| Boycott | |
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| Directed by | Julia Bacha |
| Produced by | |
| Cinematography |
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| Edited by | |
| Music by | Nainita Desai |
Release date |
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Running time | 70 minutes |
| Country | United States |
Boycott is a documentary film about three Americans' lawsuits against their state governments in response to anti-BDS laws which caused said governments to cancel their business contracts after they refused to pledge that they would not engage in a boycott of Israel. The film is directed by Julia Bacha; it premiered in 2021.
Boycott explores anti-BDS laws and related freedom of speech issues [1] through the stories of a publisher, an attorney, and a pediatric speech pathologist. The three Americans filed lawsuits against their state governments in response to the laws' effects on their respective livelihoods when said governments canceled their business contracts after they refused to pledge that they would not engage in a boycott of Israel. [2]
Alan Leveritt is the publisher of the Arkansas Times , a liberal publication. Leveritt is not specifically interested in boycotts of Israel but objects to the anti-boycott law in Arkansas because of its implications for free speech. As a result, the Times can no longer receive advertising payments from a local state university. [2] In response, Leveritt and the American Civil Liberties Union sue the state of Arkansas. As of December 1,2021 [update] , the suit was still active in the court system and the Arkansas law was still in effect. [3]
Bahia Amawi is a pediatric speech pathologist in Texas. As a Palestinian American, Amawi boycotts Israel in solidarity with her family who lives under the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian Territories. Despite the need for her services in her school district near Austin as a speech pathologist who can speak Arabic, she is fired after refusing to pledge not to engage in boycotts. [2] Amawi's challenge to the law in Texas is successful, and she regains her contract and forces legislators to narrow the scope of the legislation. [4]
Mik Jordahl is a lawyer in Arizona who has pledged to boycott companies involved in the Israeli occupation after taking a trip to the West Bank with his son, who is Jewish. As a result of anti-boycott laws, he is forced to give up a contract to provide legal assistance to incarcerated people; he experiences financial difficulty after continuing to provide the legal services pro bono. [2] Jordahl's challenge to the law in Arizona is successful, and he regains his contract and forces legislators to narrow the scope of the legislation. [4]
The documentary juxtaposes Amawi and Jordahl's legal victories with information about the successful lobbying effort that led to the implementation of anti-boycott laws in 34 states. [2] It links these laws to the American Legislative Exchange Council, describing the Council as the origin of the efforts to pass them at the state level; it additionally states that the Israeli government created a firm called Kella Shlomo to bypass United States laws against foreign interference, and that the firm provided millions of dollars in funding to groups that went on to support the anti-BDS legislation, including Christians United for Israel. [4] [5]
Boycott is directed by Julia Bacha, who had previously created other films that were critical of the Israeli occupation; [1] these films, produced in partnership with Just Vision, focused on relations between Palestinians and Israelis. In contrast, Boycott focuses on anti-BDS laws and anti-boycott laws in America specifically. [6] The film was produced by Just Vision [2] and by the company's leader Suhad Babaa, as well as by Daniel J. Chalfen. [7] Cinematographers were Amber Fares and Kelly West, while editors were Flavia de Souza and Eric Metzgar. Music was composed by Nainita Desai. [8]
According to Bacha, production of Boycott was funded primarily by grants from groups including Doc Society, International Documentary Association, Fork Films, Sundance Institute, CrossCurrents Foundation, and Threshold Foundation. [9]
Produced in the United States, the documentary has a runtime of 70 minutes. [8]
Boycott premiered on November 14, 2021 [2] [9] at Doc NYC. [8] The film was shown at the 2022 South by Southwest Film Festival, [10] and in March 2022 at the Human Rights Watch Film Festival in London. [5]
Boycott was reviewed in The Austin Chronicle after its appearance at South by Southwest 2022. The review praised the film's for avoiding false balance by focusing on "the pain of the Palestinian people", but stated that "for all its focus on Palestine and Israel [...] Boycott is a film about American politics and the forces that would choose to influence it". It concluded that "while Boycott presents us with positive outcomes – legal restrictions overcome or suspended – it’s hard not to feel unfinished [...] with so much power and money being unleashed on our legal system, it’s hard to feel like any political documentary offers true closure". [10] A review in Mondoweiss found that "the triumph of Boycott is that it puts human faces to the struggle", characterizing the core message of the film as "people can have impact on the world around them". [11]
Jewish Voice for Peace is a left-wing Jewish activist organization in the United States that supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign against Israel.
