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Over 1,000 Literary Industry Figures Reject Efforts to Boycott Jewish, Israeli Authors
Writer, director, and executive producer David Mamet takes part in a panel discussion of HBO’s “Phil Spector” during the Winter Press Tour for the Television Critics Association in Pasadena, California. Photo: Reuters
More than 1,000 pro-Israel figures in the literary and entertainment industries — including authors, publishers, writers, and journalists — signed an open letter criticizing the thousands of authors who recently vowed to boycott Israeli publishers and institutions in solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
On Monday, the Palestine Festival of Literature published an open letter in which initially more than 1,000 authors pledged to not work with Israeli institutions — including publishers, festivals, literary agencies, and publications — that are “complicit in violating Palestinian rights,” operating “discriminatory policies and practices,” or “whitewashing and justifying Israel’s occupation, apartheid, or genocide.” Signatories included Sally Rooney, Arundhati Roy, and Rachel Kushner. All three have been outspoken critics of Israel and in 2021, Rooney refused to sell the Hebrew translation rights of her third novel, “Beautiful World, Where Are You,” to an Israeli publisher in support of the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement.
The anti-Israel signatories of the open letter claimed Israeli cultural institutions “have been crucial in obfuscating, disguising, and artwashing the dispossession and oppression of millions of Palestinians for decades.” They said Israeli cultural institutions that have never publicly recognized the “inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in international law” will also be boycotted. Among the signatories were winners of the Nobel Prize, Booker Prize, Pulitzer Prize, and National Book Award. As of Tuesday, over 5,000 authors and professionals in the publishing world have signed the open letter.
In response, the nonprofit and pro-Israel entertainment industry organization Creative Community For Peace (CCFP) published its own open letter on Tuesday that was signed by more than 1,000 members of the literary and entertainment industries. The open letter described boycotts against authors and those who work with them as “illiberal and dangerous.” It further explained that regardless of ones personal views about the ongoing Israel-Hamas war raging in Gaza, “boycotts of creatives and creative institutions simply create more divisiveness and foment further hatred.” The signatories also included winners of the Nobel Prize, Booker Prize, and Pulitzer Prize — such as David Mamet, Herta Müller, and Howard Jacobson — as well as entertainment figures including actresses Mayim Bialik, Debra Messing, and Julianna Margulies and musicians Ozzy Osbourne and Gene Simmons.
“We continue to be shocked and disappointed to see members of the literary community harass and ostracize their colleagues because they don’t share a one-sided narrative in response to the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust,” CCFP’s open letter stated, referring to Hamas’s massacre across southern Israel last Oct. 7. “The instincts and motivations behind cultural boycotts, in practice and throughout history, are directly in opposition to the liberal values most writers hold sacred.”
“In fact, we believe that writers, authors, and books — along with the festivals that showcase them — bring people together, transcend boundaries, broaden awareness, open dialogue, and can affect positive change,” the letter additionally noted. “We believe that anyone who works to subvert this spirit merely adds yet another roadblock to freedom, justice, equality, and peace that we all desperately desire … We call on our friends and colleagues worldwide to join us in expressing their support for Israeli and Jewish publishers, authors, and all book festivals, publishers, and literary agencies that refuse to capitulate to censorship based on identity or litmus tests.”
Jacobson, a Booker Prize-winning author, said that art is “the antithesis to a political party.” He explained: “It is a meeting place, not an echo chamber. Art explores, discovers, differs, questions, and surprises. Precisely where a door should be forever open, the boycotters slam it closed.”
Lee Child, who is the author of the “Jack Reacher” novel series, believes “politically targeting” members of the literary industry because of their nationality “is misguided.”
“At a time when dialogue is paramount and when compromise can lead to peace, castigation and blanket boycotts are counterproductive,” he added. “The written word, and the dissemination of it, must always be protected, especially in times of heightened tension. And to achieve peace, we must humanize one another and build bridges across communities through the open exchange of ideas. Literature allows for that. Boycotts hinder it.”
Philosopher and author Bernard-Henri Lévy, who also signed the CCFP open letter, noted that while he has always been supportive of a “debate, clash of opinions, even the confrontation of convictions,” efforts to boycott Israeli literary figures and institutions is “pure antisemitism, anti-democratic, and dangerous.”
“The goal of this boycott is the delegitimization of the only Jewish state in the world — Israel. It is a moral obscenity and must be firmly condemned by all free-thinking and democratic citizens of the world,” he said.
Author and historian Simon Sebag Montefiore added, “The resort to witch hunt is always dangerous and ugly especially when the inquisitors are writers. History is full of examples of self-righteous cadres of self-appointed judges who tried to enforce their version of purity by excluding people. Whatever one thinks of this tragic Middle Eastern war, who judges who is good, who bad? Once started where would it stop? Who is pure enough?”
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Brooklyn Nets Select Israeli Basketball Players Ben Saraf, Danny Wolf in NBA Draft
The opening tip between the Brooklyn Nets and Washington Wizards, at Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York, Dec. 13, 2020. Photo: Wendell Cruz-USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect
In a landmark night for Israeli basketball, Ben Saraf and Danny Wolf were selected in the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets, marking the first time two Israeli players have been drafted in the same year.
Saraf, a 19-year-old guard known for his explosive athleticism and creative playmaking, was taken with the 26th pick. A standout with Maccabi Rishon LeZion and a rising star on Israel’s youth national teams, Saraf gained international attention with his electrifying scoring and commanding court presence.
