Sydney  - The organizer of an Australian film festival said Monday he had rejected a demand from British film director Ken Roach to exclude an animated feature from Israeli director Tatia Rosenthal.

Roach pledged to withdraw his film, Looking for Eric, from next month's Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) if Rosenthal attended to talk about her film, entitled $9.99.

Rosenthal's presence, he said, was unwelcome because of the "illegal occupation of Palestinian land."

Festival head Richard Moore said "we will not participate in a boycott against the state of Israel, just as we would not contemplate boycotting films from China or other nations involved in difficult long-standing historical disputes."

He said Roach's threat was part of his campaign against Israel.

"Israelis and Australians have always had a lot in common, including contempt for the irritating British penchant for claiming cultural superiority," he said.

Last week Moore made international headlines when he defied a call from China that he not screen a documentary about exiled Uighur leader Rebiya Kadeer.

China has accused Kadeer of fomenting unrest among the Uighur community in the province of Xinjiang.

Moore said he received a telephone call from the Chinese consulate in Melbourne warning him of the serious consequences of upsetting Beijing.

"No one reacts well to strident approaches or to the appearance of being bullied," Moore said when explaining his decision to hang up the phone on the consular official.