Israeli actress reveals protesters’ ignorance at film festival
At the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, Israeli actress, author and activist Noa Tishby chose some revealing questions to ask anti-Israel protesters waving flags and holding banners outside the venue.
Israeli-American actress, producer and activist Noa Tishby. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
The 10-day film festival annually draws more than 100,000 people, including Hollywood celebrities.
A young man wearing gold sunglasses offered the “from the river to the sea” chant, prompting Tishby to ask what river he meant. Caught off-guard, he said, “Um, uhh. I forgot the river’s name.”
He then stated: “But the sea is the Red Sea.”
He also told her that “the occupation is illegal. Even chocolate is not allowed. Wedding dresses are not allowed” (eliciting an eye roll from Tishby). “It’s been that way for 15 years.”
The slogan, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” is a call for a Palestinian state from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, encompassing not only Judea and Samaria but the entire state of Israel.
Tishby posed the same question to a young woman in a hooded red coat and a keffiyeh. “So where is the river and the sea that everyone’s chanting about?”
Carrying a sign with a watermelon on it, she responded, “I think it’s the Black Sea and the river on the other side of Gaza.” She acknowledged getting the poster from someone else.
“Do you know what it means?” asked Tishby.
“No,” the woman responded.
Tishby served as special envoy for combating antisemitism and the delegitimization of Israel until she was removed in April 2023 after just a year in the role.
She interviewed a young woman in a purple parka who proclaimed that “the Palestinian genocide,” is “just awful.” Tishby asked her about the hostages kidnapped by Hamas.
“Unfortunately, I’m not that educated about that part,” responded the protester.
An older woman insisted that Hamas wasn’t in the Gaza Strip. When Tishby asked her if there are hostages in Gaza, she replied, “Oh, I don’t know,” and looked away.
Tishby’s findings align with recent research that showed only 47% of students who supported the protest slogan could identify which river and sea it referenced.
The festival runs through January 28.
TPS
