Natalie Portman, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jerry Seinfeld, Lisa Kudrow among those endorsing statement against blacklisting of Israeli artists at TIFF

Toronto, On… Natalie Portman, Halle Berry, Sacha Baron Cohen, Jerry Seinfeld, Darren Starr, Jason Alexander, Lenny Kravitz, Lisa Kudrow, Canadians Robert Lantos, Ivan Reitman, David Cronenberg, Moses Znaimer, Patricia Rozema are among the respected film professionals who have today endorsed the following statement as a response to the  group that opposes the Toronto International Film Festival’s spotlight on Tel Aviv.

“We don’t need another blacklist. We applaud the Toronto International Film Festival for including the Israeli film community in the Festival’s City to City program. The visiting filmmakers represent a dynamic national cinema, the best of Israel’s open, uncensored, artistic expression. Anyone who has actually seen recent Israeli cinema, movies that are political and personal, comic and tragic, often critical, knows they are in no way a propaganda arm for any government policy. Blacklisting them only stifles the exchange of cultural knowledge that artists should be the first to defend and protect. Those who refuse to see these films for themselves or prevent them from being seen by others are violating a cherished right shared by Canada and all democratic countries.”

The statement has been endorsed by: