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EXCLUSIVE Interview

BDS Movement Dies in Court? Top Lawyers Promise to Smash Hollywood's Anti-Israel Boycott

Brandeis Center warns film industry against Israeli boycott, citing legal consequences. Top lawyer reveals strategy to combat discrimination in Hollywood entertainment sector.

Olivia Colman, Ilana Glazer and Wallace Shawn

In EXCLUSIVE interview to JFeed, Mr. Rory Lancman, Director of Corporate Initiatives and Senior Counsel at the Brandeis Center, expose the developments of the Hollywood boycott to the "Israeli Blacklist".

A major American Jewish civil rights organization has directly confronted the US film industry, sending a forceful legal warning to major studios, talent agencies, and production companies against participating in a growing boycott of Israeli actors, filmmakers, and content.

The move by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, founded in 2011, comes as the "Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions" (BDS) movement gains traction within Hollywood, fueled by high-profile endorsements from actors and celebrity figures.

Mr. Rory Lancman
Mr. Rory Lancman (Photo: Courtesy )

Rory Lancman, Director of Corporate Initiatives and Senior Counsel at the Brandeis Center, confirmed the issuance of the letter, explaining that the organization views any attempt to blacklist Israelis as a violation of US law.

"We view efforts to bar Israelis from participation in activities in the United States to be a form of illegal discrimination based on national origin," Lancman stated. "If you are denying the opportunity to Israelis to participate... that is a form of national origin discrimination."

The warning follows a recent surge of anti-Israel sentiment in Hollywood, including:

  • Red Carpet Pledges: At the recent Emmy Awards, several prominent celebrities, including actor Javier Bardem, publicly signed a pledge to boycott the Israeli film industry.
  • Widespread Discrimination: The Brandeis Center argues that these boycotts often affect non-Israeli Jews and those who identify as Zionists as well.

The Center’s letter directly cautioned film industry executives that implementing the boycott would expose their organizations to "liability" under US federal law, as well as the laws of states like California and New York.

"The letter was in the nature of us telling them that this boycott is unlawful and if you engage in it, you're going to be subject to potentially a legal claim against you," Lancman clarified, emphasizing that the organization is actively monitoring for any evidence of a blacklist being enacted.

Devastating Impact on US and Israeli Film

Lancman outlined the severe consequences that the boycott would have on various stakeholders:

In first place, the Israeli Film Industry, for which the boycott has a "devastating" effect, since it would be effectively closing off the United States market and significant collaboration opportunities.

As a second stakeholder is the American Film Industry, which would be negatively impacted, as the US market loses the "value" and creativity gained from collaboration with Israeli production companies and talent.

In last place are the American consumers, whom would have the opportunity to view acclaimed Israeli content (like the successful Israeli show Fauda), denied.

Lancman stressed that the goal of the letter is to provide studios with the "spine" or "backbone" to resist pressure from celebrity activists who might demand that collaborations with Israeli artists be canceled.

"We don't want an American studio... to have to refuse to deal with [or] sign deals with Israeli filmmakers... to make Javier Bardem happy," he said.

The Challenge of BDS and Covert Discrimination

Lancman described the BDS movement as a "particularly evil and anti-Semitic movement" that attempts to cloak discrimination under a "respectable veneer."

He acknowledged the difficulty in proving discrimination when it is implemented quietly, for instance, when a studio simply decides a project involving Israeli talent is "not worth the trouble." Lancman argued, however, that the Brandeis Center's legal intervention is essential to shift the calculus:

"We need all of us need to be very vocal... and we have to change the calculus a little bit from 'oh it's not worth upsetting Javier Bardem' like 'oh it's not worth getting ourselves in a lawsuit.'"

The Brandeis Center operates on the principle that US civil rights law is an expression of the basic human rights concept that all people should be treated equally without discrimination. Lancman noted a parallel between the rejection of Jews and Israelis within the human rights framework of bodies like the UN and the attempts to deny them civil rights protection in the US.

"The concept of human rights and the concept of civil rights is... denied to Jews and to Israelis," he concluded.
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