A pro-Palestinian demonstration in Washington, in front of the White House, October 9, 2023/Reuters
A number of pro-Palestinian organizations are planning to create a large demonstration in Los Angeles ahead of the Oscar ceremony, which will be held tonight, according to the media in the United States.
The organizers expect hundreds of people to show up to march, block, obstruct traffic - all this in their demand for an immediate and permanent ceasefire and an end to the "siege on Gaza and the occupation of Palestine".
The organization Cinema Workers for Palestine shared a statement on Instagram in collaboration with the Los Angeles branch of the Jewish Voice for Peace, calling on people to meet at Cinema Dom on Sunday at 1:00 PM local time for a march.
This is four hours before the start of the ceremony, during which the last organizations are made and the hundreds of guests arrive.
"We will not be distracted by the entertainment industry," the post read.
"We will continue to call for a permanent ceasefire and the release of the Palestinians. Let's mobilize and take to the streets to show that we refuse to look away from this ongoing genocide! Ceasefire now!".
Violent and anti-Semitic demonstrations are already a matter of course in the United States.
The Los Angeles Police Department is preparing for them with increased forces and will try to maintain the balance between freedom of expression and the need to allow the ceremony to take place as planned.
One can assume that because of the high profile of the event, the protests will not get out of control.
The New York Times predicted that the speeches would not be political, because the winners would fear for their careers.
The thing is that the race to the Oscars will already be behind them, and some of the winners will come from outside Hollywood so they care less.
Among the names that will be interesting to follow: Jonathan Glaser, the British-Jewish who is expected to win the international Oscar for "Area of Interest", and has already spoken out recently against Israel;
Arthur Harari, the French-Jewish who is expected to win the Oscar for the original screenplay for the screenplay he wrote with his partner Justine Trey for "Anatomy of a Fall", and already gave an anti-Israel speech at a French awards ceremony a month and a half ago.
The Tunisian director Kawter Ben-Haniya is the most prominent anti-Israel name in the current awards season.
She won many awards with her documentary "Arba Benot" and always took the opportunity to attack Israel, and also refused from the beginning that her film would be screened here.
If her hit, which just went up on Netflix in the United States, surprises "20 days in Maripol" and wins the docu category - then it will surely be the blatant political speech of the evening.
More on the same topic:
Oscar 2024
Gaza war