In the wake of a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, Hollywood finds itself embroiled in a deepening and highly public debate over the ongoing conflict in Gaza and the broader Israeli-Palestinian struggle. The entertainment industry, typically more unified on social justice issues, is now sharply divided, with prominent figures on both sides using their platforms to voice support, criticism, and calls to action. This rift reflects not just the passions of the moment, but the long and painful history that continues to shape perspectives on all sides.
At the heart of this debate lies the recent publication of Banging on the Walls of the Tank: Dispatches from Gaza by Haidar Eid, a Palestinian-South African literary scholar and longtime resident of Gaza. As reviewed by Between the Lines, Eid’s book is both a personal testimony and a political manifesto, chronicling over a decade of what he calls “consistent and creative resistance to Israeli settler colonialism, genocide, war, and siege on Gaza.” Eid’s writing draws inspiration from the question posed by Ghassan Kanafani in Men in the Sun: “why didn’t you bang on the walls of the tank?” Eid’s answer is defiant: “we are banging on the walls of the tank.”
Eid’s analysis is rooted in a sweeping historical context. He traces the Palestinian struggle from the Balfour Declaration of 1917, through the establishment of Israel in 1948, the entrenchment of apartheid in 1967, the Oslo Accords in the 1990s, and the ongoing siege of Gaza since 2007. According to Eid, neither Israeli violence nor Palestinian resistance began on October 7, 2023—a date that mainstream media often points to as a recent flashpoint. Instead, he argues that the conflict is the latest chapter in a much longer narrative of dispossession, resistance, and survival.
The book is unflinching in its critique of what Eid terms the “decontextualised analysis of the mainstream media which happens to be white and colonial and which tends to fully endorse the Israeli narrative.” He insists that Palestinian resistance is not wanton or ahistorical, but rather “anchored in global trajectories of resistance to colonial racist oppression.” Eid draws comparisons to anti-apartheid struggles in South Africa, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, and the fight against Jim Crow in the United States, situating the Palestinian cause within a broader anti-colonial tradition.
October 7, 2023, in Eid’s telling, was a “prison break”—an act of desperation and defiance by Palestinians “who managed to enter the settlement, returning, ‘not as visitors granted permission by the colonizer, but as liberators upholding their right to their ancestral land.’” He calls for intensified global action, especially through the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement, to pressure Israel and support Palestinian self-determination. Eid’s message is clear: “Israel is on the verge of collapse.”
This sense of urgency and resistance resonates far beyond the pages of Eid’s book. In Hollywood, the ceasefire has not brought peace to the industry’s own battleground. The past two years have seen a surge of activism, with celebrities using red carpets, award shows, and social media to advocate for a permanent ceasefire and to highlight the plight of Palestinians. Yet, as reported by CNN, the ceasefire has not dampened the tensions. If anything, it has sharpened them.
Erin Foster, creator of Netflix’s Nobody Wants This, took to Instagram to express her bewilderment: “I’m not sure why everyone is being so utterly quiet today, but there is a deal in place that will finally bring peace to Palestinians. Why are you not celebrating it?” Her comments underscore the expectation among some that the ceasefire should be a moment of universal relief and celebration.
Others, like actress Debra Messing—one of Hollywood’s most vocal pro-Israel figures—have taken a more confrontational tone. Messing wrote, “After 2 years of screaming ‘Ceasefire Now!!’ It is clear that was never the issue. It was eradicating Israel.” She went further, reposting, “The silence of the ‘Free Palestine’ movement is sickening. Your silence makes it unavoidably obvious that it’s only about terrorizing Jews.”
On the other side, pro-Palestinian and anti-war celebrities have kept the focus on Gaza. Mark Ruffalo, a consistent supporter of Palestinian rights, reposted a message from Film Workers for Palestine: “We share in the relief of Palestinians in Gaza that Israel’s relentless slaughter may be coming to an end.” He also amplified Artists4Ceasefire’s call for a permanent ceasefire and the return of hostages. However, Ruffalo and others have faced criticism for not publicly marking the return of Israeli hostages or condemning Hamas’s execution of Palestinians in Gaza—a charge that pro-Israel activists have seized upon as evidence of selective outrage.
Javier Bardem, one of Hollywood’s most outspoken advocates for Palestinians, addressed these criticisms directly in a statement to CNN: “Of course, I am completely against the execution of anyone including Palestinians by Hamas. It is an atrocious act of violence. Everyone deserves a fair trial where the accusations are shown and proven, and only then be rightfully accountable by a fair law that obviously does not include execution.” Bardem’s comments reflect a nuanced stance—condemning violence from all sides while maintaining his commitment to Palestinian rights.
Bardem is also among nearly 4,000 Hollywood figures who last month signed a pledge to boycott Israeli film institutions, accusing them of complicity in “genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people.” The boycott, organized by Film Workers for Palestine, has drawn support from A-listers like Emma Stone, Joaquin Phoenix, Ayo Edebiri, Ilana Glazer, Susan Sarandon, Ruffalo, Nixon, and Bardem. The pledge, according to Bardem, is about “holding companies and institutions all over the world accountable, not individuals, for their complicity and participation in the genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza, and the illegal settlement of the West Bank.”
This move has not gone unchallenged. Major studios such as Paramount and Warner Bros.—both led by pro-Israel CEOs—have publicly opposed the boycott, stating that it promotes “censorship and the erasure of art.” An open letter from a different group of Hollywood artists, including Liev Schreiber, Gene Simmons, Sharon Osbourne, and Debra Messing, denounced the boycott and called for continued engagement with Israeli film institutions.
As Tatiana Siegel, executive editor of film and media at Variety, observed, “There’s a ceasefire, but I would say that it is far from resolved.” The divisions are not just public; they are affecting professional relationships and careers. “I’ve talked to a lot of studio executives who tell me that they are very aware of who signed what and are not eager to work with people that they strongly disagree with. This was a situation where everyone in Hollywood became a Middle Eastern expert overnight and was chiming in with their opinions one way or another on social media.”
For celebrities and activists, the stakes remain high. The Artists4Ceasefire collective, which galvanized many to call for a ceasefire after October 7, 2023, continues to push for “a permanent ceasefire, a return of all hostages, and the immediate, unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid to civilians in Gaza.” As their representative told CNN, “This is the beginning of what is required for healing, rebuilding and a just and lasting peace for Palestinians and Israelis.”
In this moment of uncertainty, both in Gaza and in Hollywood, the struggle for justice, recognition, and peace continues—on the ground, on the screen, and in the hearts of those who refuse to stop banging on the walls of the tank.
