The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has banned an award-winning Palestinian film from their competition because they assert that Palestine is not a country 'according to the UN.' Ali Abunimah and Benjamin Doherty point out the inherent hypocrisy in this:In 2001, AMPAS accepted an entry from Hong Kong, even though that former British colony is now an administrative region of China, with no status at the U.N. In 2000, the film Solomon And Gaenor, a love story about a Yiddish-speaking Jewish man and a Welsh girl, was a finalist for the Best Foreign Film award, representing Wales. Wales is not an independent state.Palestine, by contrast, has maintained an officially recognized permanent observer mission at the U.N. for decades and dozens of countries have recognized the state of Palestine and maintain diplomatic relations with it at the ambassadorial level.
This raises the question: Is there a double standard to keep Palestine out of the Oscars? [more]
Post a Comment