The United Jewish Appeal-Federation of New York has withdrawn its support from a Manhattan film festival showcasing Israel's Arab citizens.

The Other Israel Film Festival, which opened yesterday, features movies and panel discussions that focus on the Arab-Israeli experience outside the context of political conflict.

Materials for the festival were already printed when the Federation withdrew its support last month, so the organization's logo appears on festival brochures. It has disappeared, however, from the festival Web site, www.otherisrael.org.

A UJA-Federation spokesperson denied that the reason for the withdrawal of support was political or connected in any way with the festival's content, citing a failure to receive approval through appropriate channels within the organization.

"A request was made to have UJA-Federation lend its name to help generate interest in the event. The request was granted although it did not go through the proper approval process," a statement from the organization said.

Officials from the film festival did not provide additional details, but said that sponsorship for the festival was not financial and merely meant a show of support.

The festival, which is partnered with the the Jewish Community Center (JCC) in Manhattan, is funded entirely by New York philanthropist Carole Zabar.

'Outside pressures'

Sources, however, cite outside pressures from right-wing elements in the Jewish community and from potential donors who objected to an Israeli festival that was about the country's Arab citizens only.

Projects to be featured at the festival include "Arab Labor," a new television satire series written by Haaretz columnist Sayed Kashua, as well as well-known films such as "Syrian Bride" and "Trumpet in the Wadi," the feature based on the novel by Sami Michael.

The festival "is not about the conflict," said Zabar, the founder of the festival, whose eponymous specialty supermarket is a New York City landmark. "It is not about taking sides; this festival is about people."

Party politics

Sponsors for the event include numerous non-profit organizations and educational institutions such as the Ford Israel Fund, ORT America and the America-Israel Friendship League, as well as New York University's Taub Center for Israel Studies and Columbia University's Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures.

Meretz USA, a civil rights and peace organization that is "fully independent of the Israeli political party Meretz-Yahad," according to its Web site, was also among the initial list of sponsors.

Simple mistake

UJA-Federation officials said the organization's inclusion in the original promotional materials was the result of a simple mistake.

"Once the proper review process took place, we recognized that there were two issues that would prohibit us from lending our name in support of this event.

"First, we were listed as a sponsor yet no additive funds were provided directly in support of the festival.

"Secondly, an Israeli political party was also listed as a sponsor in the initial brochure.

"In order to maintain UJA-Federation's capacity to mobilize the broadest expression of the New York Jewish community we make every effort to avoid association with Israeli or American political parties.

"Our role is to mobilize the Jewish community to stand with the people of Israel and we preserve this capacity by strictly avoiding being associated with any Israeli political parties."

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