Over 1,200 UK artists have now pledged to heed the Palestinian people's call to boycott apartheid Israel.The pledge, which was launched on 14 February 2015 with a
letter in The Guardian newspaper and
a new website, reads:
We support the Palestinian struggle for freedom, justice and
equality. In response to the call from Palestinian artists and cultural
workers for a cultural boycott of Israel, we pledge to accept neither
professional invitations to Israel, nor funding, from any institutions
linked to its government until it complies with international law and
universal principles of human rights.
The
Guardian letter went on to add that:
Israel’s wars are fought on the cultural front too. Its army targets
Palestinian cultural institutions for attack, and prevents the free
movement of cultural workers. Its own theater companies perform to
settler audiences on the West Bank – and those same companies tour the
globe as cultural diplomats, in support of “Brand Israel.” During South
African apartheid, musicians announced they weren’t going to “play Sun
City.” Now we are saying, in Tel Aviv, Netanya, Ashkelon or Ariel, we
won’t play music, accept awards, attend exhibitions, festivals or
conferences, run masterclasses or workshops, until Israel respects
international law and ends its colonial oppression of the Palestinians.
The list of signatories includes many high-profile artists based in the UK, including:
Writers Tariq Ali, William Dalrymple, Aminatta Forna, Bonnie
Greer, Mark Haddon, Hari Kunzru, Liz Lochhead, Jimmy McGovern, China
Mieville, Andrew O’Hagan, Michael Rosen, Kamila Shamsie, Hanan
al-Shaykh, Gillian Slovo, Ahdaf Soueif, Marina Warner, Benjamin
Zephaniah
Film directors Mike Hodges, Asif Kapadia, Peter Kosminsky, Mike
Leigh, Phyllida Lloyd, Ken Loach, Roger Michell, Michael Radford, Julien
Temple
Comedians Jeremy Hardy, Alexei Sayle, Mark Thomas
Musicians Richard Ashcroft, Jarvis Cocker, Brian Eno, Kate Tempest, Roger Waters, Robert Wyatt
Actors Rizwan Ahmed, Anna Carteret, David Calder, Simon McBurney, Miriam Margolyes
Theater writers/directors Caryl Churchill, David Edgar, Dominic Cooke CBE, Sir Jonathan Miller, Mark Ravenhill
Visual artists Phyllida Barlow, John Berger, Jeremy Deller, Mona Hatoum
Architects Peter Ahrends, Will Alsop
Many of those participating added moving statements to their
signatures, outlining the reasons why they felt the need, as creatives,
to take this step. Director and screenwriter Michael
Radford’s sentiment was:
As the son of a Jewish refugee, the anger and despair I feel can only
faintly echo that of the people of Gaza. Art is a celebration of
humanity, and the symbolic gesture of refusing any artistic
collaboration with a state which values its own contribution to the arts
so highly is the least we can do to protest against the horrifying
inhumanity of its actions.
The full range of artists’ statements can be found on the
pledge website.
I have added my name, will you?
https://artistsforpalestine.org.uk/introduction/a-pledge/
