A South African rights group today welcomed award-winning film director Mira Nair's decision to stay away from a film festival in Israel to protest its policy on Palestine.
"The boycott of Israel is no more a discussion, it's a fact," said Khulekani Chiya of the South African chapter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) Movement.
"Such international isolation will force Israel to abide by international law, basic human rights and engage in serious negotiations with the indigenous Palestinian people so that a just solution like ours in South Africa can be found," he said.
Nair announced her decision not to attend the Haifa International Film Festival on Twitter. She also mentioned her support for BDS in her tweets.
She had been invited to be guest of honour at the festival for her film 'The Reluctant Fundamentalist'.
"I will not be going to Israel at this time. I will go to Israel when the (Israeli separation) walls come down. I will go to Israel when occupation is gone. I stand for the BDS movement," she wrote on Twitter.
Chiya said artists and intellectuals, including Roger Waters of Pink Floyd, musician Elvis Costello, author Alice Walker and scientist Stephen Hawking, had protested against Israel in recent years.
The BDS movement was launched in July 2005 with the cooperation of 170 Palestinian organisations which gave a call for "boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with International Law and Universal Principles of Human Rights.
