Media corporations sued over celebrity-backed Israeli film boycott: What’s next?

Prominent media houses and organisations from the UK, like Netflix and BBC, have received legal notices over their celebrity affiliates’ boycott of Israeli film corporations.

The legal action is a response to a petition signed last month, which recorded a boycott against institutes “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.”

Variety has further reported that “the UK outposts of Netflix, Disney, Amazon Studios, Apple and Warner Bros. Discovery” are among the names included in the notice, while “domestic companies” like the BBC, Film4, and ITV have also been named.

The boycott

Over 1,200 industry creatives, many of them A-listers, signed a petition to boycott Israeli film organisations in September.

Signatories included Emma Stone, Mark Ruffalo, Joaquin Phoenix, Tilda Swinton, Josh O’ Connor, Nicola Coughlan, Olivia Colman, Javier Bardem, Joe Alwyn, and many others.

The petition was published by Film Workers for Palestine and partly stated, “In this urgent moment of crisis, where many of our governments are enabling the carnage in Gaza, we must do everything we can to address complicity in that unrelenting horror.”

An interesting detail is that this boycott was inspired by the Filmmakers United Against Apartheid movement of 1987 — founded by leading filmmaker of the time, Jonathan Demme, the boycott against South African apartheid was supported by Martin Scorsese and over 100 of their other equally qualified peers.

The declaration

Drafted by the UK attorneys for Israel, the legal letter invokes Britain’s Equality Act of 2010 against the petition — a legislation which is meant to prevent discrimination in employment.

“[The Equality Act 2010] is the key legislation in the UK protecting against racism and discriminatory treatment,” the letter, obtained by Variety, stated. “If the UK television and film industry colludes with acts contrary to this legislation, organisations are themselves likely to be in breach.”

Further describing “a dangerous precedent”, the document warned against “the exclusion of individuals and/or organizations based solely on their nationality, ethnicity, and/or religion.”

Is the Israeli response achievable?

According to Variety, the legal response from Israeli bodies may likely be implemented.

“Although the boycott claims only to target Israeli-linked film institutions and not individuals, the Equality Act protects organizations as well as people. This is likely to be particularly relevant in the screen industry, where many actors and producers contract their services through companies,” the outlet reported.

It was further noted that even participants like “actors, producers, agents, managers, production companies, producers” can be held accountable on account of “deliberate attempts to breach the Equality Act.”