[Marxism] Edinburgh Film Festival Returns Israeli Sponsorship Money

[Jscotlive@xxxxxxx]

Ginnie Atkinson, Managing Director of the Edinburgh International Film  
Festival (EIFF) has confirmed that EIFF will not be taking Israeli Embassy 
money  to help fund the 2009 film festival. Atkinson was unwilling to admit 
EIFF 
was  influenced by Scottish PSC, or by the protest emails the EIFF has 
received since  Tuesday, and said that the decision was âa natural conclusion 
to 
having realised  that we had made a mistake in the first placeâ.  
Their decision follows the Scottish PSC call earlier today for a protest  
outside the Filmhouse in Edinburgh where the EIFF is based. Mention of the  
Israeli Embassy on the EIFFâs âHonour Boardâ was removed after Atkinson 
and 
the  EIFF admitted that âit was a mistake to accept the Â300 from the 
Israeli  Embassyâ. 
In response to the initial decision by the EIFF to accept Israeli 
government  sponsorship British filmmaker, Ken Loach, called the festival and 
requested that  they reconsider. When they refused, he issued the following 
statement: 
âIâm sure many film  makers will be as horrified as I am to learn that the 
Edinburgh International  Film Festival is accepting money from Israel.  
The massacres and state  terrorism in Gaza make this money unacceptable. 
With regret,  I must urge all who might consider visiting the festival to show 
their support  for the Palestinian nation, and stay awayâ  
George Galloway also issued a statement demanding that the money be  
returned. It reads: 
"If the film festival  wants to continue to enjoy an outstanding 
international reputation it will not  hesitate to return this tainted money to 
the 
Israeli embassy. I find it  astonishing that a spokesperson for the festival 
accused those of us who want  this money returned of âghettoisingâ 
film-makers. If thereâs a prize for satire  at the festival, contestants need 
to know 
that the result is a foregone  conclusion. It is Israel that is herding the 
Palestinian people into the ghetto  and, in the case of Gaza earlier this 
year, bombing to smithereens those it had  taken the precaution to lock in.  
âIf the  festival does not do the right thing â morally, and commercially 
â
 then no self  respecting artist or director should take part. Sense 
prevailed three years ago  over this issue. Iâm sure it will again.â  


________________________________________________
YOU MUST clip all extraneous text when replying to a message.
Send list submissions to: Marxism@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Set your options at: 
http://lists.econ.utah.edu/mailman/options/marxism/archive%40archives.econ.utah.edu