PARIS: A new open letter signed by more than 1,000 actors and film figures has denounced as “antisemitic” calls to boycott some Israeli film institutions over the war in Gaza, underlining growing tensions in the entertainment world.
The letter from a collective called the Creative Community For Peace and The Brigade accused the more than 8,000 people who have backed a boycott, including stars Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix, of “amplifying antisemitic propaganda.”
The biggest names behind the counter letter include Liev Schreiber (“Spotlight“) Mayim Bialik (“Young Sheldon“) and Sharon Osbourne, as well as top business figures such as the CEOs of Universal Music and FOX Entertainment Global, Bruce Resnikoff and Fernando Szew.
“Israeli film institutions are not government entities. They are often the loudest critics of government policy,” the letter claims, adding that boycotting was a form of “collective punishment.”
“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,” it said.
