ACT NOW! Call Out Exeter Festival for Caving to Antisemitism by Removing Dance Film Honoring Oct 7 Victims
In a shocking affront to artistic freedom and moral responsibility, the Exeter International Dance Film Festival (EDIFF) has withdrawn “RAVE,” a dance film by Israeli choreographer Dor Eldar, from its lineup.
This poignant two-and-a-half-minute piece, inspired by the horrors of the Nova music festival massacre on October 7, was removed due to “pressure from sponsors and the artistic community.” The festival cited the film’s subject as “controversial and contentious,” a claim that veils blatant antisemitism and hypocrisy.
Eldar, who described his experience as a “great shock,” stated, “I never felt out of place… until this moment.”
The film, which portrays the tragic events of October 7 with raw emotional clarity, was intended to honor the victims of the Nova festival massacre, where hundreds of young people were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists.
By censoring this work, EDIFF not only undermines its stated mission of showcasing diverse artistic voices but also perpetuates the silencing of Jewish perspectives.
The decision to remove “RAVE” under the guise of neutrality sends a chilling message: honoring the victims of Jewish suffering is too controversial for public acknowledgment. Would the festival have taken similar steps if the piece addressed another marginalized community? This moral double standard reflects the pervasive and systemic bias against Israel and the Jewish people.
Join us in urging EDIFF to reverse its decision and reinstate “RAVE” in their program.
CLICK HERE to send an email to Exeter Dance Executives and sponsors at info@ediff.co.uk:
SAMPLE EMAIL
Subject Line: Urgent Concern Regarding RELC 384 – Organizing for Divestment
cc:
Christians United for Israel
Press
Worldwide Leaders
Abderrahim Crickmay Charitable Settlement
CoraliveTo Exeter Dance Executives and sponsors,
I am writing to express profound disappointment and outrage over your decision to remove the Israeli dance film RAVE from your festival. This action not only betrays the principles of artistic freedom and inclusivity but also demonstrates a lack of moral clarity that has, ironically, politicized your festival under the pretense of avoiding controversy.
Your explicit reasoning—that viewers and sponsors objected to the film—lays bare the moral failure of this decision. Would you have acquiesced to such demands if viewers and sponsors objected to depictions of other forms of terror, oppression, or racism against minorities? The sheer improbability of such a scenario occurring highlights the unique and disproportionate discrimination faced by the Jewish community worldwide- which you, in choosing to silence Jewish Israeli voices- are contributing to. Antisemitism is a deeply rooted, pervasive issue. Decisions like yours—excluding an Israeli artist’s work to appease objections—contribute to this systemic bias. Rather than standing firm against such prejudice, you have amplified it.
Art exists to amplify the voices of the voiceless and illuminate stories that demand to be told. By removing RAVE, EDIFF has not only silenced an artist but also perpetuated the erasure of Jewish perspectives in cultural spaces—an alarming trend that undermines the very purpose of art. RAVE portrays the horrific events of the Nova festival on October 7, where unarmed civilians—young people gathered for joy and celebration—were brutally massacred by terrorists. The Nova festival, a space of dance, music, and human connection, tragically mirrors the values EDIFF claims to champion. To deem such a portrayal “controversial” is to dehumanize the victims and dismiss the raw, recent trauma experienced by the global Jewish community. This is not a political issue; it is a deeply humanitarian one, and by rejecting this film, EDIFF has failed its mission to honor the diversity and power of artistic expression.
If viewers and sponsors are uncomfortable with RAVE’s depiction of the lifeless bodies of vibrant female festival-goers—violently taken as trophies of inhuman depravity and thrown onto the back of a white pickup truck by their killers—they should confront the root of their discomfort. The portrayal mirrors real events, including the harrowing image of Shani Louk, a young woman brutally murdered at the Nova festival, whose lifeless body was paraded on a white pickup truck by Hamas terrorists. That photograph, horrifyingly, has been circulated and even nominated for awards. This stark juxtaposition raises the question: why is the depiction of such real, documented atrocities through the lens of art so unsettling? Perhaps this discomfort reflects an unwillingness to face the barbarity of these actions or, more troublingly, tacit support for terrorism, alignment with antisemitic ideologies, or a willingness to silence Jewish voices to stay aligned with a popular but deeply flawed opinion. By yielding to these pressures, the festival has aligned itself with complicity in the very ideologies it should stand against. Such reactions deserve deep self-reflection, particularly within spaces like EDIFF, which purport to celebrate the power of storytelling and human expression.
Your festival has a responsibility to uphold the principles of artistic freedom and moral integrity. Instead, your decision to remove RAVE has tarnished that commitment and contributed to the systemic silencing of Jewish voices. I urge you to publicly acknowledge this error, issue an apology to Dor Eldar, and commit to considering RAVE for inclusion in your next festival. Furthermore, I encourage you to reflect on how this decision perpetuates the disproportionate discrimination faced by the Jewish community and take steps to ensure your festival becomes a platform for diverse perspectives, not a tool for their suppression.
Art is meant to transcend politics, prejudice, and fear. By reversing this decision and taking meaningful accountability, you can begin to restore the integrity of your festival and its commitment to celebrating human creativity in all its forms.
Signed,
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The post ACT NOW! Call Out Exeter Festival for Caving to Antisemitism by Removing Dance Film Honoring Oct 7 Victims first appeared on United with Israel.
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