NEW DELHI: India’s top film-industry development institution canceled on Tuesday an Israeli movie festival after protests by actors and academics in Mumbai.
The event, organized by the National Film Development Corporation was scheduled to be held at the National Museum of Indian Cinema in Mumbai on Wednesday and Thursday.
A petition calling for the NFDC screenings to be canceled at the NMIC said the festival was “shamefully being held at a time, when the entire world is witness to Israeli war crimes, the ongoing Holocaust and the genocide in Gaza, and across all of Palestine.”
Over 1,000 people signed the letter, including Bollywood star Naseeruddin Shah, documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, and author Tushar Arun Gandhi, the great-grandson of Mahatma Gandhi.
Other signees included Achin Vanaik, a retired professor of international relations and former head of political science at Delhi University, and Prof. Ram Puniyani, author and former professor of biomedical engineering affiliated with the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay.
They called on the NFDC to stop the event in the wake of the atrocities committed by the Israeli regime, which since the beginning of its onslaught on Gaza has “murdered more than 8% of the Gazan population ... which clearly constitutes a Holocaust, no less,” the petition read.
“The management of the NFDC & the NMIC should be aware of the fact that the Government of India has consistently voted for a ceasefire, as well has recognised the Palestinian state, as have the overwhelming majority of the nations.
“Thus, at this moment in our collective human history, for the NFDC and the NMIC to be screening Israeli films is totally immoral, unethical, unconscionable, and a travesty of justice to say the least.”
An official from the NMIC confirmed to Arab News on condition of anonymity that the festival “has been pulled down,” but declined to provide more details.
“It’s a relief,” Feroze Mithiborwala, a Mumbai-based activist and member of the India-Palestine Solidarity Front who organized the petition, told Arab News.
“I can’t understand that when the entire world is condemning Israel for its war crimes, when it’s also clear how the government department and NFDC in Mumbai actually go with Israel is beyond us.”
The petition letter was written on Monday and went viral within hours of being sent out.
“Three-four of us got together and created a campaign and it became viral in India, it became viral in Palestine (and) it was picked up by the Palestinian ambassador in Delhi.
“It was picked up by Hindus for Human Rights in the US, and has gone to various parts of the world,” Mithiborwala said.
“Last count, it was at least 1,000 people signed. The people who are leaders of social movements, writers, artists, intellectuals.”
The film director Patwardhan said: “We were horrified that India should be hosting an Israel festival at a time when Israel is perpetrating genocide in Gaza as well as committing atrocities in the West Bank.
“We circulated a protest letter yesterday that was immediately endorsed and signed by over 100 eminent Indian citizens. We then contacted the individual offices of the NFDC both yesterday and today by phone,” he told Arab News.
“We were told over the phone today that the festival has been canceled. This is welcome news and shows that the NFDC is sensitive to public opinion.
“We call upon Indian citizens everywhere to protest any attempt by Israel or pro-Israeli elements to carry out business as usual while a genocide is in progress.”
