Hacks Hannah Einbinder On “Free Palestine” Speech

Backstage at the Emmy Awards ceremony Sunday night, Hannah Einbinder followed up on her acceptance speech call to “Free Palestine.”

Einbinder made the statement, along with saying “F–k ICE” as she accepted the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for her role of Ava Daniels in Hacks.

Backstage, standing alongside Hacks co-star Jean Smart who just won in her Lead Actress category, Einbinder was asked by the press to expand on her statement about Palestine and about her move earlier this week, alongside 1,200 others, to sign a pledge to boycotting Israeli film institutions.

“I thought it was important to talk about Palestine,” she said, “because it’s an issue that’s very dear to my heart. I have friends in Gaza who are working as frontline workers, as doctors right now in the north of Gaza, to provide care for pregnant women and for school children to create schools in the refugee camps. And it’s an issue that’s really close to my heart for many reasons.”

She continued, “I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the State of Israel, because our religion and our culture is such an important and long standing institution that is really separate to this sort of ethno-nationalist state.”

She elaborated on her decision to sign the pledge, too, emphasizing she is focused on “complicit institutions” rather than individuals: “In terms of the pledge, it’s like many movements, boycotting is an effective tool to create pressure on the powers that be to meet the moment, you know. So the film workers for Palestine boycott does not boycott individuals, it only boycotts institutions that are directly complicit in the genocide. So, it’s important to me, and I think it’s an important measure, and so I was happy to be a part of it.”