Tuesday, September 15, 2009

UJA: Blacklisting them only stifles the exchange of cultural knowledge

The United Jewish Appeal published a petition that supports the Toronto International Film Festival. It opposes blacklists of Israeli artists.

We don't need another blacklist

We applaud the Toronto International Film Festival for including the Israeli film community in the Festival's City to City program. The visiting filmmakers represent a dynamic national cinema, the best of Israel's open, uncensored, artistic expression. Anyone who has actually seen recent Israeli cinema, movies that are political and personal, comic and tragic, often critical, knows they are in no way a propaganda arm for any government policy. Blacklisting them only stifles the exchange of cultural knowledge that artists should be the first to defend and protect. Those who refuse to see these films for themselves or prevent them from being seen by others are violating a cherished right shared by Canada and all democratic countries.

I wish the UJA could have told their friends at B'nai Brith and the Canadian Jewish Congress that supporting the blacklisting or banning of Deborah Ellis's book, Three Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak Out, in schools only stifles the exchange of cultural knowledge that the author should be the first to defend and protect. Those who refuse to read Three Wishes for themselves or prevent it from being seen by others are violating a cherished right shared by Canada and all democratic countries.

4 comments:

Dr.Dawg said...

And let's not forget the shutting down of the play "My Name Is Rachel Corrie" and the attempted banning of "Seven Jewish Children," both in Toronto.

Janice Latisha Betts said...

The elephant in the room here is that the protest is NOT about the films or film makers, which these people would have us believe, but it is actually about the spotlight on Tel Aviv and the Brand Isreal campaign. Not only do they have selective memory (re: their bans on plays and books), but also a nasty habit of obfiscating and misdirecting.

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Anonymous said...

Bnai Brith used to actually be a liberal human rights organization but now it is on the far-right.