I Signed the Petition | |
---|---|
Directed by | Mahdi Fleifel |
Release date |
|
Running time | 11 minutes |
Country | State of Palestine |
I Signed the Petition is a Palestinian short documentary film with a duration of 11 minutes, directed by Mahdi Fleifel and produced in 2018. The film addresses a significant political issue from the director's personal experience, namely the solidarity with Palestinians through signing a petition calling for a cultural boycott of Israel.
The film revolves around a phone call between the director and his friend after he signed a petition calling for a cultural boycott of Israel. This petition is related to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement. The conversation reveals the psychological and social pressures individuals face when taking political stances. Through the call, Fleifel expresses his conflicting emotions and anxiety about the repercussions of this action on his professional and personal life.
The film won the Best Short Documentary Award at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, [1] and was nominated for European Film Award for Best Short Film at the 31st European Film Awards in 2018. [2]
The film aims to provide insight into the Israeli–Palestinian conflict, and raises questions about the meaning of solidarity and its actual impact on both personal and political levels. It discusses the internal and external tension felt by individuals who support justice causes, the effectiveness of the BDS movement in bringing real change, and the risks associated with it. The film concludes by emphasizing the psychological and social complexities of taking political stances, as many have to balance their personal convictions with the fear of consequences. [3]
Jewish Voice for Peace is an American anti-Zionist left-wing to far-left Jewish advocacy organization that is critical of Israel's occupation of the Palestinian territories, and supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel.
The IsraelFootball Association is the governing body of football in Israel. It organizes a variety of association football leagues where the highest level is the Israeli Premier League; as well as national cups such as the Israel State Cup, the Toto Cup, and the Israel Super Cup; also, the Israel national football team. The IFA was founded in 1948 as the Palestine Football Association and is based in the Tel Aviv District city of Ramat Gan, Israel. The Association is controversial due to its inclusion of clubs playing in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank.
John Greyson is a Canadian director, writer, video artist, producer, and political activist, whose work frequently deals with queer characters and themes. He was part of a loosely affiliated group of filmmakers to emerge in the 1980s from Toronto known as the Toronto New Wave.
StandWithUs (SWU) is a nonprofit right-wing pro-Israel advocacy organization founded in Los Angeles in 2001 by Roz Rothstein, Jerry Rothstein, and Esther Renzer.
Udi Aloni is an Israeli American filmmaker, writer, visual artist and political activist whose works focus on the interrelationships between art, theory, and action.
Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) is a nonviolent 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 Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) was launched in April 2004 by a group of Palestinian academics and intellectuals in Ramallah, in the West Bank. PACBI is part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. The campaign calls for BDS activities against Israel to put international pressure on Israel, in this case against Israeli academic institutions, all of which are said by PACBI to be implicated in the perpetuation of Israeli occupation, in order to achieve BDS goals. The goal of the proposed academic boycotts is to isolate Israel in order to force a change in Israel's policies towards the Palestinians, which proponents argue are discriminatory and oppressive, including oppressing the academic freedom of Palestinians.
TLVFest, officially the Tel Aviv International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Tel Aviv, Israel. The festival is focused on LGBTQ-themed film from around the world.
Boycotts of Israel are the refusal and calls to refusal of having commercial or social dealings with Israel in order to influence Israel's practices and policies by means of using economic pressure. The specific objective of Israel boycotts varies; the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (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. Israeli officials have characterized the BDS movement as antisemitic.
The current campaign for an academic boycott of Israel was launched in April 2004 by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign. The campaign calls for BDS activities against Israel to put international pressure on Israel, in this case against Israeli academic institutions, all of which are said by PACBI to be implicated in the perpetuation of Israeli occupation, in order to achieve BDS goals. Since then, proposals for academic boycotts of particular Israeli universities and academics have been made by academics and organisations in Palestine, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other countries. The goal of the proposed academic boycotts is to isolate Israel in order to force a change in Israel's policies towards the Palestinians, which proponents argue are discriminatory and oppressive, including oppressing the academic freedom of Palestinians.
Students for Justice in Palestine is a pro-Palestinian college student activism organization in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. Founded at the University of California in 2001, it has campaigned for boycott and divestment against corporations that deal with Israel and organized events about Israel's human rights violations. In 2011, The New York Times called it "the leading pro-Palestinian voice on campus". As of 2024, National SJP has over 350 chapters in North America.
The American Muslims for Palestine (AMP) is an American nonprofit organization founded in 2006.
Reactions to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) refer to the views of international actors on the BDS movement.
Mahdi Fleifel is a Danish-Palestinian film director. Often examining themes of social injustice, Fleifel's films largely convey the struggles of Palestinians in exile.
Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) is a pro-Israel organization which works to counter anti-Israel sentiment in the entertainment industry. It was founded in 2011 by David Renzer, Steve Schnur, and Ran Geffen-Lifshitz. CCFP is strongly opposed to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement.
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.
Writers Against the War on Gaza is a coalition of writers, academics, artists, journalists, and culture workers seeking to protest the Israel–Hamas war and mobilize for Palestinian liberation via cultural organizing. Their tactics are based on Vietnam War-era culture worker mobilization, and, in particular, the organization American Writers Against the Vietnam War.