Scribd
Upload
40 views1 page

Toronto Film Festival Controversy 2009

The Toronto Film Festival dedicated its City to City project to Tel Aviv in 2009 as part of Israel's efforts to brand itself as an enlightened country. In response, over 1,500 artists organized by Naomi Klein published a declaration urging the festival to withdraw and protesting the political use of art. Jewish celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld and Sasha Baron Cohen then organized a counter-declaration in support of Israel. The author criticizes these celebrities for riding to Israel's defense and publishing a counterdeclaration against the Toronto Declaration, which protested Israel's portrayal as a democratic rather than occupying state.

Uploaded by

Enrico Lucca
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
40 views1 page

Toronto Film Festival Controversy 2009

The Toronto Film Festival dedicated its City to City project to Tel Aviv in 2009 as part of Israel's efforts to brand itself as an enlightened country. In response, over 1,500 artists organized by Naomi Klein published a declaration urging the festival to withdraw and protesting the political use of art. Jewish celebrities like Jerry Seinfeld and Sasha Baron Cohen then organized a counter-declaration in support of Israel. The author criticizes these celebrities for riding to Israel's defense and publishing a counterdeclaration against the Toronto Declaration, which protested Israel's portrayal as a democratic rather than occupying state.

Uploaded by

Enrico Lucca
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

This Time Its Not Funny!

The Toronto film festival 2009 dedicated its City to City project to Tel
Aviv. This was a result of fruitful cooperation between the festival and the
Israeli ministry of foreign affairs as part of their effort to brand Israel
as an enlightened and liberal country. A group of artists and intellectuals organized by Naomi Klein published the Toronto Declaration pleading that the festival withdraw from this initiative and that artists protest
against the political use of art. After over fifteen hundred artists joined
the declaration, among them Ken Loach, John Grayson, Danny Glover,
David Byrne, and Jane Fonda. The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and
the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles organized a counterdeclaration, which was signed by Sacha Baron Cohen, Jerry Seinfeld, and others.
Jewish international celebrities, from Jerry Seinfeld to Sasha Baron
Cohen, have come out once again, riding the horses of glory, to save Israel
from the cruel enemy that is to save Israel from us, those fighting for
human rights. They have published a counterdeclaration to the Toronto
Declaration. The latter, of which I am a codrafter along with Naomi Klein,
John Greyson, and others, protests the cooperation between the Toronto
Film Festival and the rebranding of the State of Israel as an enlightened
democratic state (instead of an occupying state). Whoever has read our
Published in Walla online magazine, September 16, 2009.

alon15758_cl.indd 133

7/6/11 8:00 PM

You might also like