‘Supergirl’ Star Milly Alcock Pledges Not To Work With “Israeli Film Institutions That Are Implicated In Genocide”
[UPDATE: On November 4th, the official Film Workers for Palestine Instagram account clarified that David Corenswet has not actually signed the group’s pledge, his name instead being added thanks to “a troll who went to great lengths to pretend to be the actor in correspondence”.
As such, this article has been edited to remove any mention of the Superman actor.]
In becoming the first of the DCU’s live-action stars to do so, Supergirl lead Milly Alcock has officially joined the ever-growing number of worldwide film workers who are refusing to work with Israeli film entities who are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”.
Launched to industry professionals on September 8th, the Film Workers Pledge for Palestine seeks to “answer the call of Palestinian filmmakers, who have urged the international film industry to refuse silence, racism, and dehumanization, as well as to ‘do everything humanly possible’ to end complicity in their oppression.”
“The world’s highest court, the International Court of Justice, has ruled that there is a plausible risk of genocide in Gaza, and that Israel’s occupation and apartheid against Palestinians are unlawful,” reads the pledge’s main text. “Standing for equality, justice, and freedom for all people is a profound moral duty that none of us can ignore. So too, we must speak out now against the harm done to the Palestinian people.”
“Inspired by Filmmakers United Against Apartheid who refused to screen their films in apartheid South Africa, we pledge not to screen films, appear at or otherwise work with Israeli film institutions—including festivals, cinemas, broadcasters and production companies—that are implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people [emphasis theirs].“
Explaining its criteria via its official FAQ page, the Pledge explains that in terms of “determining with Israel’s public and private broadcasters have decades-old and ongoing involvement in whitewashing, denying and justifying Israel’s war crimes and the crime against humanity of apartheid, as Amnesty International has designated Israel’s regime against Palestinians.”
“Israel’s major film festivals (including but not limited to Jerusalem Film Festival, Haifa International Film Festival, Docaviv and TLVfest) continue to partner with the Israeli government while it carries out what leading experts have defined as genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.
“Despite operating in Israel’s system of apartheid, and therefore benefiting from it, the vast majority of Israeli film production & distribution companies, sales agents, cinemas and other film institutions have never endorsed the full, internationally-recognized rights of the Palestinian people.
“There are, however, a few Israeli film entities that are not complicit. For best practices, we encourage you to seek guidelines set by Palestinian civil society. We also encourage film workers to ask questions and do their own research about any entity they plan to work with.”
To this end, said FAQ explicitly affirms that the pledge is not meant to bar anyone from “working with Israeli individuals”, but rather the “takes aim at institutional complicity, not identity,” especially as “there are also 2 million Palestinians with Israeli citizenship”.
“By signing this pledge, you are honoring the call made by Palestinian civil society, and you are joining millions of other cultural workers who refuse to provide cover for Israel’s apartheid state, which uses culture to whitewash oppression. For artistic dialogue to be meaningful, it must be grounded in the legal recognition that all humans are entitled to equal rights. Until that time, we speak loudest by speaking in solidarity with Palestinians. As film workers, we believe we must meet our ethical obligation to do no harm.”
Initially signed by just over 1,300 directors, actors, and other industry workers including Avengers franchise star Mark Ruffalo, No Country for Old Men star Javier Bardem, and The Bear‘s Ayo Edebiri, this number has grown almost five fold over the past year, with a September 25th press release placing the count at more than 5,000.
But while that was the last time any official count was provided, the Pledge has continued to gain more signees in the month since, with two of its relative newest being none other than Corenswet and Milcock.
Notably, the Man and Girl of Steel actors are not the first DCU stars to sign the pledge.
Rather, that distinction belongs to Creature Commandos voice actors Indira Varma (The Bridge) and Zoë Chao (Nina Mazursky), who are both counted among the Pledge’s initial signatories.
