Update: Atlanta Jewish Film Festival to review processes after controversy over anti-Israel juror

Consulate, Federation welcome the move after festival platformed student who produces "antisemitic and anti-Israel content"

Editor’s note: This is an updated version of the story posted on Feb. 21, with major additions throughout.

With a message of “We are sorry,” the Atlanta Jewish Film Festival announced on Feb. 22 that it would review its organizational processes after a backlash over inclusion of a student in its judges panel who has posted virulently anti-Israel content online.

The controversy erupted on Feb. 20 when the Israeli Consulate in Atlanta announced that it had pulled its funding and support from the festival because the festival retained a student juror “who has publicly shared antisemitic and anti-Israel content” that he created.

The 26th annual festival opened on Feb. 18 and runs through March 3 in theaters, then streams from March 6 to 15. The festival, which along with similar festivals in Miami and San Francisco claims the title of world’s largest Jewish film festival, includes 49 features, 16 short films, three world premieres and 20 countries represented.

The Consulate did not name the juror, who is one of three judging the Human Rights category. In addition to the social media posts, the Consulate said there is “substantial evidence of this person’s participation in at least one anti-Israel university encampment in Atlanta, putting Jewish students at risk and promoting dangerous misinformation about the war in Gaza started by Hamas on October 7, 2023.”

Anwar Karim, a senior at Morehouse College, was announced as one of the judges in the Human Rights category on Feb. 9. Raised in northern Virginia, he is majoring in cinema, television and emerging media studies, and is part of the third class of Spike Lee Fellows at the Gersh Agency. He is also acting president of the Morehouse Muslim Student Association.

Consul General Eitan Weiss said when they saw the festival program, they were surprised to see Karim sporting a green keffiyeh. They did some research and found his “problematic past,” and informed the festival leadership team, saying “we cannot give legitimacy and credibility to this individual.” Having him judge the human rights category in a Jewish film festival, “that’s a disgrace,” Weiss said.

The Consulate gave the festival time to address the issue. In a statement on Feb. 20, the festival said after they were made aware of “certain publicly available social media activity,” they reviewed it “to ensure our approach remained consistent with our mission and the expectations of jury service.” After the review, “we concluded that the student could participate appropriately within the structure of our deliberations.”

According to the festival, which also did not name Karim, he was selected “through a standard process” that included faculty nomination and an interview, “and was invited to participate based on a strong recommendation, academic focus, engagement with film, and demonstrated interest in bridge building through storytelling.”

The festival emphasized its mission of bridge-building across a space where those “with differing perspectives can engage constructively and respectfully, grounded in thoughtful exchange and learning.”

Of the six films in that category, two deal directly with Zionism or the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians — a biography of Henrietta Szold, and a documentary about UNRWA, the U.N. agency overseeing the Palestinians, which has been infiltrated by Hamas members over the years. Other films in the category were about abortion in Israel, sexual abuse in an ultra-Orthodox community, a Jew who sued the antisemitic industrial titan Henry Ford, and a film unraveling the disappearance of Raoul Wallenberg.

After the decision was made to retain Karim, Weiss said “enough was enough” and “we cannot be part of an event… that gives so much credibility and gives a stage to this individual and the beliefs he stands for.” Given the festival’s place in Atlanta’s Jewish landscape, he added, “it was not an easy thing to do.”

He said that a Klansman would never be invited to be a juror on an African-American film festival, “so why does it have to happen with us?”

Weiss said that having Karim on the panel means that afterward he “can continue his rhetoric with the credentials and legitimacy” of having been involved with a Jewish festival.

Accusations of gleeful genocide

On his Instagram, Karim has numerous videos of social commentary on a range of topics, criticizing racism and capitalism, among other issues, with him doing rap-style poetry, often interspersed with clips illustrating what he is opposing.

On Feb. 18, 2024, he posted a video of his poem “Devil’s Work,” “addressing the evils of this world that contribute to injustice of the past and present.” Roughly half of it has to do with Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza, with mentions of Sudan and racism in the U.S.

Early in the video, he shows images from the Holocaust mixed with testimony from Israel’s defense at the International Court of Justice. As the Israeli representative talks about how the charge of genocide against Israel turns memory of the Holocaust into “a weapon in the hands of terrorist groups who have no regard for humanity or for the law,” that quote is backed instead with images of Israeli soldiers controlling large numbers of shirtless Palestinian men that they captured early in the war. Shirts are removed to ensure nobody is hiding a suicide vest or belt.

In the video, he calls out “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

After referencing the Trail of Tears against Native Americans, he turn to Gaza again, saying “babies being killed after having no access to meals and the leaders of Israel saying let them die, how you step aside and let it fly, when you see this genocide that’s been going on for years like (seventy-five) and the fast spread of lies is only on the rise Israel said they settled now just colonized.”

