'Attack on Film Director Ken Loach for Israel stance ignores cruel reality'

The Independent prints a letter that critiques the claims made by Gary Sinyor in his column in the Independent on Sunday, ‘How dare you, Ken!‘, on Ken Loach (pictured) and his involvement in a campaign to get the Edinburgh International Film Festival to return sponsorship money for an Israeli director to attend the Festival back to the Israeli government.

Ken Loach is a member of the support committee of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine and staunch critic of Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian Territories. He wrote, in his letter to Tali Shalom Ezer, the Israeli director in whose support the Israeli Embassy in London offered the money:

‘From the beginning, Israel and its supporters have attacked their critics as anti-semites or racists. It is a tactic to undermine rational debate.

‘To be crystal clear: as a film maker you will receive a warm welcome in Edinburgh . You are not censored or rejected. The opposition was to the Festival’s taking money from the Israeli state.

‘The call for a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions comes from many Palestinians: writers, artists, journalists, lawyers, academics, trades unionists, teachers. They see it as “a contribution to the struggle to end Israel ’s occupation, colonisation and system of apartheid.” Who are we, that we should not heed their call? Your counter arguments were used against the South African boycott yet that proved eventually to be successful.’