Hong Kong Activists Protest Israeli Consulate-Backed Film Festival
Three Hong Kong activists staged a protest against an Israeli consulate-backed film festival on Saturday, urging a boycott of the event, which they claim promotes state-sponsored propaganda. The demonstration took place at Emperor Cinemas in the Times Square shopping mall in Causeway Bay, where the Hong Kong Jewish Film Festival was set to screen its opening movie.
The protesters, including activist Yu Wai-pan and two others, held placards and a Palestinian flag around 7pm. They called for an end to what they described as “artwashing” of Israel’s actions in Gaza. The nine-day film festival began with the 2024 filmSoda, starring Lior Raz, a former commando in an elite Israeli counterterrorism unit.
The anti-war demonstrators were quickly surrounded by Israeli consulate staff, identified by their badges, along with plainclothes police officers and mall security personnel. Despite being outnumbered, the activists shouted slogans such as “Free Palestine,” “Arrest Netanyahu,” and “Reject Israel’s cultural hasbara,” referring to Israel’s state propaganda. Their protest lasted approximately 15 minutes before they were escorted out of the mall by police who had already been present before the demonstration began.
The film festival, hosted at Emperor Cinemas and Golden Scene Cinema in Kennedy Town, is supported by the Israeli, US, French, German, Canadian, and Italian consulates in Hong Kong. It is also sponsored by bagel restaurant Schragels Delicatessen.
The protest drew mixed reactions from attendees of the film festival. Some called the activists “losers” and showed them the middle finger. Individuals believed to be consulate staff also attempted to block HKFP reporters and passers-by from recording or photographing the protest.
After about 15 minutes, the mall’s management ordered its staff to remove the protesters from the premises. Police then escorted the trio into an elevator and issued a warning outside the mall before taking them to the Causeway Bay MTR station. The activists were not arrested or charged.
This protest was part of a broader effort by the group to show solidarity with Palestine and reject what they call Israeli artwashing and propaganda. In a statement released on Monday, the group emphasized that culture is never neutral and demanded that Hong Kong cinemas stop platforming Zionism or facilitating Israel’s efforts to sanitize its image.
Yu Wai-pan, one of the activists, is a former member of the now-defunct League of Social Democrats. He was among five activists who marched through Tsim Sha Tsui last month to call for a ceasefire.
HKFP has reached out to the Israeli consulate for comment.
The ongoing conflict in Gaza continues to escalate, with the death toll surpassing 69,000 as of Saturday. Despite a US-brokered ceasefire, Israeli forces have killed more than 240 Palestinians since the agreement came into effect on October 10. According to the Gaza Health Ministry, 83% of those killed are civilians, based on data from the Israeli military.
Meanwhile, 241 journalists have been killed in Gaza, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. Israel does not allow foreign journalists to enter the enclave and denies targeting media workers.
An independent United Nations inquiry concluded in September that “Israel has committed genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” However, Israel strongly denies this accusation.