Naomi Klein is at it again...
We've already blogged about this earlier....but this whole thing is just shameful...
The signatories of a new letter accusing the Toronto International Film Festival of becoming "complicit in the Israeli propaganda machine" run the gamut from an Oscar-winning actress to a rabble-rousing author to a Talking Head.
More than 50 people have added their name to what's being called The Toronto Declaration, including musician David Byrne, actors Danny Glover and Jane Fonda, and author Alice Walker.
The letter, drafted by a committee that includes Canadian writer Naomi Klein and Israeli filmmaker Udi Aloni, is the latest move in a controversy that began when Canadian director John Greyson withdrew his short documentary, Covered, from the festival last week. The veteran filmmaker is protesting the festival's inaugural City to City Spotlight on Tel Aviv, a 10-movie program that TIFF's website promises will "explore the evolving urban experience while presenting the best documentary and fiction films from and about a selected city." This year is Tel Aviv's 100th anniversary.
Greyson penned an open letter to festival co-directors Piers Handling and Cameron Bailey, as well as to Noah Cowan, artistic director of the under-construction Bell Lightbox, blasting the initiative.
The declaration states that while the signatories are not protesting the individual filmmakers participating in the program and do not seek to exclude Israeli films from the festival, "in the wake of this year's brutal assault on Gaza, we object to the use of such an important international festival in staging a propaganda campaign on behalf of what South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann have all characterized as an apartheid regime."
The protesters say that the City to City Spotlight is connected with the Israeli government's "Brand Israel" media and advertising campaign, which was launched in 2008.
Both Greyson's letter and the declaration mention an August 2008 article in the Canadian Jewish News in which Israeli Consul General Amir Gissin says Israel would have a major presence at this year's festival. Gissin was not available for comment.
It is a charge Bailey denies.
"The City to City series was conceived and curated entirely independently," Bailey writes in a letter posted on the festival website. "There was no pressure from any outside source. Contrary to rumours or mistaken media reports, this focus is a product only of TIFF's programming decisions. We value that independence and would never compromise it."
The protesters' efforts are misguided, say critics of the protest.
"I think some of these people are well-meaning, some of these people are less well-meaning," said Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici, when reached in New York City. "Frankly, I think there's no other word but anti-Semitism. I don't know if they're doing it consciously or unconsciously, I want to make that clear, but the idea that anything that Israel does is by definition illegitimate, and anything that the other side does is by definition legitimate, what do you call that?"
posted by GayandRight @ 10:40 PM
7 Comments:
Fred here's a respond to their Open letter I think you find it interesting: http://www.jewlicious.com/2009/08/what-if-you-wrote-a-smug-boycott-letter-with-plenty-of-omissions-a-response-to-john-greyson/
and maybe they should see "The Bubble" which is going to be at the TIFF they might find it really critical of Israeli policy.
and keep up the good work and love the blog
-- Also Gay and Right
I think there are two points worth making here.
First, the criticism of Israel's presence as "propoganda." I am hard pressed to think of a country that does not engage in public-diplomacy, a nice way of saying "propoganda." Canada does it, for example, to help whitewash the seal hunt, or to sell our role in Afghanistan. Canadian embassies around the world promote not only Canadian trade, but also our culture and our values. Why is it that Israeli efforts to do the same face sanction and are slammed as "propoganda?"
Second, "The declaration states that while the signatories are not protesting the individual filmmakers participating in the program and do not seek to exclude Israeli films from the festival, "in the wake of this year's brutal assault on Gaza, we object to the use of such an important international festival in staging a propaganda campaign on behalf of what South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, former U.S. president Jimmy Carter and UN General Assembly President Miguel d'Escoto Brockmann have all characterized as an apartheid regime." This is a telling quote. It basically leaves no way for Israel to be present at the TIFF unless Israel is being critical of itself or basically repeating a narrative that concludes that Israel is bad. Under what circumstances would the signatories of this letter deem an Israeli film acceptable and not propoganda? Do all films from the US need to depict the Iraq war and the violations that have occured there?
Canadian filmmaker Simcha Jacobovici[said]... "Frankly, I think there's no other word but anti-Semitism.""
Agreed. Not much you can do about institutionalized racism.
Naomi Klein has found a way to make a buck by appealing to people who are educated to be bigoted and racist but not smart enough to think for themselves, she's probably smart enough to know better, but bigotry pays her bills.
DoorHold,
I disagree. Some of the names of people on this letter are Jews. Some are even Israeli Jews. I don't think they can be called antisemites.
I think more than anything these people are simply unaware of the facts or, look at the conflict through a lense that magnifies criticism of Israel while minimising Israel's position.
There's no question that there is racism in Israeli society and that Palestinians deserve better, but apartheid? That's extreme and simply not accurate. It's a misguided approach to solving a real problem.
Has anyone set up a process for those of us not in Toronto to buy tickets for Jews to attend the film? I think it's important to push back against anti-semitism like this. Ignorance and being unaware of the facts has always been central to all anti-semetic movements.
It is John Greyson who is politicizing TIFF and abusing for his own political ends.
I wonder if John Greyson's big public hissy fit about TIFF has anything to do with him being on the Advisory Board of the Toronto Palestinian Film Festival and always pushing for a world-wide boycott of anything even remotely related to Israel?
Knowing what TIFF's plans were, one wonders why he waited to the last moment to withdraw, rather than just in the beginning many months ago withdrawing?
The CBC fired Naomi Klein's husband Avi Lewis and he couldn't find any jobs until he was hired by Al Jazeera. Naomi has to work so hard to keep her husband's job for him.
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