For several years now the Documentary Edge Film Festival has accepted sponsorship from the Israeli Embassy. This stance
has put them at odds with Palestinian human rights organisations who argue that accepting funds from the Israeli
government normalises a state with an appalling record of breaches of human rights and international law.
This year, in the wake of the killing of Al Jazeera journalist Shireen Abu-Akleh, there have been even more urgent calls
from the Palestinian community in Aotearoa for filmmakers and the public to boycott the film festival until it refuses
the support of the Israeli Embassy.
The Palestinians in Aotearoa Co-ordinating Committee (PACC) asked organisers of Doc Edge 2022 to refuse the sponsorship
deal only to have their request rejected. A spokesperson from PACC said,
"Doc Edge has the Israeli Embassy listed as a supporter at a time when Israel is unlawfully occupying Palestinian
territory and subjugating Palestinians to a catalogue of human rights abuses."
"We support the call from PACC to boycott Doc Edge. With regret, we won't be attending any of their events,” said Neil
Ballantyne, Co-Convenor of the human rights organisation Justice for Palestine.
In response to the request to refuse Israeli funding the Film Festival Chair, Glenn Johnstone, issued a statement
claiming the festival was “apolitical” and that it would not agree “to censor content on the basis that a film takes a
point-of-view with which the group disagrees.”
Commenting on the Doc Edge statement, Ballantyne replied that “Johnston’s statement deliberately misses the point. The
request to refuse financial support from the Israeli government is not about censoring creative work or freedom of
expression. It’s about refusing to accept funding from an oppressive regime. It’s about refusing to normalise Israel as
just another arts funder.
“Let me be clear, this isn’t some far left political agenda. Michael Lynk, the United Nations own expert on human rights
in the Palestinian territories has stated, in a recent report, that Israel is an apartheid state and must be held to
account by the international community.”
Commenting on the nature of documentary film making, Chris Huriwai, activist and co-producer of the documentary “Milked”, said “The motivation of documentary-making is to
help create a better world. The decision of Doc Edge to accept funding from an apartheid state goes against the very
spirit of the festival. I urge filmmakers and members of the public to join me in boycotting Doc Edge until they stop
accepting Israeli sponsorship.”
The international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement have stated that “Israel has always used culture as a
form of propaganda to whitewash or justify its regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid”. The BDS
movement calls on all international festivals to show solidarity with the Palestinian people by rejecting any form of
sponsorship from the Israeli government. Thousands of artists across the world now refuse to accept funds from Israel or
perform in Israel, including a host of global superstars such as Lorde, Roger Waters from Pink Floyd, Lauryn Hill and
Chuck D.