Seemingly overnight, a protest group materialized, drafting a letter titled: “The Toronto Declaration — No Celebration of Occupation.” Signed by the usual suspects — Fonda, Belafonte and Chomsky, along with such well-known artists as David Byrne, Julie Christie, Viggo Mortensen, Wallace Shawn and British director Ken Loach — it claimed that the festival, “whether intentionally or not, has become complicit in the Israeli propaganda machine.”
The protests, of course, have been met by counterprotests. Simon Wiesenthal Center founder Marvin Hier has weighed in, telling a hastily arranged news conference that “Tel Aviv is one of the freest cities in the world, warts and all: a model city of diversity, freedom of expression and tolerance, for Arabs and Jews.” He added: “It is the height of hypocrisy to single out Tel Aviv. These protesters cannot masquerade their hatred toward Israel.”
