Yola Penivolsky spoke of the discrimination that Israeli society suffers from within, not only against Palestinians, but against some Jews themselves. She also spoke of witnessing the apartheid treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, the walls and checkpoints that separate villages, and the separation of families from each other.
Clarion India
TORONTO — Canadian actress and film producer Yola Penivolsky has renounced her Israeli citizenship in protest against the Israeli aggression on Gaza and the ongoing violations against the Palestinian people.
Yola appeared in a video on Instagram on Wednesday, saying: “Hello everyone. My name is Yola. I am an artist and film producer in Toronto and an Israeli citizen, I left Israel 23 years ago and have lived in Canada ever since.”
Talking about her decision to renounce Israeli citizenship, Yola stressed that “it was a very long process that took about two decades,” since she knew the real history of her country and not the history she learned in schools.
“This is my Israeli passport, this is my Israeli ID, this is my army exemption card, I did not serve in the army, last week I applied to give up my Israeli citizenship at the consulate here in Toronto, it was not a decision I made easily, I thought about it for a long time,” she was quoted as saying by Teller Report.
“In fact, (it happened) from the moment I knew the real history of where I grew up (Israel), the truth of the history I learned in school or even the history that is discussed all my life there, and it still goes on until last week when I went to the consulate,” Yola said.
“Yes, it did so in response to Israel’s aggression on Gaza, but since this is not the first time Israel has bombed Gaza, why now? Why this very moment?”
“Because the number of casualties in Gaza has reached catastrophic proportions, and even though we are now in a temporary ceasefire or a break or whatever you want to call it, it seems that it won’t end soon because Israeli officials say that after the truce they intend to continue the bombing for at least another two months,” Yola said.
Yola said she made the decision at this time, because she was sure Israel didn’t care about peace in the first place, and she didn’t want to be a part of it.
Yola spoke of the discrimination that Israeli society suffers from within, not only against Palestinians, but against some Jews themselves.
She also spoke of witnessing the apartheid treatment of Palestinians in the West Bank, the walls and checkpoints that separate villages, and the separation of families from each other.
Yola explained that this will have an impact on her relationship with her family and friends, and her entire life, and it will often be difficult to visit Israel again.
Yola wrote on her Instagram account that “giving up Israeli citizenship is possible and uncomplicated. I should also have said that the process that led to this was full of anger and sadness but once that was done, I was relieved.”
On November 8, Yola wrote an Instagram post explaining the racism of the Jewish state, which she saw herself while in Israel: “It’s 1997, when you were 16 and you’re still ignorant, excited to show your friends the new ID card, and then you are surprised to discover that not only does the ethnic and religious dictatorship consider you a non-Jew (as they made sure to specify on the card), but you are also the other kind of person who cannot be mentioned,” the report added.
“Then you never show the card to anyone and pretend you lost it. After 6 months you get a letter informing you of compulsory military service. B.C., you’re not Jewish enough for basic traditions like getting married in your “country,” or being buried in a proper cemetery (non-Jews are buried outside the cemetery walls and cannot marry Jews within the “state,” but you’re certainly white enough to volunteer for 2-3 years to do their dirty job of mocking and torturing people daily, in ways that evoke your childhood memories.”
“When you miraculously get your exemption card a week before your recruitment, the reason on the card hints that you are not mentally fit for university or for a professional job, and the military doctor who signs it can spit as many words of disgust and contempt as he can before leaving the room. To make you realise for the last time how selfish you are, how low you are in the hierarchy, that you refuse to sacrifice yourself.”
On November 2, Yola posted a photo of Edward Said throwing a stone towards the Israeli border and captioned the photo: “On his birthday, please accept this photo of Edward Said throwing a stone towards the Israeli border, on his first visit to liberated Lebanon since 1982.”
Just a day earlier, Yola was calling on all Palestinians, Arabs and allies to join the Palestinian youth movement in Toronto on National Action Day.
“Let’s show the world that we are not just people in solidarity with Palestine, we are a movement that will rise from every corner of the world until all our demands are met,” Yola said.
Believing that Israel is occupying the land, Yola posted on Instagram on October 23: “This photograph of the slopes of Ras al-Naqoura al-Bayda, on the edge of the mountain range separating Palestine and Lebanon, was found in an inscription book dating back to 1880. In the nineties, my brothers used to jump from these cliffs to the sea, and in the forties, trains travelled from Lebanon through a tunnel in the slopes to Gaza and beyond.”
“I became obsessed with a small building up the mountain, which is present in all the photos of this spot dating back to 1942. And here it is: in a photo I took while filming the border in 2022, in the background of a 1994 family photo, hiding behind the war memorial in a photo of us from 1990.”
“In the corner of this photo is a Jewish soldier who took part in the ethnic cleansing in the Galilee in 1948, who was photographed here a few years ago as a volunteer in the British army. I almost screamed in surprise when I saw the inscription dating back 145 years, where there is a small stone structure in the place where the building is located today.”