{"id":248804,"date":"2026-01-20T22:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/248804\/"},"modified":"2026-01-20T22:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-01-20T22:18:10","slug":"the-battle-for-israels-red-carpet-post-oct-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/248804\/","title":{"rendered":"The Battle for Israel\u2019s Red Carpet, Post\u2013Oct. 7"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Protesters overlooking the red-carpet entrance of the Israeli Film Awards at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Dec. 30, 2025. (Photo credit: Orit Arfa via JNS)<\/p>\n

Orit Arfa | JNS<\/p>\n

At the outdoor entrance to Jerusalem\u2019s International Convention Center \u2014 convenient for the artsy types arriving from Tel Aviv by train \u2014 roughly 200 protesters gathered on Dec. 30, with bullhorns and signs to protest the national Israel Film Awards<\/a> ceremony about to take place inside. The crowd, in non-red carpet attire, consisted largely of filmmakers and aspiring ones.<\/p>\n

Students, including from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and the Sam Spiegel Film and Television School, took turns on the bullhorn, passionately shouting phrases such as, \u201cYou\u2019re ruining my future,\u201d \u201cFilm is the pride of Israel\u201d and \u201cThis ceremony is bullying.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some mildly harassed guests at the entrance fence with chants of \u201cShame on you\u201d as security personnel scanned their digital invitations.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Accompanied by his wife, Israeli Minister of Culture and Sports Miki Zohar talks to the press at the Israeli Film Awards at the International Convention Center, Jerusalem, Dec. 30, 2025. (Courtesy via JNS)<\/p>\n

Who Are Israeli Cinema\u2019s Gatekeepers?<\/p>\n

The Israel Film Awards were founded by Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar as an alternative to the Ophir Awards, the long-standing ceremony run by the Israel Academy of Film and Television, which last year awarded Best Film to \u201cThe Sea,\u201d making it Israel\u2019s automatic official submission to the Academy Awards. The film tells the story of a 12-year-old Palestinian boy who dreams of seeing the Mediterranean.<\/p>\n

Viewing the Ophir Awards<\/a> as representing a politically insular and elitist film community, Zohar withdrew state funding from the ceremony in September 2025, diverting the funds to the new, state-sponsored event, reportedly costing an estimated 2.5 million shekels, nearly $800,000.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe time has come to liberate cinema from politics and creators from the need to appease all those who do not seek the best interests of the State of Israel and the IDF soldiers,\u201d Zohar said in his opening remarks to a crowd inside matching the size of protesters outside.<\/p>\n

The audience included a visibly religious contingent not typically associated with Israel\u2019s film industry. \u201cUnder my watch, Israeli taxpayers\u2019 money will not fund pro-Palestinian works that earn applause abroad at the expense of IDF soldiers, or that promote antisemitic blood libels against Israel and its citizens,\u201d Zohar said.<\/p>\n

Winners received 100,000 shekels (more than $30,000) each. They included films such as \u201cBurning Man and Pink Lady,\u201d among other titles largely unfamiliar to international audiences and the Jewish Diaspora, unlike beloved Israeli television shows such as \u201cFauda\u201d and \u201cShtisel.\u201d<\/p>\n

The event itself ran like a typical awards show, with actress Moran Atias serving as emcee and a live orchestral ensemble accompanying the musical interludes. But the ceremony nearly collapsed when several nominees threatened to boycott the new awards, amid reports that some industry insiders would blacklist anyone who participated.<\/p>\n

In response, Zohar threatened to cancel public film funding \u2014 estimated at roughly 130 million shekels (about $41 million) annually. The boycott threat dissipated shortly thereafter.<\/p>\n

As the ceremony began, protesters moved their chants to a balcony overlooking a red carpet marked more by controversy than celebration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re protesting our ability to say what we want in our films,\u201d said actress and filmmaker Hilla Mann, among the protesters. \u201cEven if a film tells a Palestinian story, it has a right to exist.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The start of the Israeli Film Awards at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Dec. 30, 2025. (Courtesy via JNS)<\/p>\n

Torn Between Their Own Country and the World<\/p>\n

Filmmakers would not be formally forbidden from telling pro-Palestinian narratives; they just would be less likely to receive public funds. For many, this distinction is only academic: Without public support, these movies simply won\u2019t get made, at least not by Israelis.<\/p>\n

