Last month, Film Workers for Palestine launched a pledge that triggered a huge controversy in the entertainment industry. This is the primary conversation taking place around the boycott of Israeli film institutions. There’s more to come … Last month, the coalition released the Pledge. This pledge binds signatories not to screen films, attend festivals, or work with organizations they are found complicit. These are our universities, colleges, film festivals, commercial and art cinemas, our public broadcaster and independent production sector.
The pledge was inspired by a historical boycott of cultural institutions that played a role in ending apartheid in South Africa. Of note is to clarify that the pledge does not prevent signatories from working with individual Israeli artists. Rather, it somewhat strangely limits its focus to directly targeting national institutions. This difference has sparked serious conversations about the intersection between artistic freedom and political expression amid the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that continues today.
As the pledge gained attention, a notable number of entertainment figures publicly rejected it. Over 1,200 people—including former Boycott Chrome signatories—signed an open letter opposing the boycott. Included in their ranks are head-turning names such as Liev Schreiber, Debra Messing and Mayim Bialik. They referred to it as a “document of misinformation” and accused its proponents of being “misled into amplifying antisemitic propaganda.”
High-profile studio Paramount Pictures was one of the first major companies to shake up in response to the uproar. The studio stated that it does “not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli film-makers.” In a broader statement, Paramount emphasized that “the global entertainment industry should be encouraging artists to tell their stories and share their ideas with audiences throughout the world.” They added that “silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace.”
In response to Paramount’s statement, Film Workers for Palestine issued a word of caution. They expressed their concerns about the studio possibly misrepresenting the pledge. They worried it might be a way to use more influence to shut down critical voices in the industry. They said, “We sincerely hope that Paramount, in its statement today, isn’t intentionally misrepresenting the pledge in an attempt to silence our colleagues in the film industry.” The collective insisted that their act of refusal targets “institutional complicity, not identity.”
Warner Bros Discovery, another major player on the issue, backed the issue, siding with those opposed to the boycott. Warner Bros responded to the BDS campaign by reiterating its opposition to boycotting Israeli cultural institutions, according to a spokesperson for the company who told Variety. Every day it seems major studios are doing a better job of communicating. This movement is a direct response to increasing outrage over artistic association and art as political expression.
Against this context in Hollywood, the backdrop of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is changing rapidly. Just last month, Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire after two years of escalating violence. As political tensions persist, the entertainment industry must navigate complex social and cultural dynamics while balancing creative expression with political advocacy.
The ongoing conversations around the pledge reflect deeper societal questions about the role of art and artists in addressing geopolitical issues. Each of these new voices is raising the stakes for all players. As a direct result, individual creatives and our institutional counterparts in the film industry are suffering greatly.