More than 1,200 actors, directors, and film professionals have pledged to cut ties with Israeli film institutions they accuse of being “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,” according to a statement sent to The Guardian on 8 September.
The statement, released by the group Film Workers for Palestine, an organization that calls for ending the genocide in Palestine and freeing Palestinians, argues that cultural institutions play a powerful role in shaping public opinion.
“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 said.
Among the high-profile signatories are actors Mark Ruffalo, Olivia Colman, Tilda Swinton, Riz Ahmed, Javier Bardem, Ayo Edebiri, Josh O’Connor, Cynthia Nixon, and Julie Christie, and directors Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Asif Kapadia, Boots Riley, and Joshua Oppenheimer.
The campaign draws parallels with the cultural boycott of apartheid-era South Africa and asks supporters to avoid participation in Israeli festivals, screenings, or partnerships with film institutions linked to government policies.
The statement specifies that institutions engaging in “whitewashing” or collaborating with the Israeli government fall within this definition. However, it stresses that the boycott is aimed at institutions, not individuals, and highlights that some Israeli groups are not implicated.
Screenwriter David Farr, one of the signatories, described his stance as deeply personal. “As the descendant of Holocaust survivors, I am distressed and enraged by the actions of the Israeli state, which has for decades enforced an apartheid system on the Palestinian people whose land they have taken, and which is now perpetuating genocide and ethnic cleansing in Gaza.”
In response, the Israeli Producers Association criticized the pledge in a statement sent to the Guardian. “This call for boycott is profoundly misguided. By targeting us, the creators who give voice to diverse narratives and foster dialogue, these signatories are undermining their own cause and attempting to silence us. This shortsighted act seeks to eliminate precisely the collaborative efforts working toward ending violence and achieving peace.”
The pledge follows a broader wave of cultural opposition to Israel’s military action in Gaza. Earlier this summer, in May, hundreds of Hollywood figures, among them Joaquin Phoenix, Pedro Pascal, and Guillermo del Toro, signed an open letter denouncing what they called the industry’s silence on the conflict.
In August 2024, a group of Palestinian filmmakers signed a letter accusing Hollywood of “dehumanizing” Palestinians on screen for decades and urging industry figures to reject collaborations that normalize or justify Israel’s actions.
Since the war in Gaza began on 7 October 2023, the Palestinian Health Ministry reports that over 64,500 people have been killed and more than 163,000 injured. Last month, the United Nations declared a famine in Gaza, citing severe food shortages, growing malnutrition and deaths caused by starvation.
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