I was voice for children, says Winslet after Gaza film row
Actress denies ‘taking a stand’ after terror group praises documentary on Israeli air strikes
KATE WINSLET has said she “wasn’t taking a public stand” after it emerged that the Gaza documentary she narrated was directed by a Hamas supporter.
The Oscar-winning actress offered her services on a no-fee basis to provide the voice-over on Eleven Days In May, a film about children killed by Israeli air strikes.
Mohammed Sawwaf, co-director of the film, has been presented with an award by Hamas – one of 78 terrorist groups proscribed in the UK – for his work “countering the Zionist narrative”, according to The Jewish Chronicle.
Sawwaf has also made comments on social media applauding the launch of Palestinian rockets which hit civilian targets and has apparently called for the destruction of the state of Israel.
It is understood the documentary’s co-director, the British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom, did not visit Gaza for the making of the documentary.
In response to criticism, Winslet, 46, released a statement via her lawyer saying: “That my participation in this film could be interpreted as taking a public stand on the rights and wrongs of one of the world’s most tragic and intractable conflicts never entered my thinking.
“War is a tragedy for all sides. Children have no voice in conflict. I simply wanted to lend them mine.
“The director, Michael Winterbottom, invited me to narrate a documentary he was making with the support of Unicef and Oxfam, on the impact of war on children. In this case, the children of Palestine.
“I’ve trusted Michael for over 25 years, so put my faith in him to ensure the final product befitted these admirable humanitarian organisations. The decision seemed simple. I did not speak to anyone else involved.
“I’ve been a supporter of Unicef and Oxfam’s work protecting innocent children for decades and therefore offered my services on a no-fee basis, instead requesting a donation be made to Oxfam.”
In tweets highlighted by Camera Arabic, a media watchdog, Sawwaf celebrated hits on Israeli civilian targets in messages posted in 2012.
“Gaza bombs Tel Aviv – Gaza bombs Jerusalem – wow, what do you know – praise Allah – all in all feeling great,” he wrote. The same year he said: “Calling ‘Allahu Akbar’ during Eid – people feel the taste of victory – isn’t it enough for us that the alarm sirens were heard again in Tel Aviv, isn’t it enough for us that weak Gaza bombed the occupation in its heartland?”
In 2014 he tweeted: “In Jerusalem, Haifa, Tel Aviv and all of our 1948 lands, when rockets are launched towards them everybody runs to the shelters except their original residents who celebrate them.” During renewed fighting in May last year, he tweeted that the map of Palestine should be redrawn so it extends “from the sea to the river”.
The slogan is widely recognised as a Hamas chant, and has been taken to mean a refusal to accept the right of the state of Israel to exist within its internationally recognised borders.
Mr Winterbottom’s company, Revolution Films, was asked by The Jewish Chronicle whether it was aware of Sawwaf ’s support for Hamas and its acts of terrorism. Ben Pearce, the company’s development director, declined to answer the question, but issued a statement in which he said that the film “was made with the families in Gaza who lost children during the bombing last year”.
The controversy has also prompted a response from Richard Trank, the Oscar-winning writer and director who is executive producer of Moriah Films, the movie division of the Simon Wiesenthal Centre think tank in Los Angeles.
“I am deeply concerned about the fact that nowhere in the film is the point of view of Israelis who were subjected to thousands of Hamas missile strikes coming from Gaza,” he said.
“It also appears that Michael Winterbottom relied solely on materials provided to him by known Hamas sympathisers who have repeatedly tweeted support for attacks on Israeli citizens.”
Eleven Days In May
‘War is a tragedy for all sides – children have no voice in conflict, I just wanted to lend them mine’