uses nebulous terms like ‘implicating’ and ‘complicity.’ Who will decide which Israeli filmmakers and film institutions are ‘complicit’? A McCarthyist committee with blacklists? Or is ‘complicity’ just a pretext to boycott all Israelis and Zionists — 95% of the world’s Jewish population — no matter what they create or believe?
History warns us. Censorship has been used to silence filmmakers before: Nazi Germany’s propaganda machine, Soviet censorship, and even Hollywood’s own blacklists. Every time it was dressed up as virtue. And every time it was oppression. Every time, its targets expanded.
We know that many of you have good intentions and believe you are standing for peace. But your names are being weaponized and tied to lies and discrimination. This pledge erases dissenting Israeli voices, legitimizes falsehoods, and shields Hamas from blame.
If you want peace, call for the immediate release of the remaining hostages. Support filmmakers who create dialogue across communities. Stand against Hamas.
Let art speak the whole truth.
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.
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