More than 100 celebrities, including Richard Gere, Claire Foy, Susan Sarandon, Mark Ruffalo, and Peter Gabriel, signed onto an Artists for Palestine statement released Wednesday in support of Palestinian organizations designated as terrorist groups by the Israeli government.
The statement accuses Israel of launching “an unprecedented and blanket attack on Palestinian human rights defenders.”
In October, six Palestinian organizations claiming to be human rights groups were designated as terrorist organizations by the Israeli government: Addameer Prisoner Support and Human Rights Association, Al-Haq Law in the Service of Man (Al-Haq), Bisan Center for Research and Development, Defense for Children International-Palestine (DCI-P), the Union of Agricultural Work Committees (UAWC), and the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees (UPWC).
All groups are connected to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), a Marxist–Leninist terrorist organization responsible for dozens of kidnappings, suicide bombings, and other attacks, including the infamous Entebbe Hostage Crisis.
Even according to Fatah, the political party of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, Addameer and UAWC are affiliates of the PFLP. Addameer works to support Palestinian “political prisoners” convicted of security offenses. According to the U.S. Agency for International Development, UAWC is the PFLP’s agricultural extension.
UPWC is an official affiliate of Fatah and has a counterpart organization designated as a PFLP Women’s Union by the U.S. Agency for International Development. The group’s website claims normalization of ties with Israel is “treason,” and members support the “boycott of occupation in all forms.”
(Mohammed Abed/AFP via Getty Images)
The Israeli Minister of Defense reports that Al-Haq operates in support of the PFLP. Al-Haq’s website states that they seek to protect the rights of all Palestinians, “irrespective of the identity of the perpetrator.”
Claiming to protect children, DCI-P receives funds from the United Nations International Children’s Relief Fund. Many board members have close ties to the PFLP. For example, when DCI-P community leader Hashem Khader Abu Maria died during a violent protest in the West Bank, the PFLP released a statement claiming, “this true revolutionary comrade went to join the demonstration and joined the martyrs of Palestine, his blood shed at the hands of the occupier’s forces.”
The letter by Artists for Palestine claims, “The vital work of these six organizations to protect and empower Palestinians and hold Israel accountable for its gross human rights violations and apartheid regime of institutionalized racial discrimination precisely the work that Israel is trying to end.” The letter omits the “human rights” organizations’ proven connections to terror groups.
Other celebrities who signed the letter include:
- Game of Thrones actor Liam Cunningham
- Vagina Monologues actress Eve Ensler
- His Dark Materials author and atheist activist Philip Pullman
- Pink Floyd founder Roger Waters
- Life of Pi author Yann Martel
- The Crown actress Claire Foy
- Columbia University professor Jeffrey Sachs
- Talking Heads founder David Byrne
Ruffalo reiterated his support on Twitter, saying he is “proud” to be standing “against Israeli government repression.”
Proud to be one of 100+ artists, actors, and more calling on the international community to defend Palestinian human rights orgs against Israeli government repression. #StandWithThe6
In the US? Demand action from Congress now: https://t.co/yuSdvv5J3shttps://t.co/NGYTlWdEGh
— Mark Ruffalo (@MarkRuffalo) November 17, 2021
Some organizations hit back against the statement online, such as pro-Israel student group CAMERA on Campus, which wrote, “Perhaps you missed the part where the six groups have ties to an internationally recognized terrorist organization, proven by [NGO Monitor].”
Hi Mark,
Perhaps you missed the part where the six groups have ties to an internationally recognized terrorist organization, proven by @NGOmonitor.
Human rights groups and terrorist groups must not be intermixed.
Read for yourself:https://t.co/iHvv0awkKB https://t.co/lt9JUJd4l9
— CAMERA on Campus (@CAMERAonCampus) November 18, 2021
StopAntisemitism.org responded, “These aren’t the actions of Human Rights Groups but TERROR ORGS w/the goal of murdering JEWS!”
Many of the celebrities who signed the statement have made false statements about Israel before. For example, Sarandon incorrectly referred to Israel as an “apartheid” state in May. Gere visited Hebron, Israel, in 2017 and said it was “exactly what the old South was in America.” While other signatories have not admitted fault for spreading misconceptions about Israel, Ruffalo did apologize earlier this year after accusing Israel of committing a “genocide.”
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