Warner Bros. Discovery spoke out against a mounting boycott of all Israeli film institutions for the first time Thursday, stating that the initiative violates company policies that “prohibit discrimination of any kind.”
“Warner Bros. Discovery is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment for its employees, collaborators, and other stakeholders,” a studio spokesperson said of the boycott. “Our policies prohibit discrimination of any kind, including discrimination based on race, religion, national origin or ancestry. We believe a boycott of Israeli film institutions violates our policies. While we respect the rights of individuals and groups to express their views and advocate for causes, we will continue to align our business practices with the requirements of our policies and the law.”
Warner Bros. Discovery now stands with Paramount, which condemned the boycott in September, saying, “We need more engagement, not less.”
The petition came in a Sept. 8 open letter from Film Workers for Palestine, which mounted a boycott pledge of Israeli film festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies. Over 4,000 film industry professionals have signed, including notable signatories Emma Stone, Ayo Edebiri, Mark Ruffalo, Tilda Swinton and Andrew Garfield. Paramount and Warner Bros. Discovery are the only studios that have publicly responded to the petition.
The Film Workers for Palestine letter includes a pledge to avoid working with Israeli film institutions that the group deems are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” Such institutions include “festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies,” according to the petition.
The letter further defined complicity as “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid and/or partnering with the government committing them,” in reference to Israel.
Others in the film industry have critiqued the pledge for increasing division within the industry. Ari Ingel, the executive director at the Creative Community for Peace, wrote that the pledge “amplifies hate.” He added that the Israeli film community has been a space for collaboration between Jewish and Palestinian artists and boycotting it would disrupt the motion toward peace.
“The path to peace will not be paved by boycotts, censorship or exclusion, but by supporting the courageous individuals who refuse to give up on co-existence,” he wrote. “Because in the end, peace will be written not by those who divide, but by those who dare to create together.”
The motion was similarly condemned by the Israeli Film & TV Producers Association, which said a boycott was “counterproductive.” But the Film Workers of Palestine pledge found support from a group of over 50 noted Israeli documentarians, who wrote an open letter of their own last month.
“We grieve manifestations of denial, self-victimization, covert and overt complicity, and self-censorship that have also spread within our own ranks,” the letter reads. “For us, there is no comfort in the complex, sensitive, and critical films we have made over the years as part of our role and mission; they do not absolve us of responsibility for the atrocities carried out in our name.”
Paramount staffers similarly spoke in favor of the boycott earlier this month, denouncing their company leadership’s “blatant hypocrisy” while “aligning yourselves” with “genocide in Gaza.”
“We do not and will not support the leadership team’s attempts to align a publicly traded American company with the intentions, actions and propaganda arm of a foreign government,” the Paramount Employees of Conscience said.
On Monday, Israel and Hamas took their first steps toward peace with a cease-fire and return of Israeli hostages, as laid out in the peace deal supported by President Donald Trump. All 20 remaining Israeli hostages were transferred from the Red Cross to the Israeli military and crossed over the border between Gaza and Israel. Israel, in turn, released 250 Palestinian prisoners into Gaza and the West Bank and more than 1,700 Palestinians it had detained in Gaza since the war broke out after the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on an Israeli music festival.
Variety first reported the news of Warner Bros. Discovery’s statement on the Israeli film boycott.
