The Israeli Consulate's past financial support of Frameline, the acclaimed and long-running LGBT film festival, touched off a dustup in the Bay Area Reporter's letters to the editor. The calls by some LGBT filmmakers and other activists for a "cultural boycott" of this year's festival is misguided because it holds Frameline responsible for the government of Israel. We stand with Frameline in its past decisions to accept the support of the Israeli Consulate and we urge readers to support Frameline as well. Frameline is currently in the process of selecting films for this summer's festival and has not yet confirmed any from Israel.
We support an important San Francisco LGBT institution – Frameline – as it endeavors to present some of the most cutting edge and important LGBT films to its audiences. Frameline is an arts and culture organization, it does not take formal political positions on any country or culture. A boycott to force Frameline to refuse grants from the Israeli Consulate will not solve the differences between Israelis and Palestinians. Executive Director K.C. Price noted that the festival's aim is promoting LGBT voices from around the world. Price also pointed out that Israeli films screened by Frameline often have highly critical points of view about their own country. Three years ago, Frameline screened (and now distributes) Citizen Nawi, a documentary about a tireless Israeli activist who champions Palestinians living in the South Hebron Hills.
Frameline's mission is to strengthen and further the diverse LGBT world community by supporting and promoting a broad array of cultural representations and artistic expression in film, video, and other media arts. It usually receives financial support from one or more consulates each year. Over the past decade, Frameline received funds from the Israeli Consulate approximately four times, which was mostly used to pay for travel and related expenses to San Francisco for prominent LGBT Israeli filmmakers such as Eytan Fox (Yossi and Jaeger) and Tomer Heymann (Paper Dolls). Last year the festival screened two feature length films from Israel, a narrative (Eyes Wide Open) and a documentary (Gay Days); and with a $1,500 grant from the consulate, Frameline flew in Yair Qedar, the director of Gay Days .
Significantly, Israel is the only country in the Middle East that affords legal rights to gays and lesbians. It has allowed open military service for years. It has no sodomy laws or vague statutes like "offenses against religion" or "immoral conduct." In contrast, same-sex sexual activity is punishable in many Middle Eastern countries, where there is no recognition of our relationships, no adoption, and no anti-discrimination laws. Gays fleeing persecution in Palestine usually go to Israel.
A cultural boycott of Frameline will only hurt the organization and not bring peace or settle long-standing disputes in the Middle East. Life in Israel is undoubtedly not perfect for lesbians and gays – just as it's not perfect for LGBTs in the U.S. – at least it is a democracy that struggles to support gay rights and is willing to submit to self-criticism by its citizens. If anything, Frameline, in its capacity as a film presenter, is able to foster open dialogue about the current political situation in Israel.
By reaching out to Frameline in previous years, the Israeli Consulate has shown a willingness to support out filmmakers, even those who may tell a story the government doesn't like. While gay and lesbian issues usually go unaddressed or are condemned in the Middle East, Israel's support of Frameline is an example we'd like to see other countries emulate.