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DEARBORN, Michigan: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee kicked off its annual convention in Dearborn, Michigan, on Thursday by honoring Spain and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez for calling on Tuesday for full UN membership for Palestine.

The documentary “The Encampments” was also screened, exposing the lies and violence against pro-Palestine student protesters.

The annual convention, dubbed ArabCon, will feature celebrities, activists and elected officials who have stood up to the demonization of those in the US who support Palestinian rights and statehood, and who condemn Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

ADC Chairman Safa Rifka noted growing support for Palestinian freedom and an end to the genocide, citing the slew of countries that have recently recognized Palestine.

Sanchez’s call for full UN membership for Palestine “is more than ceremonial. It’s a reflection of Spain’s commitment to stand with justice,” Rifka told the gathering.

“The decision of Spanish officials to be with us here in Dearborn shows true commitment and respect for our community.

“At the moment when Spain is taking bold actions — from enforcing an arms embargo on Israel, to banning settlement products, to pledging to protect humanitarian convoys — welcoming a representative of Spain’s government … is profoundly meaningful.”

Representing Spain at the convention was Agustin Rebollo, a political counselor from the Spanish Embassy in Washington D.C.

The producers of “The Encampments” said New York Mayor Eric Adam’s crackdown on pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University was a principle factor in upending the city’s recent elections, giving pro-Palestine candidate Zohran Mamdani the Democratic primary election victory for mayor in July.

The documentary, produced by four-time Grammy Award-winning rapper Macklemore, challenged the false narrative that the student protests were antisemitic.

Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia graduate who was arrested in March and held for deportation before being ordered released in June by a judge, addressed the convention.

He told Arab News afterward that the documentary will help Americans “see past the propaganda” and “lies,” adding: “This documentary is very important to show what the movement was actually about. It’s about liberation, and dignity, and peace, not as it has been portrayed, with all these false allegations of antisemitism and violence.” 

He said: “The media is so against the student movement, but that doesn’t matter because most of the public don’t get their news from the mainstream media. They get it from social media.”

PARIS: A new open letter signed by more than 1,000 actors and film figures has denounced as “antisemitic” calls to boycott some Israeli film institutions over the war in Gaza, underlining growing tensions in the entertainment world.
The letter from a collective called the Creative Community For Peace and The Brigade accused the more than 8,000 people who have backed a boycott, including stars Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix, of “amplifying antisemitic propaganda.”
The biggest names behind the counter letter include Liev Schreiber (“Spotlight“) Mayim Bialik (“Young Sheldon“) and Sharon Osbourne, as well as top business figures such as the CEOs of Universal Music and FOX Entertainment Global, Bruce Resnikoff and Fernando Szew.
“Israeli film institutions are not government entities. They are often the loudest critics of government policy,” the letter claims, adding that boycotting was a form of “collective punishment.”
“We call on all our colleagues in the entertainment industry to reject this discriminatory and antisemitic boycott call that only adds another roadblock on the path to peace,” it said.
It also noted the difficulty in deciding which institutions should be boycotted because of their supposed “complicity” in war crimes or genocide.
The letter does not condemn the Israel’s ongoing siege of Gaza, which UN-mandated investigators determined earlier this month was a genocidal bid to “destroy the Palestinians.”
“If you want peace, call for the immediate release of the remaining (Israeli) hostages (in Gaza). Support filmmakers who create dialogue across communities. Stand against Hamas,” the counter letter added, referring to the Palestinian militant group.
From the music, film to publishing industries, growing numbers of Western artists are calling for a cultural boycott of Israel over the conduct of the Gaza war, hoping to emulate the success of the apartheid-era blockade of South Africa.
An open letter from a collective called Film Workers for Palestine, published on September 8, has gathered thousands of signatories who have pledged to cut ties with Israeli institutions such as festivals or production companies “implicated in genocide.”
The groups defines “implicated in genocide” as “whitewashing or justifying genocide and apartheid, and/or partnering with the government committing them.”