Count her in.
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Emma Stone is one of the latest Hollywood figures to sign a pledge not to “screen films, appear at, or otherwise work with” Israeli film institutions that are “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” Film Workers for Palestine published the pledge — which invokes the work of Filmmakers United Against Apartheid, the 1980s initiative co-founded by Jonathan Demme and Martin Scorsese in response to apartheid in South Africa — in a September 8 open letter with more than 1,000 initial signatories. The full list of names currently includes 3,000-plus actors, directors, and filmmakers, including Mark Ruffalo, Ayo Edebiri, Adam McKay, Aimee Lou Wood, Cynthia Nixon, Susan Sarandon, Javier Bardem, Yorgos Lanthimos, Jonathan Glazer, Lily Gladstone, John Early, Shaka King, and more.

Film Workers for Palestine clarified on its site that its boycott applies to “complicit” Israeli institutions, not Israeli individuals. (According to the pledge, examples of complicity include “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.”) The group said that multiple major film festivals in Israel continue to partner with the Israeli government. It added that “a vast majority of Israeli film production and distribution companies, sales agents, cinemas and other film institutions have never endorsed the full, internationally recognized rights of the Palestinian people,” though it notes that it views a “few” Israeli film entities as not complicit. “For best practices, we encourage you to seek guidelines set by Palestinian civil society,” a statement on the organization’s FAQ page recommends. “We also encourage film workers to ask questions and do their own research about any entity they plan to work with.”

The Israeli Film and TV Producers Association criticized the Film Workers for Palestine pledge as “misguided” and “shortsighted” in a statement to The Guardian. “The signatories of this petition are targeting the wrong people,” the statement read. “For decades, we Israeli artists, storytellers, and creators have been the primary voices allowing audiences to hear and witness the complexity of the conflict, including Palestinian narratives and criticism of Israeli state policies.” The statement suggested that those who added their names to the pledge are “undermining their own cause” and “attempting to silence” the Israeli producers’ group. “We will not allow this,” the statement said, “and will push back in our efforts to end violence and bring just peace to our region for the benefit of all.” Israel’s air and ground campaign against Hamas began October 7, 2023, and has since killed over 60,000 Palestinians, according to health authorities. Nearly a third of the dead are estimated to be under 18.

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