Arab director of Oscar film sparks Israeli outrage

[Scurrilous]

<snip>

"The Arab co-director of an Israeli film nominated for an Academy Award has scandalised the Jewish state by saying that he does not see himself as representing the country at Sunday evening's awards ceremony.

The film "Ajami", directed by Israeli Arab Scandar Copti and his Jewish colleague Yaron Shani is a contender in the best foreign film category.

It portrays Jews and Arabs in the mixed Ajami district of south Tel Aviv, divided not only by religion but also by clan and ethnicity yet thrown together in the neighbourhood's criminal underworld.

"I am not the Israeli team and I am not representing Israel," Copti told Israel's Channel 2 TV in an interview from Hollywood Sunday ahead of the awards ceremony.

"I cannot represent a country that does not represent me," he added.

The remarks brought howls of outrage from cabinet ministers, legislators and a member of the Israeli Film Academy."

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hJmiYUGKy8eS7jlhatwWLL5Bet4g

[Lerkfish]

1. but is he incorrect?

does israel represent him?

so why the outrage?

[cali]

4. well, he did take state funding for his picture

not exactly consistent with this stance.

[IndianaGreen]

6. I smell a 'talking point' at work here, since you are the second poster to raise this point

Are you guys capable of original thinking?

[cali]

7. lol. it's called reading the article, honey.

and no place but is some delusional mind could I possibly be assumed to be a pro-Israel rah rah type. Just how is opposing the occupation, thinking apartheid is, if not a perfect comparison, a fair one, and considering the treatment of Gazans criminal, consistent in your little head with someone who spouts pro-Israel talking points. do elaborate, genius. I'm just on tenterhooks awaiting your ever so brilliant conclusions.

[azurnoir]

9. well his partner is an Israeli Jew perhaps that is how

the funding was accomplished and accepted

[Chulanowa]

11. Sure it is

He pays his taxes, he takes from the state to show the problems within that state.

If he were a Chinese Uyghur and doing this, you'd be giving him a thumbs up, I'm sure.

[IndianaGreen]

2. Those that support Israel's apartheid cannot feign outrage at the blowback

I put Mr. Scandar's political statement on the same moral and ethical plane as that taken at the 1968 Mexico Olympics by two African-American athletes that gave the black power salute as the national anthem was being played. Uber-patriots may have hated it, but the men were making a legitimate political point, just as Mr. Scandar has.

As in the story below illustrates, Israeli-Arabs will understand!

1968: Black athletes make silent protest

Two black American athletes have made history at the Mexico Olympics by staging a silent protest against racial discrimination.

Tommie Smith and John Carlos, gold and bronze medallists in the 200m, stood with their heads bowed and a black-gloved hand raised as the American National Anthem played during the victory ceremony.

The pair both wore black socks and no shoes and Smith wore a black scarf around his neck. They were demonstrating against continuing racial discrimination of black people in the United States.

As they left the podium at the end of the ceremony they were booed by many in the crowd.

'Black America will understand'

At a press conference after the event Tommie Smith, who holds seven world records, said: "If I win I am an American, not a black American. But if I did something bad then they would say 'a Negro'. We are black and we are proud of being black.

"Black America will understand what we did tonight."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/october/17/newsid_3535000/3535348.stm

[azurnoir]

8. Thank you n/t

[eyl]

3. Apparently he considered himself sufficiently Israeli

to accept government funding

[IndianaGreen]

5. Israeli Arabs pay taxes, no?

:shrug:

[eyl]

15. And so?

paying taxes entitles you to various things, but guaranteed state funding for your film (or vice versa) ins't necessarily one of them.

More to the point, if indeed he does not consider his film to be Israeli, it's hypocritical of him to accept state funding for it, regardless of whether he is technically eligible for it.

This reminds me of the anarcho-capitalists who champion the dismantlement of government - all while taking advantage and enjoying the benefits said government brings them (of course, they have sveral other problems which don't apply here, in particular the fact that their philosophy is fundamentally stupid, but I digress)

[shaayecanaan]

17. So if I was a Greek Cypriot living in northern Cyprus...

and I accepted some kind of benefit from the Turkish state (such as a tax rebate) - does that mean I accept the legitimacy of the Turkish occupation?

[azurnoir]

10. The Usual hyperbole from the Israeli

The person who directed the film with Israeli funding may cover himself with Hamas flags tonight. If the film wins an Oscar, this may be a Pyrrhic victory for the State of Israel," Israeli news site Y-Net quoted Hershkowitz as saying.

Mr Copti said nothing about Hamas or supporting Hamas period, but this and all of the faux outrage about where Mr Copti got his funding case if you read the article you "realize" that Mr Copti was hardly all alone in this enterprise does make a case for diverting attention as to the reasons why he may have taken this stance

[Donald Ian Rankin]

12. Good for him.

Israel has made it explicitly clear that it is a Jewish state, not a state for all its citizens, and it needs to be reminded of what this means.

Arab Israelis pay taxes, and as such they have as much right to state funding as anyone else, but the state of Israel has no right to expect any loyalty from them.

[shaayecanaan]

14. Good post nt

[ConsAreLiars]

13. "Israeli Outrage." Really?

I doubt there is much outrages among Palestinians still living within Israel's most recent borders, and to treat them as irrelevant and insignificant, well, that's both the way it is in practical terms and as bigoted as defining any state according the the the religious identification of it's best-armed and most powerful cult or tribe.

[oberliner]

16. "Israeli media have been rooting vigorously for Ajami"

AFP creating the headline and structure the information in the story as they see fit.

Perhaps an article could have been written about how vigorously the Israeli media has been rooting for the film.

[Ken Burch]

19. Perhaps the "vigorous rooting" was the problem

Copti may have sensed that an Oscar for the film would be used by the Israeli right to say "see...we don't treat Israeli Arabs badly...and this proves we're right to continue the Occupation" or something along those lines.

Reasonable assumption on his part, I'd say.

[oberliner]

20. Or they were just supporting a fellow countryman?

Like Americans with the Olympics.

[Ken Burch]

21. The only possible comparable situation there would have been if some white Americans had argued

That Jim Thorpe's gold medals proved that the Trail of Tears and Kit Carson's poison and smallpox blankets weren't really THAT bad.
Or that those of Jesse Owens made up for slavery and Jim Crow.

[oberliner]

22. So far off base here

Israelis root for fellow Israelis, like Americans root for fellow Americans, or Iraqis root for fellow Iraqis.

Just like with sports. Doesn't have anything to do with anything you are talking about.

[Ken Burch]

24. The point is, Copti probably sensed that he'd be used by the Israeli hardliners

and can we say for sure he wouldn't have been?

n/t.

[Dick Dastardly]

23. Or more probably as Oberliner said

"Or they were just supporting a fellow countryman?
Like Americans with the Olympics."

This was not politicized except by him bringing politics into it. Israelis were just supporting an Israeli made film.

Yours and some others comments are more comparable to those(Reverand Al for example) who play in identity politics, race cards and anything else that brings or invents controversy where none exists.

[Douglas Carpenter]

25. playing identity politics? Israel claims not to be Copti's state even though he is a citizen

In fact in Israel it is considered borderline treasonous to advocate the position that Israel should be a state for all of its citizens. Now that is identity politics!

[bemildred]

18. Yawn. nt