Israel’s Ambassador to India slams IFFI chief Nadav Lapid over ‘The Kashmir Files’ remark; writes an open letter

Israel's Ambassador to India says Lapid should be ashamed of himself and that he has "abused" India's invitation

November 29, 2022

‘You should be ashamed‘: Israeli Envoy blasts Nadav Lapid for calling Kashmir Files ‘vulgar’ and “propaganda”

Amid the furor over Israeli screenwriter and filmmaker Nadav Lapid’s insensitive remarks on the film ‘The Kashmir Files’ based on true events of the Kashmiri Hindu genocide, Ambassador of Israel to India Naor Gilon wrote an open letter to Lapid criticizing his remarks.

Nadav Lapid on Monday stoked a row by calling ‘The Kashmir Files’ “vulgar” and “propaganda”. Speaking at the closing ceremony of the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Lapid said the jury was “disturbed and shocked” by the film and deemed it “inappropriate for an artistic competitive section of such a prestigious film festival.”

Lapid was the Jury Chairman of the International Competition section of the International Film Festival of India, which was held at Panaji, Goa on Monday.

Slamming the filmmaker Lapid, Naor Gilon wrote, “An open letter to Nadav Lapid following his criticism of The Kashmir Files. It’s not in Hebrew because I wanted our Indian brothers and sisters to be able to understand. It is also relatively long so I’ll give you the bottom line first. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED.”

An open letter to #NadavLapid following his criticism of #KashmirFiles. It’s not in Hebrew because I wanted our Indian brothers and sisters to be able to understand. It is also relatively long so I’ll give you the bottom line first. YOU SHOULD BE ASHAMED. Here’s why: pic.twitter.com/8YpSQGMXIR

— Naor Gilon (@NaorGilon) November 29, 2022

He further wrote “In Indian culture, they say that a guest is like God. You have abused in the worst way the Indian invitation to chair the panel of judges at IFFI Goa as well as the trust, respect, and warm hospitality they have bestowed on you. Our Indian friends brought @lioraz and @issacharoff from @FaudaOfficial in order to celebrate the love in #India towards #Fauda and #Israel. I suspect that this is maybe also one of the reasons they invited you as an Israeli and me as the Ambassador of Israel. I understand your need in retrospect to “justify” your behavior but I can’t understand why you told @ynetnews afterward that the minister and I said on stage that there is a similarity between our countries because we fight a similar enemy and reside in a bad neighborhood.”

He said, “I’m no film expert but I do know that it’s insensitive and presumptuous to speak about historic events before deeply studying them and which are an open wound in India because many of the involved are still around and still paying a price.”

“From your interview with Ynet the connection you make between your criticism of The Kashmir Files and your dislike of what is happening in Israeli politics was quite evident,” he added.

He further added, “My suggestion. As you vocally did in the past, feel free to use the liberty to sound your criticism of what you dislike in Israel but no need to reflect your frustration on other countries. I’m not sure that you have enough factual basis to make such comparisons. I know I don’t. You will go back to Israel thinking that you are bold and “made a statement”. We, the representatives of Israel, would stay here. You should see our DM boxes following your “bravery” and what implications it may have on the team under my responsibility.”

He concluded, “The friendship between the people and the states of India and Israel is very strong and will survive the damage you have inflicted. As a human being, I feel ashamed and want to apologize to our hosts for the bad manner in which we repaid them for their generosity and friendship.”

Israel’s Consul General to Mumbai Kobbi Shoshani held a different view from Nadav and said, “I saw the Kashmir file and met the cast. I have a different opinion than Nadav Lapid. After his speech, I told Nadav my opinion. The makers of the film had the guts to portray the truth. Whatever they thought the truth is, they tried to put it out. But these people have not tried to accept or welcome this truth and they don’t want the world to see the film.”

Meanwhile, a Delhi-based advocate Vineet Jindal has lodged a complaint against Israeli Director Nadav Lapid for making remarks like “propaganda” and “vulgar” for the movie “The Kashmir Files”, which is based on the story of Hindu genocide in Kashmir.

Practicing lawyer in the Supreme Court of India and social activist Jindal said that Lapid’s statement is totally manipulated and with ill intentions toward the Hindu community.

“By calling a movie based on a true story of Hindu genocide by Islamic terrorists that happened in Kashmir as propaganda and vulgar, he is abusing the sacrifice of Hindus in Kashmir and targeting the Hindu community and to incite hatred in our country,” Jindal said, adding that the contents of the statement made by Lapid clearly show his intent of instigating enmity between groups.

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