Sharon Osbourne and Debra Messing among 1,200 stars rejecting boycott of Israeli film industry

Sharon Osbourne and Debra Messing are among more than 1,200 entertainment leaders to sign an open letter rejecting calls to boycott Israel’s film and television industry, denouncing the pledge as “discriminatory and antisemitic.”

The statement organised by Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) and grassroots group the Brigade was released in Los Angeles on Thursday. It comes in response to a pledge by “Film Workers for Palestine” urging colleagues to sever ties with Israeli film companies, festivals and cultural institutions.

Hollywood and global figures including Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik, Gene Simmons, Greg Berlanti, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Lisa Edelstein, Anthony Edwards, Rebecca De Mornay and Haim Saban are among the signatories.

CCFP said the boycott attempt amounts to cultural erasure at a time of rising antisemitism worldwide.

Haim Saban, chairman and CEO of Saban Entertainment, said: “Excluding Israeli filmmakers because of their identity betrays the mission of storytelling and undermines peace. True progress comes when we listen to one another, Israelis and Palestinians alike, and allow art to open doors that politics too often close.”

The letter follows controversy at this month’s Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), where Barry Avrich’s The Road Between Us – about retired general Noam Tibon’s mission to rescue his family on 7 October – was briefly dropped under boycott pressure before being reinstated. It went on to win TIFF’s People’s Choice Documentary Award.

Debra Messing said: “When artists boycott fellow artists based solely on their country of origin, it is blatant discrimination and a betrayal of our role as storytellers. History shows boycotts against Jews have long been a tool of authoritarian regimes.”

Mayim Bialik added: “This boycott pledge does nothing to end the war in Gaza, bring the hostages home, or curb antisemitism globally. It only fuels division.”

The statement highlights that Israel’s film sector includes productions critical of government policy and collaborations with Palestinian filmmakers. Last week, The Sea – about a Palestinian boy visiting Tel Aviv for the first time – won Israel’s top film prize, despite its backers being singled out in the boycott.

Rebecca De Mornay said: “Israel alone is singled out and condemned. This is a hypocritical double standard and an unjust punishment of Israeli artists and films.”

CCFP Executive Director Ari Ingel accused boycott organisers of spreading “blatant misinformation” and seeking to “delegitimise and ultimately eliminate the State of Israel.” He said Israeli film is “a vibrant hub of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian artists who work daily to tell complex stories that foster dialogue.”

The letter concludes: “We cannot stay silent when artists are misled into amplifying antisemitic propaganda. We call on all our colleagues in the entertainment industry to reject this boycott, which only adds another roadblock on the path to peace.”

Prominent names on the list also include showrunner Howard Gordon, producer Ram Bergman, singer Matisyahu, actress Noa Tishby, and UK star Tracy-Ann Oberman.

Full Open Letter:

To our fellow artists and the global film community,

We know the power of film. We know the power of story. That is why we cannot stay silent when a story is turned into a weapon, when lies are dressed up as justice, and when artists are misled into amplifying antisemitic propaganda.

The pledge circulated under the banner of “Film Workers for Palestine” is not an act of conscience. It is a document of misinformation that advocates for arbitrary censorship and the erasure of art.

To censor the very voices trying to find common ground and express their humanity, is wrong, ineffective, and a form of collective punishment.

Israel’s film industry includes groundbreaking, celebratory, and critical projects about Palestinians and Jews, which many of you have lauded and celebrated. Israel’s film community is restless, argumentative, and independent, where directors challenge ministers and many of the very festivals you target, consistently program dissent.

Israel’s entertainment industry is a vibrant hub of collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian artists and creatives, who work together every single day to tell complex stories that entertain and inform both communities and the world. Israeli film institutions are not government entities. They are often the loudest critics of government policy.

The pledge uses nebulous terms like ‘implicating’ and ‘complicity.’ Who will decide which Israeli filmmakers and film institutions are ‘complicit’? A McCarthyist committee with blacklists? Or is ‘complicity’ just a pretext to boycott all Israelis and Zionists — 95% of the world’s Jewish population — no matter what they create or believe?

History warns us. Censorship has been used to silence filmmakers before: Nazi Germany’s propaganda machine, Soviet censorship, and even Hollywood’s own blacklists. Every time it was dressed up as virtue. And every time it was oppression. Every time, its targets expanded.

We know that many of you have good intentions and believe you are standing for peace. But your names are being weaponized and tied to lies and discrimination. This pledge erases dissenting Israeli voices, legitimizes falsehoods, and shields Hamas from blame.

If you want peace, call for the immediate release of the remaining hostages. Support filmmakers who create dialogue across communities. Stand against Hamas.

Let art speak the whole truth.

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.