Unlike in the United States, Israel\u2019s film industry is not dictated by the free market. Much like their European counterparts, Israelis rely heavily on public funding. With a small domestic market, public support is often existential.<\/p>\n

Israel\u2019s Film Law, passed in 1999 and implemented in the early 2000s, established the Israel Film Council to ensure funding for Israeli cinema as a means of shaping national culture. But without a large consumer base or marketing budgets capable of catapulting films to popular success, international film festivals have often served as the primary road to recognition, legitimacy and prestige.<\/p>\n

These festivals, however, have long been associated with narratives critical of Israel and its policies toward the Palestinians. A recent example is \u201cNo Other Land,\u201d a European-funded Israeli-Palestinian documentary on a Palestinian village in Judea and Samaria that won last year\u2019s Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film.<\/p>\n

Since Oct. 7, 2023, out of psychological, creative and national necessity, the Israeli film industry has shifted organically toward productions dealing with the traumatic fallout and portrayal of that horrific day. At the same time, it finds itself squeezed from both sides: tightened government purse strings at home and a global arthouse market increasingly hostile to Israeli narratives.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn these circuits, it so happens that very specific stories were picked up over the years \u2014 stories aligned with how Israel is perceived by this milieu,\u201d said Tchelet Semel, a producer who served as cultural attach\u00e9 at Israel\u2019s Los Angeles Consulate as well as the director of film and TV in North America for Israel\u2019s Foreign Ministry. \u201cSo Israeli filmmakers are in a very tough spot right now \u2014 between a rock and a hard place.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aligning Israeli cinema more closely with the Israeli government, particularly the Netanyahu government, critics argue, risks further isolating filmmakers internationally.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will make our lives more difficult on the international scene,\u201d said Danna Stern, a former senior executive at YES television in Israel, now a Berlin-based producer whose recent works include the \u201cSupernova\u201d documentary about the music festival massacre on Oct. 7, 2023. \u201cIt automatically equates content with politics.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Israeli Model Versus the American Model<\/p>\n

Lior Sasson, managing director of the Israeli Film and TV Academy between 2021 and 2024, does not believe Zohar\u2019s reforms are necessarily intended to enforce ideological conformity so much as to encourage films with broader popular appeal \u2014 comedies and feel-good dramas. Part of Zohar\u2019s reforms includes prioritizing projects with the potential for commercial success.<\/p>\n

Subsidizing ticket sales, Sasson said, would be a more market-friendly way to reward films that resonate with audiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have Israeli Film Day (Yom HaKolnoa), and tickets cost 10 shekels, the cinemas are packed,\u201d he said. At full theater price, he added, Israeli films simply can\u2019t compete with mass-marketed Hollywood blockbusters or Disney releases.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, the ceremony went ahead without major disruptions. A few winners sent proxies to accept their awards, citing illness as an excuse for their absence. Even those who had considered boycotting the ceremony struck a conciliatory tone, offering diplomatic rebukes of Zohar. Many called for national unity, expressed gratitude to the IDF, and voiced hope for the return of the last hostage.<\/p>\n

Veteran filmmaker Shula Spiegel, a multiple Ophir laureate and producer on Apple TV\u2019s series titled \u201cTehran,\u201d now in its third season, received the Lifetime Achievement Award.<\/p>\n

\u201cMr. Minister, good art depends on the freedom to create,\u201d she said in her acceptance speech. \u201cCreators need a safety net that cannot coexist with the fear that their freedom to think, to speak, to express \u2014 and yes, also to criticize \u2014 will be taken away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several interviewees drew comparisons to U.S. President Donald Trump. As president, Trump repeatedly proposed eliminating the National Endowment for the Arts, long associated with left-leaning causes, though Congress ultimately preserved its funding. More recently, under the leadership of Richard Grenell, the Kennedy Center has moved away from explicitly \u201cwoke\u201d programming in favor of classic repertoire and pro-American and Christian-friendly works.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a big compliment if my work is seen like Donald Trump\u2019s,\u201d Zohar told JNS before the ceremony. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to create something for all the people of Israel \u2014 not just a small part of the country. This ceremony will represent everyone, regardless of political opinion.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Protesters overlooking the red-carpet entrance of the Israeli Film Awards at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem, Dec.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":248805,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[437,85,46,132955,43],"class_list":{"0":"post-248804","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-israel","8":"tag-arts","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-jns","12":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248804","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=248804"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/248804\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/248805"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=248804"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=248804"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=248804"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}