Doc Edge Festival supporting apartheid Israel - protest
planned

Peace Action Wellington and Auckland Peace Action are calling for Doc Edge Festival to drop screenings of a film they say supports apartheid in Israel. The groups plan to protest the screenings if Documentary Edge Festival do not respect the Palestinian led boycott of Israel.

“Ben-Gurion, Epilogue, a film about Zionist leader David Ben-Gurion, celebrates the founding of the apartheid Israeli state” said Peace Action Wellington spokesperson, Alex Davies. "This is state-sponsored propaganda the festival are planning to screen at the expense of people living under a brutal and illegal occupation," said Davies.

The film is to be shown at the Roxy Cinema in Wellington on May 14, the day before the anniversary of the Nakba, ‘the Day of Catastrophe’, where Palestinians were massacred and forcibly expelled from their villages. Peace Action Wellington have called for a protest outside the screening on May 14 if it goes ahead.

"The Doc Edge programming team are aware that in response to the ongoing land theft and killing of Palestinians there is a boycott of Israeli government-sponsored performances. Unfortunately, festival organisers haven't engaged with our concerns in any meaningful way yet." said Peace Action Wellington spokesperson, Alex Davies. "But it is clearly wrong to allow the festival to be used as a platform for apartheid." said Davies.

This year, New Zealand icon Lorde cancelled her concert in Tel Aviv after learning about the campaign in order to respect the cultural boycott.

“This country took a stand against apartheid in South Africa and it’s time for us to do the same to support the Palestinian struggle for freedom.”, Davies said. “Israel is still stealing land from the Palestinian people and there are many racist laws and policies that discriminate against Palestinian citizens of Israel.”

“Withdrawing the film requires courage but it is the right thing to do and will show that the Doc Edge Film Festival will not be used as a vehicle for racist propaganda” said Davies.

------ ENDS ------

© Scoop Media