More than 100 Hollywood stars and celebrities have signed an open letter decrying Israel’s decision to designate six Palestinian NGOs as terrorist organizations. The letter calls the decision “an unprecedented and blanket attack on Palestinian human rights defenders.”
Among those that have signed the letter are Richard Gere, Claire Foy, Tilda Swinton and Susan Sarandon, Sky News reported. Other signatories include director Ken Loach, musician Jarvis Cocker, and authors Philip Pullman, Colm Tobin and Irvine Welsh.
The designated human rights organizations are: Addameer, Al-Haq, Defense for Children International-Palestine, the Union of Palestinian Women’s Committees, and the Union of Agricultural Work Committees. With the IDF’s official designation, it has the authority to close the groups’ offices and arrest their members.
The organizations are accused of providing donor money to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PLFP), a terrorist organization that has sponsored attacks that killed Israelis. The United States, United Nations and human rights watchdog groups are among those who have criticized the designation.