Ken Loach's victimisation of an Israeli director at the Edinburgh Film Festival | News & Politics | News & Comment

FIRST POSTED MAY 21, 2009

am to learn that the Edinburgh International Film Festival is accepting money from Israel" and calling on "all who might consider visiting the festival to show their support for the Palestinian nation, and stay away."

Pulled up short by Loach's cutting words the EIFF promptly handed back the paltry sum of £300. What the Palestinian people made of this noble intervention on their behalf has been less reported.

Thankfully the EIFF has now said it will fund Ezer's travel out of its own pocket. Ezer's film isn't in any way political: Surrogate is a romance set in a sex therapy clinic. Hardly a political minefield. But even if it was the most provocative political film you will see all year, what of it?

The problem is Ezer was not penalised because of what she said - she was penalised because of what her government has done. The whole disgraceful

Ken Loach said: "I'm sure many filmmakers will be as horrified as I am to learn that the Edinburgh International Film Festival is accepting money from Israel."

debacle points to a very dangerous and worrying censoring of a nation's artists and intellectuals because of political disagreements with their government.

In their enthusiasm to show support for Palestine, certain sections of the liberal left intelligentsia have taken leave of their senses. In March, we saw the unedifying spectacle of 400 academics lining up to have a pop at the Science Museum for hosting workshops promoting the achievements of Israeli scientists.

In April, Bloomsbury Theatre cancelled a Zionist Federation event because one of the acts was an Israeli Defence Force dance troupe. This idea that we have somehow to culturally cauterise a nation's art because of its government's actions is simply bizarre.

I may not like what Israel has done in Palestine but I have the wit to separate out how a state acts from the art of its people. But then there is nothing more sanctimonious and wrong-headed than the literati on a moral crusade.

It's not as though other governments are as pure as the driven snow. What's good for the goose is good for the gander. Should all British artists who have received money from government funded bodies such as the Arts Council or British Film Institute be treated like pariahs when they attend arts festivals in the Middle East?

How would Ken Loach like to be judged as an artist because he is British? He should stand by his own principles and if he has ever opposed any war his government has been involved in, from Ireland to Iraq, he should pay back every penny he may have received from government-backed agencies such as the UK Film Council.

The same goes for any bleeding heart liberal urging boycotts of Israeli art and culture. The arts have no need for self-righteous, censorious hypocrites.

FIRST POSTED MAY 21, 2009

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It not a question of who is this Ken Loach or how important he thinks he is. This is the man whose films are so poor, he has to go cap in hand to the national lottery commission, for money to fund his film about the IRA. Which even the Boys have been complaining about because of its historical inaccuracy. Not doubt he is also short listed for the next booker prize.

Posted by geoff campbell at 10:37am on May 22, 2009

Typical of the loonie left! I'm reminded of George Galloway, not exactly known for his defence of free speech if it could be construed as 'anti-Islamic', but who felt that his human rights had been violated when Canada banned him for his own hate speech.

Posted by Jovan Weismiller at 10:45am on May 22, 2009

Try substituting "South Africa" during apartheid instead of Israel or Britain and you will see the weakness of absolutising "free speech" for mass murderers.

Posted by M. Costello at 11:29am on May 22, 2009

It is ironic that his biography in Wikipedia proclaims Loach as 'a strong opponent of censorship'. It must be that he is anti-semitic instead!

Posted by mikidiki at 11:41am on May 22, 2009

Israel is a democracy..the actions of the Israeli Goveerment are widely supported by the majority of Israelis ..who have elected a government with an openly racist foreign minister. Would Shirley Dent have been as sympathetic to S.African rugby players 25 yrs ago.. would she have opposed a boycott of support given by the apartheid regime in S Africa ?? one does not have to a bleeding heart ''lefty'' to have been horrified by the murder if over 300 children in Gaza last January.!!

Posted by nigeltoft at 12:05pm on May 22, 2009

My politics are just right, but there is no moral dilema in refusing to fund anything coming from Israel. Art has never been entirely divorced from politics, and with the current Israeli Government likely to continue the policy of persecuting the Palestinians, I personnally will avoid any Israeli events. And for all the comments on Hamas, Hezbollah and the Iranian cuckoo my Pharsi is poor and my Arabic very rusty, but it would seem we are fed approriate translations. Perhaps we all need a dose of Fisk or Media Lens!

Posted by James Morley at 12:31pm on May 22, 2009

"What the Palestinian people made of this noble intervention on their behalf has been less reported. " Indeed. A great many things that go on in the illegally Occupied Palestinian Territories are "less reported" if they are reported at all, most notably Israel's many destructive and deadly crimes, black letter law violations of the Geneva Conventions. Gazans are starving, living on pennies a day, thanks to Israel's blockade. The situation is not much better in the West Bank where women die in childbirth at Israeli checkpoints and the ill are denied passage to hospitals. Has Ms. Dent has failed to notice the suffering of Palestinians oppressed and expolited by the rigidly ultranationalistic Israeli military state? Perhaps she simply does not care.