A black-and-white video of an Israeli spokesman asserting “Israel is not restricting the amount of humanitarian aid that can enter Gaza” has videotape time stamps purporting to be from 1948, with the caption “war criminal.”

Karim also says “step onto your porch, women men and children being murdered just for sport, but remember when in court they took your land by force… how dare they use the star to justify the occupation.”

A Nancy Reagan “just say no” clip regarding drugs and those who think it isn’t their problem had the words “Palestinian” and “genocide” added.

He displays the widely-debunked series of maps showing “shrinking Palestine” and comments about 1947 being a theft of land against the Palestinians. “If you had to steal that, understand it’s not a national homeland, how you show that romance. What’s a Zionist, a white supremacist trying to pose as a nomad.”

On May 30, 2024, the Georgia chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations distributed a video of him doing a segment of his poem, “Invincible Faith,” for the organization. In it, he accuses the world of ignoring Israel’s actions, saying “if their so-called savior was born today rubble and remains would for sure replace the space where Miriam’s son once would lay, the present bears no gifts except the loose leaf that drifts and then warns about the incoming bombing campaign that leaves entire fams slain.”

He added, “these monsters remain unresponsive unless the money is talking. Ironic how they poke at our Beloved Prophet. It’s like they pop champagne each time they erase a last name as they continue to contribute to indigenous mass pain, complete only when they eliminate the graves.”

He said Palestinians are living an apartheid existence where “the cold blooded killers invade with AK sticking your face or famish the thinnest of babes… the world said never again and then witnessed the same tragedy travesty and agony from a villainous state whose siege proceeds as our tax dollars are given away.”

He then chants in Arabic, “Labaik Ya Aqsa,” which is a statement of service to the al-Aqsa complex in Jerusalem. Hamas named its October 7 operation the al-Aqsa Flood, and many Arab uprisings, including Oct. 7, have begun with accusations of the Jews trying to take over or destroy the mosque.

Karim has not responded to a request for comment.

Reviewing the guidelines

After the Consulate’s withdrawal on Feb. 20, the festival’s statement said they regretted the break in the “longstanding relationship” with the Consulate and “we remain open to continued dialogue.”

The festival’s statement concluded, “We remain deeply committed to Jewish cultural life and to serving our community with care and integrity. We value the voices of our community and will continue to listen thoughtfully as we move forward.”

Cheryl Dorchinsky, head of the Atlanta Israel Coalition, said “providing institutional credibility within the Jewish community to individuals who actively work to delegitimize the State of Israel does not foster dialogue or build bridges. It rewards hostility.”

She added, “dialogue requires mutual respect. It cannot coexist with rhetoric that dehumanizes Israelis and spreads misinformation that fuels hatred and, ultimately, violence.”

In its followup on Feb. 22, the festival acknowledged they “fell short in our internal processes regarding the recent jury matter,” and the episode showed “clear deficiencies, gaps, and adherence issues in our existing organizational processes and policies, including those related to antisemitism, BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions), and cultural boycotts.”

While they seek to build bridges through film, “ATL Jewish Film is, first and foremost, a Jewish institution, as well as a cultural one… we have a responsibility, particularly at this fraught time, to stand firmly against antisemitism and to affirm the Jewish people’s right to self-determination.”

The festival leadership will clarify and formalize policies regarding “cultural boycotts, antisemitism, anti-Zionist activity, and organizational participation,” review processes for individuals serving in festival roles, and establish clearer safeguards and protocols for decision-making.

While this year’s jury process has concluded “and cannot be revisited,” the festival has “initiated an internal review of our processes and will implement updates that reflect both our mission and the values of the community we serve,” and they will listen to and engage with the community as the process moves forward.

Weiss replied that the festival taking responsibility is “a good start,” and saying there is no room for antisemitism and anti-Zionism “is another important statement.” He said the controversy is a message that “there is no room for these heinous opinions by anyone, not under the guise of dialogue, bridge building or God knows what.”

He added that as consul general, he will “go out against anyone who will promote antisemitism or anti-Zionism, and will call them out for what they are.”

On Feb. 23, the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta issued a community statement reiterating its “unwavering” commitment to Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish and democratic state, and that BDS advocacy crosses a red line. “Especially in the post-October 7 environment, anti-Zionism is not abstract — it is deeply connected to antisemitism and to the safety and dignity of Jewish people worldwide.”

In the statement, President and CEO Renee Kutner and Board Chair Debbie Kuniansky said Federation leadership reached out to the festival “when concerns arose,” and “we appreciate their recent public statement.”

The Federation said they have made it clear that “current and future funding beyond already committed security support will be contingent upon demonstrated follow-through, including clarified policies, strengthened vetting processes, and consistent operationalization of those standards.

“We have every faith that AJFF will fulfill its commitments, and we look forward to seeing the festival thrive with strengthened policies that reinforce trust and confidence across our community. “