An anonymous online petition to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which so far has been signed by 4,313 people in Israel and abroad, is calling upon the academy to withdraw Hany Abu-Assad’s Paradise Now from the list of nominations for Best Foreign Film. The real purpose of the petition, of course, is to tarnish the film’s rep among Jewish Academy members so they’ll vote for another foreign-language film and thereby lessen the odds of the acclaimed drama winning the Oscar. The petition argues that Paradise Now legitimizes mass murder, and portrays the murderers themselves as victims.” Uhm, okay….and disenfranchised Palestinians aren’t victims?
