Javier Bardem Denounces Israel at San Sebastian: “What’s Happened in Gaza Is Unacceptable”

Palestinian flags flank the red carpet at the San Sebastian Film Festival. As the city celebrates Spain’s most prestigious film fest, demonstrators have taken to the streets protesting the 40,000-plus men, women and children who have been killed in Gaza since the war with Israel began, according to the Hamas-run health ministry. Among those taking a pro-Gaza stance during the film event on the Spanish coast is Spanish national treasure Javier Bardem, who received the fest’s Donostia Award.

At the press conference, he took the opportunity to call for a ceasefire in Gaza and denounce the actions of the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu, who have continued air strikes in Gaza following the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, 2023, where over 1,200 people Israelis were murdered.

“I welcome [the award] with great joy but I am not in the mood for celebrations,” a translation of Bardem’s statement in the Spanish press said. “What has happened in Gaza is unacceptable, dehumanizing.”

Bardem said he believes the Israeli government is “the most radical government” the country has ever seen and has committed war crimes in Gaza. “The atrocious and reprehensible attacks by Hamas in October do not justify the massive global punishment that the Palestinian population is suffering,” he continued. “I believe that the impunity with which the Israeli government enjoys its actions in Gaza and the West Bank has to change,” he added, imploring the U.S. and U.K. in particular to reconsider their “unconditional support” for Benjamin Netanyahu.