In further sign of growing boycott of Israel, UK film festival pulls Nova dance show

A British film festival has withdrawn an Israeli choreographer’s dance film commemorating the Nova music festival, marking another instance of the growing cultural boycott against the apartheid state amidst intensifying international criticism of its genocide in Gaza.

The film titled “Rave”, created by choreographer Dor Eldar, was pulled from the Exeter International Dance Film Festival’s programme just two weeks before the opening. Speaking to Jewish News, Eldar expressed his “great shock” and “disappointment” at the decision, having initially received an invitation to attend the festival in person.

The boycott of Israel has gained significant momentum over the past year, during which the country stood accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and arrest warrants have been issued against its leaders by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Major corporations perceived as supporting Israel’s military actions have experienced substantial financial losses, with companies like Starbucks reporting a significant decline in revenue in several markets.

READ: Spanish artists, academics call for full arms embargo on Israel

The two-and-a-half-minute film is said to feature volunteer dancers and opens with a scene depicting young men lifting women into a truck, recreating the events of 7 October. According to Eldar, the piece was created as a response to the Nova festival attack.

Initially, the festival published the programme with an “alert” note describing the film as being about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict—a characterisation Eldar disputes. The subsequent withdrawal came via email, with organisers citing pressure from the artistic community and concerns about the “controversial and contentious” subject matter.

Jewish News reported that in their communication to Eldar, festival organisers maintained they “don’t boycott Israeli films” but had decided to “boycott anything specifically commenting on events that have had an impact on ongoing conflicts around the world.”

In a comment to MEMO, the Exeter International Dance Film Festival said: “Exeter Dance International Film Festival is an independent non profit arts organisation which aims to showcase talent in the underrepresented genre of dance film, both locally and internationally.  Every year we are proud to select films (to date from over 42 countries worldwide) including some high quality selections from Israel (to date we have received no film submissions from Palestine). In light of escalating political conflicts around the world, the festival committee made the decision to not show any films specifically commenting on ongoing situations and conflicts, regardless of the country.”

Last month hundreds of renowned authors pledged to boycott Israeli cultural institutions, condemning oppression of Palestinians. The global boycott of Israel has also gathered pace in academia. Israeli universities face unprecedented global boycott over Gaza genocide.

READ: Israeli minister urges UK to oppose any Gaza ceasefire proposal

UPDATE: This article was updated at 12:50GMT on 2 December 2024 to include a comment from the Exeter International Dance Film Festival.