The Negev municipalities of Sderot and Be’er Sheva have surrendered to political pressure from the right and have prevented the screening of a movie in these cities that deals with the difficulties faced by the residents of the Gaza Strip. According to ACRI Chief Legal Counsel Dan Yakir, the screening of film in no way constitutes political activity. In fact, the film doesn’t even mention Israel. The Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI) has appealed to the two municipalities to lift the ban and permit the film to be screened.
Shivering in Gaza was screened by the Tel Aviv Cinemateque, but its presentation at the Sderot Cinemateque was cancelled following a campaign of text messages sent to the city’s mayor by right-wing activists. Following this, a similar campaign was waged in Be’er Sheva. On July 12, the day of the scheduled screening, the municipality’s legal adviser, Attorney Chaim Turkel, announced that he had revoked the city’s approval for the screening that had previously been granted to the Negev Coexistence Forum for Civil Equality.
Following a request by the Forum, the ACRI intervened and contacted the municipality to remind Attorney Turkel that, in the words of the Forum’s Executive Director Hannah Noach: “the movie contains no references to Israel, and no complaints or grievances are made against Israel. The movie deals only with unique methods of treatment in post-traumatic situations.” ACRI Attorney Yakir added that: “This is an illegal and unreasonable order that violates the freedom of expression and the right of the Negev Coexistence Forum to conduct cultural and social activities.”
The Negev Coexistence Forum was established 18 years ago to serve as a framework for cooperation between Jews and Arabs. More than nine years ago, when Be’er Sheva’s Mayor Danilovich was then serving as deputy mayor, he allocated a municipal shelter to be used by the Forum to conduct its activities. According to the Forum, the claim against the screening is baseless, and it is absolutely clear that the campaign to ban the film’s screening was not initiated by residents of the city, but by outside right-wing activists.
