Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar announced on Sunday evening that he intends to work toward repealing the Cinema Law, which allocates 130 million shekels annually to Israel’s film industry.
He linked his decision to criticism surrounding the state film awards ceremony and, in his words, to “an extremist takeover of the industry that harms the ceremony and the IDF.”
Minister Zohar stated, “I will not allow a handful of bullies from the radical left to take over the film industry and damage the state ceremony. The public has no interest in continuing to fund the film world, and we will pass an amendment to the law that will cancel the funding.”
He added, “The citizens of Israel are tired of paying out of their own pockets for a small group of extremists who harm IDF soldiers and refuse to allow additional voices in Israeli cinema.”
His remarks come amid criticism from filmmakers regarding the recently approved cinema reform, which the minister says “encourages the production of films that Israelis enjoy.”
He continued, “On my watch, the State of Israel will not pay from its own pocket for harm to its good name and to the holy soldiers of the IDF - it simply will not happen. I will not allow a takeover of Israeli cinema, and the citizens of Israel will not fund the radical left that delights in harming IDF soldiers. With God’s help, culture will return to the people. This violent conduct toward the ceremony has led me to the decision to pursue this matter to the end.”