Western Artists' Big No to the Zionist Regime

TEHRAN (Defapress) - In recent days, we have witnessed reports that over 1,500 cinema and television figures, by issuing a joint statement, have resolutely rejected any form of cooperation with institutions, festivals, and projects associated with the Zionist regime. This action can be considered a coordinated and organized move on the path of the cultural boycott of the Israeli regime.

This move by the artists against the Zionist regime can be seen as an action by the cinematic community, serving as a soft power battlefield against this occupying and illegitimate regime. This is precisely why we observe that the Zionist regime has always attempted to use cultural and media tools to whitewash its crimes.

Given this crucial matter, it is important to note that film festivals, joint film productions, and financial support for international projects are part of Tel Aviv's soft war to alter the narrative about Palestine. The artists' opposition to such collaborations essentially acts as a barrier against the normalization of the Zionist regime's image.

Indeed, the artists' "no" to the Zionist regime can be seen as a delegitimization of the occupying and illegitimate regime. We must state that a cultural boycott means delegitimizing the Zionist regime in the public opinion of the people in the region and the world. Accordingly, when well-known artistic figures refuse to cooperate with the Israeli regime, it sends a message to the world that Tel Aviv holds no place in the cultural and human conscience of the global community.

On the other hand, the issuance of the statement by 1,500 cinema and television activists, declaring non-cooperation with the Zionist regime, once again illustrates the connection between art and social responsibility in the best possible way. The signatories of the statement have emphasized that they cannot remain silent in the face of genocide, apartheid, and occupation.

Of course, we must say that this stance shows that art is not separate from politics, and an artist is not merely a creator of visual beauty but is also the voice of the public conscience. In truth, the action of these 1500 cinema and television activists reflects the link between the social responsibility of artists and their commitment to justice and the importance of observing human rights in the world.

Now, the important issue here is the message of these 1,500 cinema and television artists to the global public opinion and the West. Because this boycott is not just a message to the Zionist regime, it is also an unambiguous message to the Arab and Western countries that continue to move towards normalizing relations with this occupying and illegitimate regime.

But in fact, it must be said that these artists, by issuing their statement, have shown that culture can lead politics, and in many instances, the pressure from artists on global public opinion can force governments to retreat or reconsider their policies. Accordingly, it is predicted that these 1500 artists, through their collective action, can exert significant and considerable pressure on the Zionist regime.

On the other hand, although this action by the cinema and television artists is not the beginning of the path, it could become a turning point in the cultural boycott of the Zionist regime because the expansion of such movements in cinema, music, theater, and literature could ultimately thwart the Israeli regime's projects to whitewash its image. Accordingly, the more prominent these boycotts become, the more Tel Aviv will be recognized globally as an isolated and unacceptable regime.

Finally, it can be said that the non-cooperation of 1,500 cinema and television activists with the Zionist regime is not merely an individual decision but is a declaration of cultural war against the Zionist regime; a war that continues not with weapons and blood, but with image, narrative, and art.