Professional Documents
Culture Documents
We were saddened to hear that you will be giving a concert in Israel in March.
You may not be aware of the serious violations of International Law and Human
Rights that have been carried out against the Palestinian population by Israel
over the last 60-odd years. One of the most recent violations was the brutal
attack made on the Gaza Strip in 2008-2009, during which Israel committed war
crimes and crimes against humanity as detailed in the report that the South
African judge Richard Goldstone drew up for the United Nations in 2009.
After the criminal offensive against Gaza in 2008-2009 and the attack on the
Freedom Flotilla in 2010, in which 9 Turkish citizens were assassinated by the
Israeli army in international waters, Israel has redoubled its efforts to present
itself to the world as a liberal and open democracy. Art, sport and culture play a
key role in this image campaign. The real cultural ambassadors of the Jewish
State –be they the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra or the Maccabi Tel Aviv sports
club– cannot be thought of as "innocent" entities separate from what they
represent; they sustain the apartheid regime just as much as the army does. In
the same way artists and musicians who are "invited" to perform in Israel –as
could be your case in March– help to "normalise" relations with the offending
state.
In 2004, inspired by the cultural boycott of South Africa during the apartheid
regime, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel
(PACBI) called for a boycott on all the institutions that participate in and sustain
the Israeli apartheid regime. We would like to stress the importance of this call,
made by Palestinian artists, musicians and academics, and to underline the
increasingly favourable response it is obtaining in the world of culture at an
international level, especially from musicians and film-makers. The boycott
campaign is supported by universities, institutions, churches, writers, artists and
musicians from countries all over the world, including Israel.
In 1985, a group of musicians including Steve Van Zand, Ruben Blades, Bob
Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr, Gil Scott Heron and Miles Davis refused to
perform at the Sun City festival in South Africa because to do so would have
meant endorsing the South African apartheid regime and its institutionalised
form of racism. Similarly, in recent years various internationally well-known
personalities have expressed their support for the boycott on Israel. They include
Roger Waters, Desmond Tutu, John Berger, Ken Loach, Eduardo Galeano, Ilan
Pappe, Antoni Muntadas, John Greyson, Cornelia Parker, Naomi Klein, Arundhati
Roy, Jean-Luc Godard and Brian Eno.
For all of the reasons given in this letter we urge you to cancel your concert
in Israel. As an outstanding and respected international figure in the world of
music you can contribute to obtaining freedom, justice and a just peace in
Palestine.
Best regards,
You can find more information about the International BDS movement for Palestine at:
www.pacbi.org and www.bdsmovement.net