After receiving criticism from various student groups, the organisers of the Innovative International Film Festival (IIFF) decided to withdraw the invitation to the Consul General of Israel to South India as a guest of honour for the event.
The upcoming International Film Festival (IIFF), organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting from October 4 to October 6 in Bengaluru, faced backlash from student groups for highlighting Israel as a country of focus and inviting Tammy Ben-Haim, the Consul General of Israel to South India, as a guest of honour.
A signature campaign was started by student groups including All India Students' Association (AISA), Students for People’s Democracy (SfPD), COLLECTIVE Bangalore, and Students Islamic Organisation of India (SIO), demanding the organisers to withdraw the invitation to Israeli authorities.
Akshaya Balan, Convenor, COLLECTIVE Bangalore, told EdexLive, “We started a signature campaign demanding that the film festival withdraws its invitation to the consul. After seeing the mounting pressure from the student community, the invitation was withdrawn”
“India is continuing to support Israel despite the year-long violence and genocide against Palestinians. This comes alongside India's decision to abstain from voting against Israel at the UN. Additionally, Indian companies are supplying arms and ammunition to Israel,” Balan added.
Students pointed out that several prominent academic institutions in the city, including Christ University, St Joseph’s University, Mount Carmel College, New Horizon College, and Jyoti Nivas College, have affiliated themselves with the film festival at a time when Israel has faced accusations of "scholasticide" — a term used to describe the systematic destruction and eradication of education.
It might be noted that just a week ago, another event in Bengaluru — an Israel-India Business Summit held at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) had received criticism from academic circles in the city.
“The current state of India’s academia is troubling, where freedom of expression is increasingly suppressed in favour of state-driven agendas. This issue extends beyond Bengaluru, affecting educational institutions nationwide. There appears to be a concerted effort from the government to enhance soft power engagement with Israel, countering public resistance. In Karnataka, individuals have repeatedly faced detention for expressing dissent against the violence in Palestine or for simply holding Palestinian flags,” Balan further told EdexLive.
The student groups, in their open letter to the film festival’s organisers, also highlighted that the dates for their event coincide with the one-year anniversary of “Israel’s brutal offensive against Gaza”.