With the 27th pick, the Nets selected 7-foot center Danny Wolf out of the University of Michigan. Wolf, who holds dual US-Israeli citizenship and represented Israel at the U-20 level, brings a versatile skill set, including sharp passing, perimeter shooting, and a strong feel for the game. After his name was called, Wolf grew emotional in an on-air interview, crediting his family for helping him reach the moment.
“I have the two greatest brothers in the world; I have an unbelievable sister who I love,” Wolf said. “They all helped me get to where I am today, and they’re going to help me get to where I am going to go in this league.”
The historic double-pick adds to the growing wave of Israeli presence on the NBA stage, led by Portland Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija, who just completed a breakout 2024–25 season. After being traded to Portland last summer, Avdija thrived as a starter, averaging 16.9 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 3.8 assists. In March alone, he posted 23.4 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 5.2 assists per game, including two triple-doubles.
“I don’t think I’ve played like this before … I knew I had it in me. But I’m not really thinking about it. I’m just playing. I’m just free,” Avdija told reporters in March
With Saraf and Wolf joining Avdija, Israel’s basketball pipeline has reached unprecedented visibility. Israeli President Isaac Herzog called the moment “a national celebration for sports and youth,” and Israeli sports commentators widely hailed the night as “historic.”
Both Saraf and Wolf are expected to suit up for the Nets’ Summer League team in July. As the two rookies begin their NBA journey, they join a growing generation of Israeli athletes proving that their game belongs on basketball’s biggest stage.
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Iran Denies Any Meeting With US Next Week, Foreign Minister Says
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi attends a press conference following a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia, April 18, 2025. Photo: Tatyana Makeyeva/Pool via REUTERS
Iran currently has no plan to meet with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday in an interview on state TV, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s statement that Washington planned to have talks with Iran next week.
The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran was assessing whether talks with the US were in its interest, following five previous rounds of negotiations that were cut short by Israel and the US attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The US and Israel said the strikes were meant to curb Iran’s ability to create nuclear weapons, while Iran says its nuclear program is solely geared toward civilian use.
Araqchi said the damages to nuclear sites “were not little” and that relevant authorities were figuring out the new realities of Iran’s nuclear program, which he said would inform Iran’s future diplomatic stance.
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Ireland Becomes First European Nation to Advance Ban on Trade With Israeli Settlements
A pro-Hamas demonstration in Ireland led by nationalist party Sinn Fein. Photo: Reuters/Clodagh Kilcoyne
Ireland has become the first European nation to push forward legislation banning trade with Israeli communities in the West Bank and East Jerusalem — an effort officials say is meant “to address the horrifying situation” in the Gaza Strip.
On Wednesday, Irish Foreign Affairs and Trade Minister Simon Harris announced that the legislation has already been approved by the government and will now move to the parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade for pre-legislative scrutiny.
“Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza,” Harris said during a press conference.
The Irish diplomat also told reporters he hopes the “real benefit” of the legislation will be to encourage other countries to follow suit, “because it is important that every country uses every lever at its disposal.”
Today Ireland becomes the first country in Europe to bring forward legislation to ban trade with the Occupied Palestinian Territories.
Ireland is speaking up and speaking out against the genocidal activity in Gaza.
Every country must pull every lever at its disposal. pic.twitter.com/Z4RTjqntEY— Simon Harris TD (@SimonHarrisTD) June 24, 2025
Joining a growing number of EU member states aiming to curb Israel’s defensive campaign against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, Ireland’s decision comes after a 2024 advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) declared Israel’s presence in the West Bank and East Jerusalem illegal.
The ICJ ruled that third countries must avoid trade or investment that supports “the illegal situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”
Once implemented, the law will criminalize the importation of goods from Israeli settlements into Ireland, empowering customs officials to inspect, seize, and confiscate any such shipments.
“The situation in Palestine remains a matter of deep public concern,” Harris said. “I have made it consistently clear that this government will use all levers at its disposal to address the horrifying situation on the ground and to contribute to long-term efforts to achieve a sustainable peace on the basis of the two-state solution.”
“Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory are illegal and threaten the viability of the two-state solution,” the Irish diplomat continued. “This is the longstanding position of the European Union and our international partners. Furthermore, this is the clear position under international law.”
Harris also urged the EU to comply with the ICJ’s ruling by taking a more decisive and “adequate response” regarding imports from Israeli settlements.
“This is an issue that I will continue to press at EU level, and I reiterated my call for concrete proposals from the European Commission at the Foreign Affairs Council this week,” he said.
Last week, Ireland and eight other EU member states — Finland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden — called on the European Commission to draft proposals for how EU countries can halt trade and imports with Israeli settlements, in line with obligations set out by the ICJ.
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar condemned the latest move by European countries, calling it “shameful” and a misguided attempt to undermine Israel while it faces “existential” threats from Iran and its proxies, including Hamas.
“It is regrettable that even when Israel is fighting an existential threat which is in Europe’s vital interest — there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession,” the top Israeli diplomat said in a post on X.
It is regrettable that even when Israel fighting an existential threat which is in Europe vital interest – there are those who can’t resist their anti-Israeli obsession.
Shameful! https://t.co/lxm9qm8sM1— Gideon Sa’ar | גדעון סער (@gidonsaar) June 19, 2025
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