PNN – After the repeated attacks of the occupying Quds regime on the Gaza Strip in 2014, a group of filmmakers and artists around the world protested against the war and brutality against the Palestinians. “Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz and Pedro Almadovar”, who were all three Oscar winners, signed a letter in which the leaders of the European Union were asked to condemn the actions of the Zionist regime.
The letter stated, “Palestinian homes are being destroyed; they are deprived of water, electricity and even free access to hospitals, schools and agricultural lands while the international community does nothing.” This was not the first time Javier Bardem supported the Palestinians. He had previously considered the actions of the Zionist regime as an example of “barbarism” and declared that he is not willing to spend the tax he gives to the Spanish government on this barbarism.
This famous actor also announced that he has many Jewish friends, many of whom agree with him. In response to those who consider Israel to be defending itself, he said: “You can’t say it’s self-defense when you’re killing children.”
Zionist lobby pressure on cinematographers
But after a few days, a letter from Bardem was published, in which he considered the signature of the mentioned subscript to mean only a request for peace. Penelope Cruz, the famous wife of Javier Bardem, also had to write another letter shortly after signing the letter and clear up “misunderstandings”.
This was not the first time that a celebrity supports Palestine and is forced to tone down his anti-Israel positions after a while. In the same year, famous singer “Rihanna” also published a tweet on her social page, which was deleted after 8 minutes. The text of this tweet was “#FreePalestine”. Sometime later, a person close to this famous singer said, he clicked on a link and did not know that the link was actually an attempt to tweet the phrase.
A similar thing happened to Kim Kardashian. Although he had prayed for both Israelis and Palestinians on his social page, he was forced to delete his post and apologize for what he had done.
In recent years, the pressure of Zionist lobbies on famous figures has made them less likely to take a stance against the Zionist regime; To the extent that after a few days of the Gaza Strip protests in October this year, no prominent figure has yet released a reaction in support of the Palestinians; But in the history of world cinema, there were always figures who did not shrink from their anti-Zionist positions and did not succumb to the racist atmosphere.
Faces that did not succumb to the Zionists’ racist atmosphere
Emma Watson, the star of Harry Potter, reacted to the attacks of the occupying Al-Quds regime with an Instagram repost shared in January 2022. The post featured a collage with the words “Correlation is a verb.” The picture was closed and in the background, there were protesters carrying Palestinian flags.
The post was condemned by some Israeli officials who accused Watson of anti-Semitism. Watson’s action immediately spread to the American art ecosystem and was defended by a number of stars, including Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, Gael GarcÃa Bernal and Viggo Mortensen.
Jean-Luc Godard, the director of the French New Wave, is considered one of the other important figures of anti-Zionism in Europe and the world, as well as the current of Marxism in France, who, from his first film, shows a critical view of America, imperialism, and the issue of justice.
His hatred and criticism of America goes so far that when he is invited to the Oscar ceremony to receive an award, he says to a reporter with complete disdain: “I don’t have an American visa and I don’t want to have one.” Besides, I don’t want to board the plane for a long time.” Godar’s response was not considered serious until the next day in the news: Godar did not come to the Academy!
Godard’s position on the Palestinian issue also originated from this libertarian and anti-imperialist view. In the movie “Godard, My Love” by Michel Azanavisos, when two young people ask Godard if he is planning to make a funny movie, he seriously says: I will not make a funny movie until people in Vietnam, Palestine, and Yemen laugh with joy.
“Ken Loach”, the famous English director, is one of the other names that has always reacted against the crimes of the occupied Jerusalem regime. In his films, he often shows the image of a human being who adopts a humane and just solution in social and political crises and is not intimidated by the powers that be. In his intellectual framework, he always has an opinion on justice and ethics, and on this basis, he speaks against Israel’s positions.
In 2009, after the release of his popular film, looking for Eric, Loach spoke about his anti-Israel positions in several cultural events. After his film was screened in the occupied territories, he reacted to these screenings and donated the proceeds from the screenings to the anti-Zionist BDS organization. At the Melbourne Film Festival, when he found out that one of the main sponsors of the festival is the Zionist regime, he removed the film “In Search of Eric” from the list of participating films.
At the Sarajevo Film Festival in 2014, he asked the artistic community to culturally boycott Israel. Expressing his feelings about the killing of the people of Gaza as a great anger and disappointment, Loach said: “My country, in the end, shamefully, follows the bullying behavior of the United States, but we are not powerless either; we can act together.
It was in this part of his speech that Loach suggested that all cultural activities that have a trace of Israel should be completely boycotted. He added: This includes movies, music, university studies and everything. Israel must become a completely hated and backward regime. I would even say that Israel should not participate in the Eurovision Song Contest.
This request of Loch was widely reflected in the media. The economic and scientific sanctions that were going on in Palestine and among the British youth were also extended to cultural sanctions. Until 2021, more than 600 musicians signed a letter calling for a boycott of Israel and support for the Palestinian people.