“We Will Not Let Them Win”: Israeli Delegate Who Attended Last Week’s Mipcom Explains Why He Journeyed To Cannes Amidst The Conflict

deadline.com:

EXCLUSIVE: One of the few Israeli delegates who attended last week’s Mipcom Cannes has said he made the trip because “we will not let them win.” “Hamas wants to stop our personal, professional and business life,” Dori Media boss Nadav Palti told Deadline on day one of the market. “And if we didn’t come then I would feel like they have won because they are trying to stop our daily life.

This is why I go to all this effort.” Some 70 Israelis were initially expected in the south of France but this number ended up being in the single figures following the brutal Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, which led to around 1,400 civillian deaths and 200 people being kidnapped, the majority of whom are still being held captive.

In the aftermath of the attacks, many Israeli execs we spoke with said they had canceled Mipcom plans and would stay put, while numerous flights were canceled. “We are not expecting to see anyone coming from Israel, but we would be very happy to welcome anyone who does,” said Mipcom Director Lucy Smith a few days before the start of the confab, adding that delegates would be offered a full refund.

Smith subsequently kicked off the market by sending a message of support to Israel and telling attendees that security around the Palais had been tightened.