Posted by MichaelG49 at 12:36pm on May 22, 2009

This is becoming a civilization of fragmented and forgotten people. We are 'balkanizing' certain societies for the sake of political correctness and forgetting the fact that art is a vehicle that is used to protest and even censure the actions of a government that is acting in abominable ways. Even if this film, had commented on the state of the Israeli people and their governments reaction to the bombings and suicide bombings in an obviously partisan fashion, and the EIFF had chosen that film to be viewed, I would certainly attend had I the money for it. Not to show solidarity with the Israeli government but to further the cause of artists and their right to express their viewpoints free from censorship and censure because of their nationality. Please stop the madness of censoring the artist just because of their nationality and/or race. If we the 'leftist literati' cannot stop this madness, Where will it end? With the rejection of all art from countries where we the left disagree with the policies of nations that are conducting war on an imperial scale, i.e. America and its artists.

Posted by nrobi at 1:43pm on May 22, 2009

Please tell the whole story correctly Shirley Dent! Ken Loach has spoken publicly about his actions to explain in detail that there is no reflection on the individual involved at all, it is a point of principle, that the festival cannot allow governments to determine who does or does not attend. In addition, the integrity of the event is compromised if the Israeli government plays any role in the funding. Yet your emotive, mawkish rendition of events attempts to present the situation as personal empathy between Ken Loach and the film maker from Israel. "The whole disgraceful debacle points to a very dangerous and worrying censoring of a nation's artists and intellectuals because of political disagreements with their government." On this logic, you would have opposed the boycott of South Africa, and campaigned for apartheid!

Posted by Manny Goldstein at 7:04pm on May 22, 2009

It never ceases to amaze me about the Scottish hate of Israel, you would think that a small people, both in size and number, just as Israel is small in number , compared to the one billion Muslims, could recognize the true state of affairs, any excuse to to condem Israel, especially by their loony left is taken, even when it comes to Ken Loach action against the young Israeli director showing his film, how petty can you get.

Posted by sidney sands at 7:06pm on May 22, 2009

Good on you Ken! You're one of the first of many to stand up to racist apartheid. I'm sure Ms. Dent will never come clean on the source for the inspiration of her wildly skewed allegory but I'd suspect it was done on some group's behalf.

Posted by hidflect at 8:59pm on May 22, 2009

I completely agree with you. But what now about all the celebrities visiting the festival? Aren't they involved in case they come there? I just read some very interesting arguments about this case on Pandalous: http://www.pandalous.com/nodes/ken_loach_is_demanding

Posted by John at 4:47am on May 23, 2009

Having the 'wit' to separate acts of an individual from his governments acts is NOT the issue. Nowadays there's no one with wit or common sense who would stand and say dont blame all the Germans for what some Nazis did...dont blame all the Italians for what Mussolini did....dont blame all the South Afrikaaners for what Botha did..but that's nonsense...because in fact when we 'liberated' Iraq' from the dictator Saddam we blasted the PEOPLE who were largely his victims..and more relevent is that Israel has 'investigated itself' and found that it is once again blameless after bombing the Gazan people for the crime of electing the only opposition party they were offered and have been blockaded bombed and starved for 2 yrs for their 'crime'. When will international rule of law finally step in and hold Israel accountable for its war crimes and abuse of Geneva Conventions Human Rights protocols or even hold them to the numerous UN resolutions they have breached? ENDING the brutal apartheid occupation of Palestine and prosecuting those commanders for war crimes committed in Gaza , Lebanon or anyone anywhere else is high priority. Perhaps you're one of those 'dotty liberals' who believed that South African artists, film makers, businesspeople should not suffer consequences for enabling S.Africa's brutal apartheid?

Posted by madams12 at 3:56pm on May 24, 2009

"Many people would sooner die than think; In fact, they do so."-Bertrand Russell -- It seems that Shirley Dent is one such person. Surely Shirley you have leapt without looking.

Posted by Remy Germin at 4:11am on May 25, 2009

An Israeli Defence Force dance troupe? Who would've manned the West Bank checkpoints while they're doing pirouettes in Bloomsbury?

Posted by Frik Els at 3:23pm on May 25, 2009

Att: Shirley Dent. This became political as soon as the Israeli embassy stepped up. you cant accept money from a government and then say I"M neutral! Who are you kidding

Posted by Seanofaus at 5:39am on May 27, 2009

Nothing supported by the nazi state of Israel can be allowed to slide in to international arts festivals. Interesting that those who use the term 'loony left' are inevitably the rabid right. I'm reminded of the furore over Leni Riefenstahl and her films.

Posted by Peter Simmons at 10:36am on May 28, 2009

Seanofaus at 5:39am on May 27, 2009 after a long night with refreshments he supports censorship but only of Jews and Jewish ideas. Presumably the Palestinians terrorist's suicide bombers are to be praised not condemned. I guess Seanfaus lives in a western democracy otherwise he'd probably not have access to the internet! Ken C Croache should hang his head in shame- cultural fascism unfortuneately paid for British Taxpayers

Posted by Philip Gosling at 12:46pm on July 15, 2009