The Atlanta Jewish Film Festival’s mission calls for cultural understanding and using film to promote dialogue and bridge gaps between different cultural, ethnic and religious communities.

The mission draws on Atlanta’s history as the cradle of the civil rights movement and a place that has championed human rights around the world.

Unfortunately, right in the middle of the 2026 festival, the Israeli consulate in Atlanta announced it was withdrawing financial support and ending its partnership.

The conflict? The consulate had asked AJFF to remove a Muslim juror – a Morehouse College student, who had posted on social media messages that were sympathetic to Palestinians living in Gaza after the Oct. 7 massacre of Jews by Hamas.

The juror was part of a three-person panel that reviewed six movies nominated for the human rights award and then selected a winner. (For the record, the human rights award went to “Surviving Malka Leifer,” a documentary about three Melbourne sisters who made allegations of sexual assault within their ultra-Orthodox community in Australia.)

AJFF issued a statement acknowledging that mistakes were made, saying it would clarify and formalize its policies related to cultural boycotts, antisemitism and organizational participation, as well as review processes for individuals serving in festival roles.

The controversy set off a firestorm within Atlanta’s Jewish community, further dividing an already polarized Jewish population. In short, is criticizing the Israeli government for its actions antisemitic? Or can the Jewish leaders tolerate differing opinions, whether it be within the Jewish community or among people of different faiths and backgrounds?

Jill Savitt, president of the National Center for Civil and Human Rights, said during the 1960s, many cities erupted in violence rather than accept integration. But Atlanta was different.

“Leaders came together and charted a way forward for the best interests of the community — the so-called Atlanta Way,” said Savitt, who was speaking from her role with NCCHR and not as a board member of Atlanta Jewish Film, which puts on the festival.

“Our city’s history gives us a productive blueprint about how to address challenging issues,” Savitt continued. “What unfolded around the festival did not honor that history, which is to have civil discussion and hash out issues in a way that benefits the community and fosters collaboration rather than controversy.”

Several people interviewed for this column expressed disappointment about how the situation evolved, which seemed to run counter to the film festival ‘s goal of using film to foster greater understanding among people with different views.

“It’s heartbreaking to see our community in an upheaval over this when we thought we were doing a great thing for our community,” said Steve Labovitz, who has been one of the strongest supporters of the festival along with his wife, Sheri, since its inception.

Labovitz lamented the timing of the Israeli consulate’s announcement that it was pulling its support of the largest Jewish film festival in the world.

“Don’t do it during the festival,” Labovitz said. Instead, he felt it should have been a learning experience about the festival’s mission of building bridges through film.

“From what I’ve heard, the juror was respectful, engaged, thoughtful and said it was the honor of his life to serve as a juror,” Labovitz said. “What you find is that people are very much the same. In essence, that’s what building bridges is all about, and that’s the mission of the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival.”

Paige Alexander, president and CEO of the Carter Center, who is also part of an Atlanta Jewish family that has worked on Black-Jewish relations for decades, said disagreeing does not have to be demeaning.

“At the Carter Center, we believe progress comes when we engage one another with respect and humility – listening carefully, speaking honestly, and remembering that how we disagree often matters as much as what we disagree about,” Alexander said.

Shean Atkins, co-chair of the AJFF mission committee, has known the juror his entire life.

“I know him as someone who is thoughtful and as someone who is an advocate for civil and human rights,” Atkins said. “He served on that jury with distinction. He’s a peaceful person. It’s quite ironic that his service would lead to pitting communities against each other. That’s not who he is.”

Atkins is concerned that there are people in the Black community who are not sharing their opinions because they fear being called antisemitic.

“It is not how we do business in Atlanta. There were opportunities for dialogue, but they fell short because it seemed as though one side had an ideology instead of having open, honest dialogue,” Atkins said.

As for the juror, Atkins said: “All he’s really wanted to do is to have a dialogue on how we can create the beloved community.”

Controversy is not new for AJFF. Labovitz remembered an uproar in 2015 when AJFF decided to show the documentary about J Street, a progressive entity that calls for peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

Labovitz remembered the sentiment of the late Bernie Marcus, a deeply conservative Jew who co-founded the Home Depot along with the more progressive Arthur Blank. In fact, Kenny Blank, the eldest son of Arthur Blank, has been executive director of AJFF for the past two decades.

“I understand [that] Bernie said: ‘I know Kenny Blank is going to show movies that I might not like or agree with. So, pick out movies I’d like and just show those to me,” Labovitz recalled. Marcus continued to be a strong supporter of the festival.

Tomer Zvulun, general and artistic director of the Atlanta Opera, called Kenny Blank’s leadership “fantastic.” He sent Blank a note quoting former Intel CEO Andy Grove: “Bad companies are destroyed by crises; good companies survive them; great companies are improved by them.”

“I believe the festival will emerge from this even stronger,” Zvulun, an Israeli, said on Monday.

Savitt said conversations about Israel and Gaza are highly charged today with a variety of perspectives both inside and outside the Jewish community.

“This is the whole point of the festival, to build bridges,” Savitt said. “What happened around the festival threatened its existence. If people withdraw support, if people don’t come, the festival is put at risk. Could that possibly be a good outcome for Atlanta or Jews in Atlanta? In this case, it felt like we built walls, not bridges.”

Savitt said there’s no need to point fingers or have public battles.

“It’s more important now to use these events as an opportunity for how we handle such issues in the future,” Savitt said. “We can use this experience as a lesson that honors the beauty and legacy of Atlanta’s history.”

Note to Readers: In the interest of full disclosure, I have been a committee member with the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival for about a decade.

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