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Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) has become the second Hollywood studio to come out against the boycott of Israeli film institutions backed by thousands of industry figures. 

In a statement on Thursday (Oct 16), a WBD spokesperson said the media giant “is committed to fostering an inclusive and respectful environment for its employees, collaborators, and other stakeholders. Our policies prohibit discrimination of any kind, including discrimination based on race, religion, national origin or ancestry.” 

“We believe a boycott of Israeli film institutions violates our policies,” the statement continued. “While we respect the rights of individuals and groups to express their views and advocate for causes, we will continue to align our business practices with the requirements of our policies and the law.” 

The move comes a month after Paramount condemned the boycott pledge, issuing a statement that said in part: “We do not agree with recent efforts to boycott Israeli filmmakers. Silencing individual creative artists based on their nationality does not promote better understanding or advance the cause of peace.” 

The boycott has also been rejected in an open letter from more than 1,200 industry figures, including Liev Schreiber, Mayim Bialik and Knives Out franchise producer Ram Bergman. 

Organised by the Film Workers For Palestine organisation, the boycott proposal began gaining industry support when 1,300 signatories – among them Olivia Colman, Yorgos Lanthimos, Javier Bardem, Mark Ruffalo, Ken Loach and Ava DuVernay – pledged to refuse to work with Israeli film institutions “implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people”. The number of signatories had reportedly risen to 5,000 by the end of September. 

Last week, WBD reportedly rebuffed an initial takeover bid from Paramount, whose $8bn merger with David Ellison’s Skydance Media closed in August.

 

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