Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war on October 7, Israeli actors have faced increasing difficulty navigating the international film industry. One such example is Dan Shaked, an Israeli-American actor who recently contacted a talent agency in search of work, only to receive a response laced with hostility and politically charged rhetoric.
Shaked, who was born in the United States to Israeli parents who immigrated to Boston in the 1970s, is fluent in both Hebrew and English and visits Israel three times a year. He recently starred in the Israeli series Germani, broadcast by Yes.
In an interview with Israel Hayom, Shaked described the shock and pain he felt upon receiving a rejection email from Gabe Gabriel, a queer filmmaker from South Africa who splits his time between Cape Town and Los Angeles. Gabriel replied to Shaked’s inquiry by stating that he strongly supports a cultural boycott of Israeli art and avoids working with agents from what he called the “apartheid state.”
