In 2009, the officials in charge of the event were criticized for the decision to the screen of a film about ISM activist Rachel Corrie.
Writing in the N. California JWeekly, Dan Pine noted "If the Academy handed out an Oscar for community turmoil, the Rachel Corrie flap at this year’s San Francisco Jewish Film Festival would win handily.
"[3] Pine reported that some Jewish community members said that festival organizers "crossed a line into overtly anti-Israel propaganda" and that "Corrie, and now her parents, have worked to ostracize and delegitimize Israel.
The featured films included "Germans & Jews", and Director Janina Quint was scheduled to attended the screening.
[citation needed] The 37th festival took place July 20 to August 6, 2017, in the same five Bay Area locations as previous years.