The Doc Edge Film Festival as abandoned Israeli Embassy sponsorship this year after a furore caused by such sponsorship last year.
“We are very pleased to chalk this up as a success”, says John Minto, National Chair of the Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa. “This is a win for the international BDS campaign against apartheid Israel” (BDS – boycott, divestment and sanctions – against Israel has been a Palestinian-led campaign since 2005)
Earlier this year PSNA wrote to all the Doc Edge festival sponsors urging them to ensure the 2023 festival was an “apartheid-free zone”. We told them it would be highly provocative for the festival to receive money from the Israeli Embassy particularly given the strident anti-Palestinian policies of the new far-right Israeli leadership.
“It seems Doc Edge is following the policy of the Sydney Festival which was thrown into turmoil in January last year over its sponsorship by the Israeli Embassy” says John Minto. Sydney has since abandoned foreign sponsorship and Doc Edge has done the same this year.
Doc Edge claimed last year that it was “apolitical” but is untrue. Festival organisers tweeted in support of the people of Ukraine under Russian invasion and occupation but has never tweeted in support of Palestinians living under Israel’s military occupation.
“Just as this country campaigned to help end apartheid in South Africa through boycotts, we are doing the same to help end Israel’s apartheid policies. We will remain vigilant”
John Minto
National Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
Good.
Those maps say everything. Beyond tragic.
I think Minto wants one state with Palestinians and Israelis living side by side with a democracy.
That is what I want.
Great news.
Did the people behind Doc Edge realize just how evil they were being, and make a genuine moral decision? Probably not. Dan Shanan is a real piece of work. But they did realize that continuing to take sides with the zionist entity in support of the genocide of the Palestinian people would be more trouble than it was worth. That’s a great start. It must be made impossible for anyone to support the genocide of the Palestinian people, who are the sole legitimate inhabitants of the land of Palestine. Palestine Action doing a great job showing what might need to be done.
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