May 15, 2025
The glamorous Cannes Film Festival draws Hollywood stars to the French Riviera annually. But this year, instead of honoring artistic expression and human dignity, some stars are using Cannes to amplify a false narrative: accusing Israel, a democracy rescuing its citizens held hostage in Gaza and defending itself against a genocidal terror group responsible for the start of the war, of genocide.
On the international film festival’s opening day, a French newspaper and American entertainment magazine published a letter signed by more than 350 actors, directors, and producers, falsely accusing Israel of targeting the late Fatima Hassouna, a Palestinian photojournalist at the heart of a new documentary, and committing genocide.
Pointing out that the letter never mentioned the 58 hostages still in captivity, Simone Rodan Benzaquen, AJC’s France-based Managing Director of Europe, also said the signatories sadly missed an opportunity to address the heart of the issue.
“Her [Fatima] story is one more example of the human cost of a conflict that could end tomorrow if Hamas chose to release the hostages and lay down its arms,” Rodan Benzaquen said.
Here are the facts surrounding the Hollywood celebrities’ misguided attempt to instrumentalize a young woman’s death.
1. Who was Fatima Hassouna, and did Israel target her?
Fatima Hassouna was a 25-year-old Palestinian photojournalist who documented civilian life in Gaza. She became the protagonist of a documentary by Iranian film director Sepideh Farsi titled Put Your Soul on Your Hand and Walk, which was one of nine features and documentaries selected by the Association for the Diffusion of Independent Cinema for a screening that runs parallel to the Cannes Film Festival.
Farsi’s film documents life in Gaza through Hassouna’s eyes during Israel’s defensive operation after the October 7, 2023, massacre. A day after she learned that the film would be featured in Cannes, she and 10 of her relatives were killed during an Israeli air strike targeting a Hamas operative in northern Gaza. Ever since the Hamas terror group massacred 1,200 Israelis and took 250 more hostages, Israel’s goal has been to dismantle Hamas' ability to launch more attacks and bring the hostages home.
“Israel is facing a brutal terrorist organization that hides behind civilians, uses them as shields, and relies on their deaths to win the war of public opinion,” Rodan Benzaquen said. “Her death was a tragedy — civilian casualties sadly happen in every war. What’s deeply problematic is how this aspect of war is being instrumentalized to accuse Israel of genocide and to demonize the country — rather than recognizing the reality that this is exactly what Hamas, which has the power to end this war, wants.”
2. Who signed the letter?
Signatories of the letter, which appeared in Variety magazine and Liberation, a left-leaning French newspaper, include actress Cynthia Nixon, actor Javier Bardem, actress Susan Sarandon, actor Mark Ruffalo, and director Jonathan Glazer.
Glazer sparked outrage during last year’s Academy Awards when he accepted an Oscar for his Holocaust film The Zone of Interest with a speech that distorted Israel’s reality and trivialized the Holocaust.
Meanwhile, Ruffalo blamed the U.S., Israel, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the murder of six hostages last year as the Israel Defense Forces tried to reach them in the tunnels below Gaza, never once mentioning the role of Hamas.
Nixon participated in a video project organized by the Palestine Festival of Literature, reading excerpts from South Africa's meritless submission to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide, one of a series of anti-Israel positions South Africa has taken as its historic alliance with the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) has shifted to also encompass Hamas.
3. Israel’s self-defense operation in Gaza is not genocide.
Israel is not seeking to destroy the Palestinian people or the Palestinian population of Gaza, which is what would need to happen in order to correctly apply the term “genocide.” Israel’s war is solely against the terrorist organization Hamas. In fact, this type of military campaign is the exact opposite of reflecting an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian population.
The goal of Hamas is to wipe Israel and Jews off the map, and its representatives have recently reiterated that they will never stop pursuing it. That’s an example of genocidal intent.
With this intent in mind, Israel is fully justified in using military force to respond to Hamas’ October 7 attack (read AJC’s explainer on Israel, Hamas, and international law). The Israeli military sends Arabic-language warnings to civilians prior to its airstrikes on legitimate military targets. It is Hamas that puts civilians in harm’s way, placing them directly in the path of the IDF’s targets, vying for leverage in the public opinion war by inflating the number of civilian casualties.
