Noga starts in darkness, at a soundcheck for the band of Israeli singer Nora Erez. The sound check is followed by a concert in which Erez introduces a song by saying: “I was told not to play this song, but I’m going to play it anyway.” She starts a song called Fire Kites, whose chorus begins with: “We don’t need bombs, we got fire kites”. There’s a whole Reddit thread out there which argues that this song proves that Erez is a Hamas supporter. This film shows us that the reality is much more prosaic.
We are never told who it was who ordered Erez not to play Fire Kites, if indeed the order was ever made. Erez has the privilege of stating that she is unpolitical, while simultaneously making statements which give tacit support to those who are in power. For example, although we see her at demonstrations against Benjamin Netanyahu, these same demos are bedecked with Israeli flags. At a concert for peace, she appears in front of the Stars and Stripes. Her song “Bring them back” is a call for the return of Israeli hostages.
One flag which we never see is the Palestinian flag, nor do we obviously hear any Palestinian voices. When Erez does get the tragic news that one of her fans has been killed in the conflict, he is, of course, an Israeli – presumably an occupying soldier. We learn his name, but none of the names of the Palestinians he has killed. It is not (just) that Erez and the liberal people around her do not care about Palestinian lives. It’s that they never stop to consider them.
I won’t talk much about Erez’s music – it’s not for me, but I can understand why other people might like it. But this film is not about the music. It is a 100-minute apologia for an artist who believes that she is being picked on because of her nationality. Particularly since October 7th, and the ensuing genocide, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement has increasingly called for a boycott of Erez’s records and concerts. This film is clearly the case for the defence.
In a film defending an artist against charges made against them, you’d have expected Noga to go through these allegations one by one, and provide detailed opposing arguments. It does nothing of the sort. Instead, it first builds Erez up as a woman who is just like us, with a faltering relationship, a worry about whether to have children, and (eventually) a child on the way. Then it superficially mentions some of the charges in passing, but generally without enough context for us to understand what is being alleged.
Noga is not a bad film, but it’s one which has been made in very bad faith. It selects its evidence, and rather than providing facts to back it up, it prefers to obliquely reference something which someone might have said. The most egregious example of this is when Noga is on the phone to an US American executive. He tells her that “they” are collecting lists of Jews in Hollywood and that people on some campuses are using the word “genocide”.
The implication is clear: The only people who could possibly be calling a genocide a genocide are those who would kick all Jewish people out of the US film industry. As with most specious comments in the film, this despicable insinuation is left unchallenged and no context is provided. We similarly hear Erez talking about the “problems on both sides” and that “the situation is very difficult”, weasel phrases familiar to anyone who was in Germany post October 7th.
Other passing comments are reported in order to show Noga’s holiness. For example, we are told that earlier in her career, she was attacked by Israeli right wingers for saying that “BDS did an important job.” Which she did, sort of, while she was trying to make a different point. Shortly after this statement, she apologised, issuing a facebook post saying: “I do not support BDS. And I never did. I love Israel and do not support any kind of boycott of my people and country.” The film does not mention any of this.
The extent of Erez’s opposition to BDS is shown in the film (without comment) when she appears at a festival in Tel Aviv with Robbie Williams, despite international calls to boycott such festivals. We see shots from other concerts where she makes long statements about how her music helps her audience feel normal again. You could not get a much clearer statement showing that she sees her job as normalising apartheid. She might claim that she is not being an activist, but her actions could hardly be more political.
A statement from Erez is read out saying: “Today I got a call from my management saying that many of the festivals and media appearances that booked me have canceled my participation because I am an Israeli. I really wish it were just one case, but the list kind of keeps growing. It’s not for anything that I said; it’s simply because I was born where I was born.” This is simply not true. We even hear a statement sent by the BDS campaign asking her to condemn occupation and apartheid to avoid being boycotted.
Now you could legitimately argue that BDS has no right to put Israeli artists under particular scrutiny and that it is wrong to demand Israeli artists to make condemnations which are not asked of other artists. To use a phrase beloved of Erez, the facts on the ground are much more complicated than that, but the film does not even try to argue her case. Rather than addressing any accusations head on, it refuses to take calls to boycott apartheid with any seriousness, and does not engage with what Erez is being asked to do.
Usually I would say that films should be judged on their contents, and not on what they don’t say. There is not the time to talk about everything, after all. But Noga (both the film and the person) elides over so many important facts that it is necessary to clearly state what the film is not saying. It takes great care to build up a picture of Egez as a naive woman who just wants people to love each other, showing that it is either patronising her or manipulating her so that it can prevent a quite different message.
Noga Erez, who the film tries to sell as someone who just wants peace, was a soldier in the Israeli Defence Forces. She is clearly against Benjamin Netanyahu, but also said in 2018: “The people in Israel need someone to feel very strong as their Prime Minister. Because we do have a lot of issues that have to do with our security – and Mr. Netanyahu is ‘Mr. Security’”. The problem is not with Erez as an individual, but with Israel’s highly militarised settler colonial society of which she is part.
Usually I would say that films should be judged on their content, not on what they don’t say. There is not the time for everything, after all. But Noga (both the film and the person) glazes over so many important facts that we need to be clear about what is not being said here. Noga Erez, who the film tries to sell as someone who just wants peace, was a soldier in the Israeli Defence Forces. The fact that Israeli society is so militarised that only a small number refuses to fight does not make this any better.
All of this may be excusable if the film were to make a case for why the filmmakers think that boycott calls against Erez are wrong. Instead what we get is insinuation and rumour. When Noga was shown at the Jerusalem film festival, co-director Benji Bergmann said: “It means a lot to show this film here. It’s a place that means a lot to us.” In other words, a film which is claiming to be an objective report of the effects of the cultural boycott of Israel because of genocide, proudly broke that boycott.
In a similar vein, I would not say that this is a film you should not see, although you should most definitely view it critically. It tells us a lot about Israel, and about its supporters in the USA, Germany, and Austria, who made this film and either deliberately omitted facts, or are so oblivious to them that they are no longer capable of critical thinking. Sometimes you need to know your enemy. In other instances, there are far better ways of spending your time.
The film Noga (Directors: Benjamin Bergmann, Jono Bergmann (USA, Israel, Germany, Austria)) is showing in cinemas now
