BDS movie claim false
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel had claimed that Oscar-winner Jane Campion asked that her 1989 film Sweetie be withdrawn from the Jerusalem Film Festival, which was held from July 18 to 28.
Claims by an organisation advocating a boycott of Israel that an Australian film director had asked for her movie to be withdrawn from an Israeli film festival appear to be false.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel had claimed that Oscar-winner Jane Campion asked that her 1989 film Sweetie be withdrawn from the Jerusalem Film Festival, which was held from July 18 to 28.
The campaign also claimed that at least three other unnamed directors, from the US and UK, and a Basque director also did so, describing it as a victory for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.
But the Campion film – her directorial debut – reportedly screened at the festival last week as advertised, with the festival saying in a statement to The AJN, “The report is not true. There was no request on behalf of the film to withdraw it or any other movie from the JFF and no screening was cancelled.”
David Lange, an Australian in Israel and the executive director of Israellycool Israel Advocacy, a social media watchdog which highlights errors and distortions in publicity by anti-Israel groups, said these sorts of false or exaggerated claims are “extremely common”.
“This is just another in a litany of ‘fake victories’ concocted by the BDS movement, which is, in a sense, a microcosm of the entire Palestinian narrative that relies on outright lies for propaganda purposes,” he said.
“In the case of BDS, their proclivity to invent these kinds of ‘victories’ seems to be in order to galvanise more support under the assumption that their campaigns are somehow making more of an impact than the reality would suggest.”
The BDS campaign has been asked to provide any evidence for its claims, but they have not yet responded.
Campion’s representatives in Australia were also contacted for comment.
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