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Vanessa Redgrave slams Israeli film boycott

October 7, 2009 14:28
Vanessa Redgrave: letter supports Israeli celebration at Toronto festival

ByJessica Elgot, Jessica Elgot

1 min read

British actress Vanessa Redgrave has denounced the artists who urged organisers of the Toronto Film Festival to drop a celebration of Tel Aviv.

Ms Redgrave, 72, is an unlikely defender of Israel, she is known as a fierce critic of the country and is a supporter of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation.

The Oscar-winning actress has spoken out in support of the Palestinian cause in the past and said in 2007 that unless Israel totally withdrew from the Palestinian territories “the world will be in terrible, terrible trouble.”

But she has written a letter, co-signed by artist Julian Schnabel and playwright Martin Sherman, to the New York Review of Books defending the Toronto Film Festival’s choice to showcase films about Tel Aviv.