Some of Britain’s most prominent studios and film companies have been hit with legal warnings over the industry’s boycott of Israeli film companies.
A letter from British Israeli lawyers says the boycott, which is supported by Hollywood stars including Joaquin Phoenix, Emma Stone, Olivia Colman and Mark Ruffalo, is a breach of the UK’s Equality Act and could have implications for finance and insurance.
Companies receiving the letter include domestic companies such as the BBC, Film4 and ITV, as well as the UK offices of Netflix, Disney, Amazon Studios, Apple and Warner Bros. Discovery. Other winners include film bodies such as the BFI and Pact, agencies Curtis Brown and United Agents, and trade unions such as Bectu and Equity.
“The Equality Act 2010 is an important piece of legislation in the UK that protects against racial discrimination and discriminatory treatment,” the letter, obtained by Variety, said. “If the UK television and film industries collude in behavior that violates this law, they are likely to be in breach themselves. It also sets a dangerous precedent of condoning the exclusion of individuals and organizations solely on the basis of their nationality, ethnicity or religion.”
The letter also argues that the boycott attempt’s “selective application of exempting some institutions based on the ethnicity or religion of their members strongly indicates that (their) operations are based not only on nationality but also on religion and ethnicity.” The boycott does not apply to Palestinian-Israelis, who have different “situation-specific guidelines,” according to the Palestinian Film Workers Organization, which organized the boycott.
Although the boycott claims to target only Israeli-affiliated film institutions, not individuals, the Equality Act protects organizations as well as individuals. This may be particularly relevant in the film industry, where many actors and producers contract their services through companies.
The letter said the studio could be held liable for breaches of the Equality Act by its “staff and agents.” Actors, producers, agents, managers, production companies, producers, and “anyone else who directs, causes, induces, or supports the implementation of a boycott (for example, by encouraging a distributor not to do business with an Israeli outlet or advising a colleague to assert a boycott clause)” may also be liable.
The letter goes on to say that any attempt to deliberately violate the Equivalency Act “presents litigation risk and is likely to result in reporting” for insurance purposes, and may even result in the insurance contract being invalidated.
There can also be knock-on effects on funding, as most funding bodies such as the BFI require productions to comply with the Equality Act.
“Violating (the law) through a boycott may result in the film being ineligible for government funding or triggering the withdrawal of previously awarded funds,” the letter warns.
More than 4,000 film industry names have signed the boycott, including Yorgos Lanthimos, Ava DuVernay, Adam McKay, Boots Riley, Emma Seligman, Joshua Oppenheimer, and Mike Leigh. They vowed not to “screen films, perform in, or otherwise collaborate with Israeli film institutions, including festivals, cinemas, broadcast stations, and production companies that are involved in genocide or apartheid against the Palestinian people.” With an asterisk, the letter clarifies that “engagement” is defined as “covering up or justifying genocide or apartheid, or partnering with governments that perpetrate them.”
Last month, the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights in Washington, D.C., sent a letter to U.S. companies saying the boycott violated U.S. federal and state law. “Many federal and state civil rights laws specifically prohibit the application of the Hollywood Blacklist (boycott) against Israelis, particularly Jewish-Israeli individuals and organizations based or active in the United States, providing victims with a mechanism to hold accountable organizations and individuals who violate their rights,” the Brandeis Center’s letter warns. “To be clear, these laws apply to you, not just the direct signatories who unlawfully aid, abet, and abet you to apply to the Hollywood Blacklist.”
