WAR ON GAZA
3 min read
Calls for Israel boycott grow as celebrities, artists speak out on Gaza
From Hollywood stars to musicians and authors, a growing wave of artists are calling for a cultural boycott of Israel, invoking echoes of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa.
Calls for Israel boycott grow as celebrities, artists speak out on Gaza
Actor Javier Bardem wears a keffiyeh as he poses on the red carpet at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in LA, California, US, September 14, 2025. / Reuters
14 hours ago

From the music, film to publishing industries, growing numbers of Western artists are calling for a cultural boycott of Israel over the Gaza war, hoping to emulate the success of the apartheid-era blockade of South Africa.

With most Western governments resistant to major economic sanctions, musicians, celebrities and writers are hoping to build public pressure for more action.

"There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that, globally, we're at a tipping point," British actor Khalid Abdalla ("The Kite Runner", "The Crown") said after signing a petition calling for a boycott of some Israeli cinema bodies.

The open letter from Film Workers for Palestine has gathered thousands of signatories, including Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix, who have pledged to cut ties with any Israeli institutions "implicated in genocide".

"The avalanche is happening now, and it's across spheres. It's not just in the film worker sphere," Abdalla added during an interview on Friday.

At this week's Emmy Awards, winner after winner, from Javier Bardem to "Hacks" actor Hannah Einbinder, spoke about Gaza, echoing similar statements at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month.

RelatedTRT World - Top Hollywood actors sign open letter condemning Gaza genocide as Cannes opens

On Thursday, British trip-hop pioneers Massive Attack announced they were joining a music collective called "No Music for Genocide" that will see artists try to block the streaming of their songs in Israel.

Elsewhere, Israel faces being boycotted at the Eurovision song contest, authors have signed open letters, while Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is leading a push to exclude the country from sports events.

Israeli conductor Ilan Volkov announced last week at a concert in Britain that he would no longer perform in his home country.

"I think we are seeing a situation which is comparable to the boycott movement against apartheid South Africa," Hakan Thorn, a Swedish academic at the University of Gothenburg who wrote a book on the South Africa boycott movement.

"There was definitely a shift in the spring of this year when the world saw the images of the famine in Gaza," added the sociologist.

Israel's strikes have killed more than 65,000 people, also mostly civilians, according to figures from the Palestinian health ministry in Gaza.

A campaign to boycott Israel, known as the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, began 20 years ago over the country's occupation of Palestinian territory.

Inside Israel, many artists worry about the consequences of the boycott movement.

Acclaimed Israeli screenwriter Hagai Levi ("Scenes from a Marriage", "The Affair") said earlier this month that "90 percent of people in the artistic community" were against the war.

SOURCE:AFP