Catherine Shoard & Anna Betts
The Guardian / September 10, 2025
Screenwriters’ guild of Israel says campaign that has now won backing from 1,800 film-makers will only ‘deepen the darkness’, while representatives of the country’s documentary and directors’ guild also voice concern.
Representatives of the Israeli film industry are redoubling efforts to caution against the wisdom of a pledge signed by some 3,900 significant professionals vowing not to work with Israeli film institutions they say are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”.
The pledge, announced on Monday, was initially signed by 1,200 film-makers including Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Asif Kapadia, Boots Riley and Joshua Oppenheimer; and actors Olivia Colman, Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Ayo Edebiri, Riz Ahmed, Josh O’Connor, Cynthia Nixon, Julie Christie, Ilana Glazer, Rebecca Hall, Aimee Lou Wood and Debra Winger.
On Wednesday, the letter surpassed 3,900 signatories. Among the new signatories are Joaquin Phoenix, Rooney Mara, Emma Stone, James Schamaus, Peter Sarsgaard, Lily Gladstone, Nicola Coughlan, Harris Dickinson, Bowen Yang, Guy Pearce, Jonathan Glazer, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Fisher Stevens, Abbi Jacobson, Eric Andre, Elliot Page, Payal Kapadia and Emma D’Arcy, Variety reported.
“As film-makers, actors, film industry workers, and institutions, we recognise the power of cinema to shape perceptions,” the pledge reads. “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.”
But representatives of Israeli cinema are now speaking out against the move, which takes inspiration from the cultural boycott that contributed to the end of apartheid in South Africa. In a statement shared with the Guardian on Tuesday, Nadav Ben Simon, chairman of the Israeli screenwriters’ guild, said he found calls to “boycott Israeli creators” deeply troubling and counterproductive.
“For decades, Israeli creators, artists, and storytellers – myself included – have devoted our work to reflecting the complexity of our reality,” he wrote. “We have consistently given voice to Palestinian narratives, criticism of government policies, and the diverse perspectives that shape our society.
“Over the years, we have also collaborated with Palestinian colleagues on films, series, and documentaries that seek to encourage dialogue, mutual understanding, peace, and an end to violence.
“Calls to boycott Israeli creators are deeply troubling. They do not advance the cause of peace. Instead, they harm precisely those who are committed to fostering dialogue and building bridges between peoples. Such measures risk silencing the very voices striving tirelessly for reconciliation and understanding.”
The pledge commits signatories not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with what it considers complicit institutions – including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies. Examples of complicity include “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them”.
“We answer the call of Palestinian film-makers, who have urged the international film industry to refuse silence, racism, and dehumanisation, as well as to ‘do everything humanly possible’ to end complicity in their oppression,” the statement reads.
However, Simon counters that he had his “fellow creators” remain “steadfast … in the belief that stories are powerful tools for empathy, healing, and connection. We will continue to use our craft to promote dialogue and to strive for an end to violence and the achievement of a just and lasting peace for all who live in our region. Above all, I join the urgent call for an immediate end to the war and for the safe return of all the hostages to their homes and families.
“In times like these, we as creators must be devoted to amplifying the light, not deepening the darkness.”
In a later note, Simon sought to clarify that “in Israel, there is no such thing as boycotting institutions without affecting creators. In small countries with a unique language, like Israel, almost all original creative work – especially in cinema – is supported by public funding. There are very few Israeli films that are not funded in some way by state-budgeted institutions or foundations. Therefore, any boycott of Israeli institutions is inevitably and directly a boycott of all Israeli creators and Israeli artistic output.”
Simon’s statement was echoed in a separate joint statement sent to the Guardian by Lior Elefant, of the Israeli documentary forum, and Merav Etrog Bar, of the Israeli directors guild, who said that creatives were being erroneously conflated with representatives of the Israeli government.
“Film-makers in Israel have given voice to complex stories, particularly regarding the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, often including direct criticism of state institutions and their representatives,” their statement read.
“Many of the films and series, both documentary and narrative, produced in Israel have dealt with this subject with sensitivity, fairness, and critical thinking; there are thousands of examples of this. While Israeli film-makers are not their government, we bear responsibility for its actions and find ourselves caught between a rock and a hard place: on one side, attempts at silencing from within, and on the other, international boycott from abroad.”
They added: “In addition to the many direct victims, the war in Gaza is also burying international collaborations in Israeli culture and cinema. The boycott of Israeli filmmakers and their works has been felt for some time, and now, unfortunately, it is only growing stronger. As we have publicly stated before, we, together with the majority of the Israeli public, call for the immediate and safe release of the hostages, and for an end to the war, the killing, and the suffering on both sides of the border.
Since publication of the pledge on Monday, the Israeli Producers Association also issued a statement saying that “the signatories of this petition are targeting the wrong people”.
“For decades, we Israeli artists, storytellers and creators have been the primary voices allowing audiences to hear and witness the complexity of the conflict, including Palestinian narratives and criticism of Israeli state policies. We work with Palestinian creators, telling our shared stories and promoting peace and an end to violence through thousands of films, TV series, and documentaries.
“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. We will not allow this and will push back in our efforts to end violence and bring just peace to our region for the benefit of all,” they added.
