Hundreds of Hollywood celebrities, including Selma Blair and Debra Messing, asked the Emmys to rescind its nomination of a Gaza-based journalist accused of ties to a Palestinian terrorist organization — only to be shot down by its ruling body.

A letter issued Monday by the non-profit organization Creative Community for Peace, and signed by Hollywood’s elite, is in response to the announcement of Bisan Atef Owda’s Emmy nomination for her documentary, “It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive” amid reports of her ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a nationally designated terrorist organization. 

The film, which chronicles Ms. Odwa’s life in Gaza following Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, was produced by the left-wing AJ+, an offshoot of the Qatari-funded media conglomerate, Al Jazeera, and was nominated in the Outstanding Hard News Feature Story category.

More than 150 actors and music and film executives expressed their “strong opposition” to Ms. Odwa’s “deeply troubling” nomination given “the creator’s history of promoting dangerous falsehoods, spreading antisemitism, and condoning violence.” They also write that her affiliation with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine raises “serious ethical concerns that cannot and should not be ignored.” 

Images and reports show that Ms. Odwa spoke at the terrorist group’s rallies on several occasions between 2014 and 2018. The group is regarded as a terrorist organization by America, Japan, Canada, and the European Union for its participation in deadly terror attacks, including aircraft hijackings and suicide bombings. 

Shortly after the October 7 massacre, Ms. Owda took to social media to announce that, “For every action, there is a reaction. This means: What was expected after 75 years of occupation and 17 years of siege? … What was expected of us? … Would the families of the prisoners remain silent?”

“Only in rescinding this nomination, will NATAS uphold its code of ethical conduct, which explicitly states a ‘zero tolerance for discrimination, harassment, illegal, dishonest, unethical, or otherwise harmful conduct,’” the searing letter concludes. 

However, the president of the Emmys governing body, Adam Sharp, shut down the request Tuesday, claiming that his organization has been “unable to corroborate these reports, nor has it been able, to date, to surface any evidence of more contemporary or active involvement by Owda with the PFLP organization.” 

Former editor-in-chief of the Jerusalem Post, Avi Mayer, responded to the news by urging critics to “resist” the “coordinated campaign” to defend Ms. Odwa and to “smear those opposing her outrageous nomination as racist.’”

Ms. Owda has not responded to the criticism nor has the documentary’s production company, Al Jazeera. Her nomination will be acknowledged in the 2024 Emmy Awards show next month.