Arkansas Times, a weekly alternative newspaper based in Little Rock, Arkansas, is a publication that has circulated more than 40 years, originally as a magazine.
StandWithUs (SWU) is an international, right-wing pro-Israel advocacy organization StandWithUs has worked closely with the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs to promote Brand Israel. It was founded in 2001 Los Angeles by family therapist-turned-activist Roz Rothstein and her husband and is headquartered in the United States.
Julia Bacha is a Brazilian documentary filmmaker. She has filmed under-documented stories from the Middle East including issues related to Palestine. Her 2021 film, Boycott, explores anti-boycott legislation and related freedom of speech issues.
Encounter Point is a film directed by Ronit Avni and Julia Bacha. It depicts different families that have been affected by the violence in Israel between Israelis and Palestinians. In this film, Just Vision, a non-profit organization, follows these families for 16 months. It begins this journey by documenting the ongoing troubles between the Israelis and Palestinians. The team conducted 475 preliminary interviews and did two years of research before embarking on this 16-month journey. The crew traveled throughout Israel, from Tel Mond, Tulkarem, Hebron, and Haifa. These parents and loved ones have been attempting to end the violence by joining, or beginning their own peace organizations and awareness campaigns.
Just Vision is a non religiously unaffiliated nonprofit organization that utilizes storytelling, media and public engagement campaigns to highlight Palestinian and Israeli grassroots leaders working to end the occupation and conflict through unarmed means. They are based in Washington, New York and Jerusalem.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a Palestinian-led movement promoting boycotts, divestments, and economic sanctions against Israel. Its objective is to pressure Israel to meet what the BDS movement describes as Israel's obligations under international law, defined as withdrawal from the occupied territories, removal of the separation barrier in the West Bank, full equality for Arab-Palestinian citizens of Israel, and "respecting, protecting, and promoting the rights of Palestinian refugees to return to their homes and properties". The movement is organized and coordinated by the Palestinian BDS National Committee.
Omar Barghouti is a founding committee member of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and a co-founder of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. He received the Gandhi Peace Award in 2017.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law (LDB) is a nonprofit organization founded by Kenneth L. Marcus in 2012 to advance the civil and human rights of the Jewish people and promote justice for all. LDB is active on American campuses, where it, according to the organization, combats anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
TLVFest or the Tel Aviv International LGBT Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Tel Aviv, Israel. The festival is focused on LGBT themed film from around the world.
The AMCHA Initiative is a pro-Israel American campus group that seeks to undermine BDS activities on campuses. AMCHA was founded in 2012 by University of California Santa Cruz lecturer Tammi Rossman-Benjamin and University of California Los Angeles Professor Emeritus Leila Beckwith. The term Amcha is Hebrew for "your people" or "your nation."
Boycotts of Israel are the refusal and incitement to refusal to have commercial or social dealings with Israel in order to inflict economic hardship upon the state. The objective of boycotts of Israel is to influence Israel's practices and policies by means of using economic weapons as the coercive force. The specific objective of Israel boycotts varies; the BDS movement calls for boycotts of Israel "until it meets its obligations under international law, and the purpose of the Arab League's boycott of Israel was to prevent Arab states and others to contribute to Israel's economy. Israel believes that boycotts against it are antisemitic.
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. It has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations.
The Amendment No. 28 to the Entry Into Israel Law prohibits the entry into Israel of any foreigner who makes a "public call for boycotting Israel" or "any area under its control" – a reference to the Israeli settlements. It denies entry, visa and residency permits to these affected foreigners.
The Israel Anti-Boycott Act (IABA) was a proposed anti-BDS law and amendment to the Export Administration Act of 1979 designed to allow U.S. states to enact laws requiring contractors to sign pledges promising not to boycott any goods from Israel, or their contracts would be terminated.
Anti-BDS laws and resolutions oppose boycotts of Israel. The name comes from the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts, divestment and sanctions against Israel to pressure Israel to meet what it describes as Israel's obligations under international law. Anti-BDS laws are designed to make it difficult for people and organizations to participate in boycotts of Israel while anti-BDS resolutions are symbolic and non-binding parliamentary condemnations, either of boycotts of Israel or of BDS itself. Generally, such condemnations accuse BDS of being antisemitic and are often followed by laws targeting boycotts of Israel.
Anti-Palestinianism or anti-Palestinian racism refers to prejudice and discrimination against Palestinians by groups, individuals, or governments. It is sometimes referred to as a form of racism manifested in anti-Arab sentiment, though it may also be a political standpoint as well. The phenomenon is common in Israel, the United States, and Lebanon, among other countries.