Hollywood stars vow to boycott Israeli film institutions over ‘genocide, apartheid’ allegations

Hundreds of leading figures in the Hollywood film industry have signed a pledge to boycott Israeli cinematic institutions, including festivals, broadcasters, and production companies, which they say are “complicit in the genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people,” according to the organisers.

The group Film Workers for Palestine published an open letter signed by prominent Hollywood figures such as Emma Stone, Ayo Edebiri, Ava DuVernay, Olivia Colman, Yorgos Lanthimos, Riz Ahmed, Rob Delaney, Javier Bardem, Tilda Swinton, Mark Ruffalo, and Cynthia Nixon, among many others. 

The group stated that it has collected more than 3,000 signatures from industry workers since Monday, when the pledge was first announced.

A joint statement by the group read: “The open letter reads: “As directors, actors, workers, and institutions in the film industry, we recognise the power of cinema to shape perceptions.” 

The statement added: “At this critical time of crisis, when many governments are enabling the massacres in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in this ongoing horror.”

The group explained that their pledge is inspired by the Filmmakers United Against Apartheid’s initiative, who refused to screen their films in South Africa during the apartheid regime.

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