Over 1,200 film industry figures back boycott of Israeli institutions for complicity in genocide

Over 1,200 filmmakers, actors, and industry professionals have signed a pledge vowing not to collaborate with Israeli film institutions they describe as “complicit in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

The declaration, published by Film Workers for Palestine, includes signatories such as directors Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Adam McKay, Mike Leigh and Joshua Oppenheimer, alongside actors Olivia Colman, Ayo Edebiri, Lily Gladstone, Mark Ruffalo, Riz Ahmed, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem and Josh O’Connor.

The pledge argues that “examples of complicity” include film festivals and organisations that “whitewash or justify genocide and apartheid, and/or partner with the government committing them.” Cited in the statement are the Jerusalem Film Festival, Haifa International Film Festival, Docaviv and TLVfest.

“In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror,” the statement reads.

Organisers noted that the effort was modeled on Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, a 1987 initiative led by Jonathan Demme, Martin Scorsese and others, which called on Hollywood to boycott South Africa during apartheid.

Film Workers for Palestine said that “the vast majority of Israeli film production and distribution companies, sales agents, cinemas and other film institutions have never endorsed the full, internationally-recognised rights of the Palestinian people.”

Actress Hannah Einbinder, one of the signatories, stated: “As a Jewish American citizen whose tax dollars directly fund Israel’s assault on Gaza, I feel we must do everything in our power to end the genocide. At this pivotal moment, given the failure of our leaders, artists have to step up and refuse complicity.”

The campaign echoes a similar cultural boycott launched last year in the publishing sector, when more than 7,000 writers and book industry workers — including Sally Rooney and Viet Thanh Nguyen — pledged to cut ties with Israeli publishers they deemed complicit.

The pledge adds: “Standing for equality, justice, and freedom for all people is a profound moral duty that none of us can ignore. We answer the call of Palestinian filmmakers urging the international film industry to refuse silence and complicity.”