“Bethlehem, Occupied Palestinian Territories – November 15, 2012: Palestinian children hold signs protesting Israeli military strikes on Gaza, especially their effects on children, during a vigil in Bethlehem’s Manger Square. At the time of the vigil, 16 Palestinians, including four children, and three Israelis had been killed in escalating violence.”
| Photo Credit: Getty Images
The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) has cancelled the Israel Film Festival in Mumbai in response to an online signature campaign against the event. The festival was scheduled to be held at the National Museum of Indian Cinema (NMIC) between August 21 and 22, 2024.
A citizen group comprising prominent actors Naseeruddin Shah and Ratna Pathak Shah, documentary filmmaker Anant Patwardhan, veteran freedom fighter Dr. G.G. Parekh, writer and activist Tushar Gandhi (great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi), senior journalist Javed Anand and others led a signature campaign urging the NFDC to cancel the event in view of Israeli war crimes in Gaza. The campaign was organised by the India Palestine Solidarity Forum and received over a thousand signatures.
“This screening by the NFDC is shamefully being held at a time, when the entire world is witness to Israeli war crimes, the ongoing Holocaust and the genocide in Gaza, and across all of Palestine,” read the statement.
It cited research on Israeli atrocities in Palestine, adding that the Indian government recognises the state of Palestine and has called for ceasefires in the ongoing war.
“In keeping with the Indian tradition of supporting anti-colonial liberation struggles, we, as a nation, have always stood with Palestine, and here too the NFDC & the NMIC stand in utter violation of the very spirit of India, the India of Buddha & Gandhi,” the statement read.