Why the Yes Men Said "No"

From Andy (the floating head on the left above the green letters):

A few weeks ago, I was telling an Israeli filmmaker friend how excited I was to be going to Jerusalem. Why are you coming to Jerusalem? he asked. Our film is in the Jerusalem International Film Festival, I told him excitedly. You can't go, he said, and then explained why. It was like a bucket of freezing cold water had been poured on my head.

I lived in Jerusalem many years ago, and loved it for all kinds of reasons. I was really looking forward to going back. But over the next several days, we spoke to many Israelis and others who either supported or didn't support the boycott. And we came to realize that we had to boycott the festival, which, incidentally, is run by a progressive bunch of people and attracts a progressive audience.

Some friends asked us why we didn't boycott the U.S. instead. After all, the U.S. has done and is doing things abroad that are every bit as bad as what Israel is doing. Or why not direct our efforts at the Congo, for example? There are war crimes occurring every week in the Congo, ultimately fueled by U.S. consumerism, that absolutely dwarf any that are alleged against the IDF and, incidentally, any that have ever occurred in Darfur (search on "Congo" and "massacre" and you won't sleep at night).

One answer, of course, was that we haven't been invited to the Kinshasa Film Festival (and we wouldn't have been able to afford the private security force if we had been). More importantly, changing U.S. policy (and the direct and indirect results of that policy, e.g. in the Congo) is going to take a lot more than a boycott—whereas in Israel, a boycott could actually work.

Why? For one reason or another, unconditional public support for Israeli government policies is eroding among the American public (and today's Amnesty report won't help). This changing weather has not yet been clocked by the Israeli public, who are the only ones who have ultimate control over what their government does. The sooner it becomes clear to the Israeli public that we in America don't like their government's policies, the sooner those policies will have to change. A boycott—cultural and economic—is one way to send the message to the Israeli public that things aren't normal, and that things need to change. Especially if the message is sent not in blind anger, but with consideration, hope, and even love, it might have a chance of coming across.

We know our decision won't get us too many friends in Israel, even among progressives—after all, 94% of Israelis supported the war on Gaza, which means that most progressives did too. But we have to do what seems right to us, and hope the message gets through.

Here is the text of our letter to the Jerusalem Film Festival, that more fully explains our decision.

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Comments

[Avigail]

Mazal Tov (Mabrouk) on taking this principled stand, and for your thoughtful letter. We need to find ways to influence public opinion both in Israel, which your boycott is doing, and in the US - so that we stop using US tax $$ to support the Occupation.

Kudos on this great touch:
As for our film, there is another way for it to be seen in Israel... and in Palestine, so that the people most in need of comic relief, who would never have been able to see it at the Jerusalem Film Festival anyhow, will be able to see it too. Within the next few months, we will make this happen.

[TheFinkelsteinLobby]

Beautifully written letter expressing what must have been a difficult, yet very principled and noble stance. As someone who has been active on this issue for a while now, I find it very frustrating and disheartening that so many Jews, including people with whom I grew up, accuse me of being anti-semitic if I say anything remotely critical of Israel, when clearly true Judaism stresses the importance of human rights. The refusal of Jews to stay silent on the suffering of the Palestinians never ceases to encourage me. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for adding your voice to this very important issue. Shalom! :o)

[BackToFight]

Proud of you.

[arle]

Thank you for taking a stand. It's hard enough to take a stand against Israel at all, harder still for any Jew and thrice as hard for an Israeli. I'm a great admirer of the work of the Yes Men and that was even since /before/ this. You are a true artist and a man of honor to boot.