‘Looking away was never a choice for me’: How Hollywood’s love affair with Israel turned sour

Once Israel could rely on Hollywood to have its reputation laundered, performing the role of a benign ally which shared the values and interests of the West.

However, a growing number of actors and prominent figures in film and TV are confronting the industry’s ongoing complicity with Israel's occupation and its actions in Gaza, which a consensus of experts and human rights groups have called a genocide.

More and more artists are using their platforms to speak about the plight of the Palestinians and have contributed to Israel’s cratering approval among western audiences.

In 2025, US-based organisation Film Workers for Palestine (FWP), established by a group of filmmakers the previous year, released a pledge to end complicity with the genocide in Gaza.