Showbiz “When artists boycott fellow art-
ists based solely on their country of origin, it is blatant discrimination and a betrayal of our role as storytellers,” Messing said. Messing, who starred in comedy
series that celebrated the lifestyles of gay men, has long been a champion of liberal issues in Hollywood. But the native of Brooklyn, New York, is now being called “unhinged” by some of those same peers. Lancman said the Film Workers
BARDEM STONE SWINTON NIXON LUNA
La-La Land Feuds Over Israel Boycott
M
Celebrities split over “blacklist” Jewish moviemakers. BY ALICE GIORDANO
ore than 8,000 actors, including A-listers like Emma Stone and Diego Luna, have signed a
pledge to boycott Israeli moviemakers. The pledge was spearheaded by
the group Film Workers for Palestine. They have dubbed their anti-Israel boycott the “Film Workers Pledge to End Complicity.” The group insists the boycott is only directed at Israeli production studios and filmmakers, and not at individual actors. But Rory Lancman, senior counsel
for the Jewish advocacy group The Brandeis Center, called the claim “legal fiction.” Since September, the number of
actors, producers, and directors who have signed the boycott has more than doubled. Among recent signa- tories: Javier Bardem, Joaquin Phoe- nix, Cynthia Nixon, Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, Olivia Coleman, and Tilda Swinton. The group said the pledge will stay
in place until “Palestinians are no longer subjected to occupation, apart-
58 NEWSMAX | JANUARY 2026
heid, and genocide.” A group called the Creative Com-
munity for Peace has garnered over 47,000 signatures from actors across the U.S. and the world, rejecting the Film Workers for Palestine boycott.
The pledge will stay in place until “Palestinians are no longer subjected to occupation, apartheid, and genocide.”
The CCFP was founded in 2011
by Universal Music Publishing CEO Dave Renzer and Electronic Arts Pres- ident Steve Schnur to undo a growing trend back then of artists canceling scheduled performances in Israel. Among the most vocal American
actors against the boycott are Debra Messing of the 1990s TV hit Will & Grace and Liev Schreiber of Show- time’s Ray Donovan.
for Palestine are using the “same play- book” that was used during the Red Scare of the 1940s, when actors sus- pected of having Communist sympa- thies were blacklisted. “This is modern-day antisemitism
at its worst,” he said. In a recent post on Instagram, the pro-Palestine filmmakers group char- acterized their anti-Israel boycott as a First Amendment right and dismissed any suggestion it was discriminatory. “We know that our refusal to work
with Israeli film/TV companies and organizations implicated in genocide and apartheid is not only anti-rac- ist and non-discriminatory, it is also legally protected speech and activity,” the group posted. Lancman disagrees. He said the
pledge blatantly violates federal civil rights laws, including Title VII, which prohibits workplace discrimination. Two of the biggest giants in the
movie industry, Paramount Studios and Warner Bros., which have recent- ly contemplated a merger, condemned the Israel boycott. “We do not agree with recent efforts
to boycott Israeli filmmakers,” Para- mount wrote in a released statement. “Silencing individual creative art-
ists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace. The glob- al entertainment industry should be encouraging artists to tell their stories and share their ideas with audiences throughout the world. “We need more engagement and communication — not less.”
SIGN/
ISTOCK.COM/TREKANDSHOOT / LUNA/DIA DIPASUPIL/GETTY IMAGES / STONE/MIKE MARSLAND/WIREIMAGE / BARDEM/FRANCIS SPECKER/CBS VIA GETTY IMAGES NIXON/BRUCE GLIKAS/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES / SWINTON/KARWAI TANG/WIREIMAGE/GETTY IMAGES
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