Spanish filmmakers sign statement in support of Palestine, demonstrate against genocide in Gaza
SANAA, Sept. 27 (YPA) – The Cinema Working Group with Palestine for Culture, to End the Genocide, issued a statement signed by more than 500 Spanish filmmakers, in which they affirmed that “the systematic violence to which the Palestinian people are subjected affects all sectors: health workers, journalists, artists, athletes, academics, human rights activists, entire families, and children.”
The statement pointed out that the world of cinema has not been spared from this violence, citing the case of the activist who collaborated on the Oscar-winning film “No Other Land,” who was targeted and killed for giving testimony about what is happening in Palestine. The filmmakers appealed to the Basque Regional Government, the Spanish government, and the European Union, demanding that pressure be put on “Israel” to immediately halt the genocide, return the stolen lands, and adhere to what has been ratified by international law.
The statement added: “We demand the expulsion of Israel from the United Nations after its failure to fulfill its obligations, and the cessation of military trade by the Spanish state, which has imported more than a billion euros since the beginning of the war of extermination.” The statement also pointed to the complicity of companies in the Basque region, accusing them of participating in the extermination, such as the train manufacturing company “KAF”, which is working to build railway lines in East Jerusalem to connect it to the settlements established after the expulsion of more than 14,000 Palestinians and the demolition of thousands of homes.
The statement, signed by more than 500 Spanish filmmakers, including Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Pedro Almodóvar, Antonio de la Torre, and Carmen Macchi, concluded: “We demand that the Basque government, which owns 3 percent of the company’s capital, not adopt a policy of turning a deaf ear to Francesca Albanese’s report, which described the train project as ethnic cleansing.”
The statement called on the company to listen to the voices of the thousands of people and organizations calling on it, saying: “KAF, get off the apartheid train.”