Meanwhile, Avigail Sperber, an Israeli film-maker celebrated by her country’s government, wrote on Facebook of her initial horror at the pledge, before reconsidering her response and concluding that the cost to domestic cinema was negligible compared to that of the current conflict.
“The initial, natural response,” [to seeing the Guardian story], she wrote, “was offence and shock. After all, most of us are opposed to this war and the atrocities in the West Bank and Gaza. We create critical art, sign petitions, go to demonstrations. So why are we the target?”
Sperber then largely rejected the Producers’ Association’s subsequent repudiation of the pledge, because “as long as these atrocities are carried out in our name, we’re not doing enough. The responsibility is on us, too. And at a moment when I feel helpless, I’m hoping the world succeeds. That they do whatever it takes to force the Israeli government to stop this horrible war. To stop selling us weapons, to recognize a Palestinian state, to break the siege on Gaza.
“And yes, our films will be harmed, too. But the cost is worth the chance of ending this bloodshed and starting to heal this bleeding region.”
Sperber then put forward an alternative stance she would prefer her country’s industry bodies to adopt:
“Thank you, dear colleagues around the world. Thank you for not remaining indifferent to atrocity. Thank you for backing us up, those of us who can’t change this reality on our own. We hope that, with your help, we will succeed in ending this war.”
The original pledge, published by the group Film Workers for Palestine, says “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”.
It also notes that there are “a few Israeli film entities that are not complicit” and advises following “guidelines set by Palestinian civil society”.
Cinemas in Israel currently generate an estimated $80m of box office revenue, with US blockbusters for the majority of that sum. The domestic industry also drives ticket sales, with period drama Soda and thriller Highway 65 attracting audiences this year.
Breakout films that appeal internationally are more scarce but not insignificant. Titles to have attracted praise at film festivals globally include Late Marriage, Turn Left at the End of the World and Synonyms, Nadav Lapid’s drama, which won Berlin’s Golden Bear in 2019. Two years later, his follow-up, Ahed’s Knee, shared the Jury prize at Cannes.
In 2011, the Oscar for best short documentary was won by Israel’s Strangers No More, while two years later saw both The Gatekeepers and 5 Broken Cameras, a Palestinian-Israeli-French co-production, nominated for best documentary feature.
Meanwhile Eran Kolirin’s The Band’s Visit (2007) and Ari Folman’s Waltz With Bashir (2008) both attracted praise from critics within Israel and worldwide.
Notable names not to appear on the petition include the directors of No Other Land, the Israeli-Palestinian co-production which documented the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homes in Masafer Yatta, a region in the occupied West Bank targeted by Israeli forces. The film won the Oscar for best documentary earlier this year.
The Guardian has contacted them for comment, as well as other film-makers whose names do not appear but who have spoken publicly about the conflict, including Hiam Abbass, Sacha Baron Cohen, Shira Haas, Natalie Portman, Gal Gadot, Ari Folman and László Nemes.
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Catherine Shoard is film editor, Guardian News & Media
Anna Betts is a breaking news reporter for Guardian US
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Liev Schreiber and Debra Messing among names rejecting pledge to boycott Israeli films
Catherine Shoard
The Guardian / September 25, 2025
More than 1,200 industry figures claim the pledge is ‘a document of misinformation’ and that much of the Israeli film and TV industry are ‘often the loudest critics of government policy’.
More than 1,200 entertainment industry figures have signed a new open letter rejecting the recent high-profile pledge by thousands of their peers to boycott Israeli films over the war in Gaza.
Stars including Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik, Jennifer Jason Leigh and Debra Messing are among those who have lent their names to the letter, which says the previous pledge “advocates” for “the erasure of art”.
“We know the power of film,” begins the letter, which was released on Thursday by nonprofit bodies Creative Community for Peace and The Brigade. “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.”
It accuses the pledge circulated by Film Workers for Palestine and signed by stars including Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, Olivia Colman and Mark Ruffalo of being not “an act of conscience” but rather “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 open letter makes the point that much of the Israeli film and TV industry are “often the loudest critics of government policy” – and frequently penalised by them for this. Last week, the winner of Israel’s own academy awards, The Sea – about a Palestinian boy who risks death to go to the beach in Tel Aviv – was submitted as the country’s entry to the Oscars. This led to the Israeli sports and culture minister vowing 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,” added Messing in a statement.
The initial pledge was published on 8 September and was signed by some 1,200 professionals – rising overnight to 4,000 and now standing at around 5,000 – who vowed not to work with Israeli film institutions they say are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”.
“As film-makers, actors, film industry workers and institutions, we recognise the power of cinema to shape perceptions,” the pledge reads. “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.”
In the immediate wake of the pledge, many in the Israeli industry expressed considerable disquiet about the boycott, with representatives from the country’s producing, directing, screenwriting and documentary divisions saying the move was misguided and would only “deepen the darkness”.
The following week, studio Paramount also condemned the boycott in a statement which read: “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 – not less.”
The full open letter
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 film-makers 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 film-makers 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 weaponised and tied to lies and discrimination. This pledge erases dissenting Israeli voices, legitimises falsehoods, and shields Hamas from blame.
If you want peace, call for the immediate release of the remaining hostages. Support film-makers 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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Catherine Shoard is film editor, Guardian News & Media
