Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) is a pro-Israel organization which works to counter antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the entertainment industry. It was founded in 2011 by David Renzer, Steve Schnur, and Ran Geffen-Lifshitz. CCFP is opposed to the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement and the idea to create the organization came up in on a conversation about BDS. The organization claims to be apolitical, which critics questioned after it partnered with StandWithUs from 2011 through 2013.
CCFP contacts celebrities who are scheduled to perform in Israel, attempting to counter BDS lobbying for them to cancel their appearances. CCFP describes their role as supporting and informing artists and helping facilitating music being played in peaceful gatherings. It has also released petitions and open letters.
Founding
Creative Community for Peace was founded in 2011 by David Renzer, the former CEO of Universal Music Publishing; Steve Schnur of Electronic Arts; and Ran Geffen-Lifshitz, founder of MMG Music. The three decided to start the organization while eating breakfast at the Dan Hotel in Tel Aviv in 2011 and discussing the BDS movement. They began asking friends and coworkers in Hollywood to get involved, and reaching out to celebrities who were scheduled to play in Tel Aviv in an attempt to counter BDS lobbying for celebrities to cancel their appearances in Israel.
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Creative Community for Peace is a pro-Israel organization which works to counter antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment in the entertainment industry. They seek to get artists and performers to promote the arts as a bridge to peace. The organization's website focuses on Israel's cultural diversity and technology, with less focus on the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Co-founder Steve Schnur praised the power of the arts to build bridges and bring people together. Co-founder David Renzer claims their goal is to provide balance in dialogue. CCFP co-founder Ran Geffen-Lifshitz stated in 2014 that the sole purpose of CCFP is to assist artists and performers with navigating appearances in Israel.
Craig Balsam (co-founder of Razor & Tie Entertainment) says that CCFP doesn't try to whitewash things or claim Israel is perfect. He says that CCFP objects to "factually incorrect, inflammatory and extreme" statements.According to Balsam, performing in Israel is an opportunity for artists to see first hand what's going on in Israel.
Co-founder Steve Schnur said in 2019 that CCFP is apolitical and non-religious. Renzer said that their vision is that through "dialogue and conversation and education" there would eventually be a peaceful resolution to the Israel/Palestine conflict. CCFP Director, Ari praised apolitical statements for peace from Rihanna and DJ Khaled who respectively said "stand[s] with humanity" and "love and light and prayers." The website describes CCFP as a group composed of members with diverse political views about how Israel can attain peace.
CCFP Director, Ari Ingel claims that misinformation is being spread online and the amplified with social media influences with no information of what's actually happening. He believes this only seeks to inflame the situation, instead of de-escalating it. Ingel spoke about problems with Clubhouse not having any ability to monitor hate speecha and said there was a disturbing about of anti-Jewish conspiracy theories and antisemitic tropes in the rooms including "Jews running the slave trade" and "running all the banks."
The organization is opposed to Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. In 2013, Forward wrote that they dispute the use of the term "occupation" to describe Israel's control over the West Bank. They take position that Israeli settlements are not an obstacle to peace and dispute claims that Israel is practicing apartheid. CCFP believes that performers boycotting Israel is not going to create peace. CCFP claims that some artists feel harassed or even physically threatened by BDS groups.
CCFP believes that Hamas is playing a leading role in the Israel/Palestine violence.