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March 21, 2013
March 19, 2013
![Boycotting Israel is the “way to go,” says Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters | The Electronic Intifada
By David CroninThe Electronic Intifada
March 18, 2013
Roger Waters is the most famous rock star to have publicly supported the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
A founder of Pink Floyd — a British rock group which has sold more than 250 million albums — Waters decided to become active in the international Palestinian solidarity movement following a trip to the West Bank in 2006. Shocked by the oppression that he witnessed, Waters spray-painted the words “we don’t need no thought control” — a line from one of his biggest hits — on Israel’s wall.
More recently, Waters has served as a juror on the Russell Tribunal for Palestine, an initiative aimed at drawing attention to how Western governments and companies aid Israel’s violations of international law. In that capacity, he addressed the United Nations during November last year.
Visiting Brussels for the tribunal’s final session, Waters said he would explore the idea of releasing a single urging musicians not to perform in Israel. He intends to discuss this project with Steven Van Zandt, the guitarist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, who assembled many well-known musicians to record Sun City, a protest song against apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s.
Waters spoke to The Electronic Intifada’s David Cronin.
David Cronin: Do you think the campaign for a cultural boycott of Israel is having an impact?
Roger Waters: I’d like to think that it was.
My experience when I speak to people to and say “don’t go” is either they reply “that sounds good” or they say “don’t you think it’s better to go there?”
Well, no, I fucking don’t.
I think that the kind of boycott that was implemented against the apartheid regime in South Africa back in the day is probably the most effective way to go because the situation is that the Israeli government runs an apartheid regime in Israel, the occupied territories and everywhere else it decides. Let us not forget that they laid waste to most of Lebanon around the time I started getting involved in this issue. They destroyed airports, hospitals, any public buildings they could.
They are running riot and it seems unlikely that running over there and playing the violin will have any lasting effect.
DC: Have you personally asked any fellow musicians to boycott Israel?
RW: Yeah, I have.
DC: Would you prepared to say who those musicians were?
RW: No, I wouldn’t be. It was entirely private between me and them.
All I would say is that part of my involvement here in the Russell Tribunal today and tomorrow is that I am about to publish an open letter written to all my colleagues in the music industry, asking them to join me in the BDS movement. This is not just to colleagues in the UK or US but around the world.
What caused me to write this public letter was an affair where Stevie Wonder was hired to play a gala dinner for the Israeli Defense Forces on 6 December last year. I wrote a letter to him saying that this would be like playing a police ball in Johannesburg the day after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960. It wouldn’t be a great thing to do, particularly as he was meant to be a UN ambassador for peace. It wasn’t just me. Desmond Tutu also wrote a letter.
To his eternal credit, Stevie Wonder called them [the gala’s organizers] up and said “I didn’t quite get it” [and canceled the performance]. This happened one week after I made a speech to the UN. Neither of these events were reported anywhere in the mainstream media in the United States of America.
Both events were almost as important as [TV personality] Kim Kardashian’s bra size. The way they are not being reported means the media must be under instructions from somewhere not to report these things to the American public, on what grounds I cannot guess.
DC: How do you feel about the support for Israel offered by David Cameron’s government in your native Britain?
RW: Cameron has absolutely adopted Tony Blair’s wolf’s clothing that he [Blair] adopted so eagerly and happily when he went to war in Iraq on George Bush’s coat-tails.
Cameron is entirely content for Great Britain to be a satellite nation of the US. None of us can quite understand why.
There is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The EU’s diplomatic emissaries [in the West Bank] joined together [recently]. They protested the settlements and asked for sanctions. This is almost unprecedented. But the governments of these emissaries have done nothing and continue to do nothing.
I have been very disillusioned with UK foreign policy really since [Harold] Wilson [a Labor Party prime minister during the 1960s and 1970s]. It was such a political turnabout from [Labor leaders] Keir Hardie and [Clement] Attlee and the principles of British socialism. It was a precursor for taking over the country with the appalling monetarist strategies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. I’m quite ashamed of the way we have behaved. The UK has been royally fucking the world over for centuries — not least you bog Irish.
DC: One of your fellow jurors on the Russell Tribunal, Stéphane Hessel, died recently. Did you know him well?
RW: I knew him very little. What a brave, eloquent, good-hearted, brilliant man.
DC: As a musician, have you had a chance to check out the vibrant Palestinian hip-hop scene?
RW: I haven’t. But if it thrives, I can’t find anything negative about that, so long as it’s not about bling and booty and wearing a baseball cap sideways. So long as it’s about protest and realism, rather than the flight from realism that hip-hop is in the US.
DC: In your speech to the UN, you paid tribute to Rachel Corrie. Is there anything you would like to say about Rachel Corrie, given that it’s the tenth anniversary of her murder?
RW: Her parents attended the [Russell Tribunal] session in New York [last year]. It was very moving.
DC: Do you support the hunger strikes being undertaken by a number of Palestinian prisoners?
RW: The thing about political prisoners is: it doesn’t matter if you are in the Maze [in Northern Ireland] or in a prison somewhere in Israel, your options are very limited. Hunger strikes or dirty protests are some of the very few options to bring attention to your specific predicament.
I respect the brave men and women who go to those lengths. As we know, hunger-striking is not like going on a diet. It is real, dangerous and painful. You don’t do it without compelling reasons.
David Cronin is a contributing editor with The Electronic Intifada. His book Europe’s Alliance With Israel: Aiding the Occupation is published by Pluto Press.
Copyright © 2013 ElectronicIntifada.net.
[Photo: Roger Waters, British rock legend and co-founder of the group Pink Floyd, visits Israel’s wall surrounding the West Bank town of Bethlehem, 21 June 2006. (© MaanImages/Magnus Johansson)]](http://25.media.tumblr.com/c6dad1030ab87d673a7c54b051aa55ad/tumblr_mjvrvn66No1qb5wbbo1_1280.jpg)
Boycotting Israel is the “way to go,” says Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters | The Electronic Intifada
By David Cronin
The Electronic Intifada
March 18, 2013
Roger Waters is the most famous rock star to have publicly supported the campaign for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel.
A founder of Pink Floyd — a British rock group which has sold more than 250 million albums — Waters decided to become active in the international Palestinian solidarity movement following a trip to the West Bank in 2006. Shocked by the oppression that he witnessed, Waters spray-painted the words “we don’t need no thought control” — a line from one of his biggest hits — on Israel’s wall.
More recently, Waters has served as a juror on the Russell Tribunal for Palestine, an initiative aimed at drawing attention to how Western governments and companies aid Israel’s violations of international law. In that capacity, he addressed the United Nations during November last year.
Visiting Brussels for the tribunal’s final session, Waters said he would explore the idea of releasing a single urging musicians not to perform in Israel. He intends to discuss this project with Steven Van Zandt, the guitarist in Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band, who assembled many well-known musicians to record Sun City, a protest song against apartheid in South Africa during the 1980s.
Waters spoke to The Electronic Intifada’s David Cronin.
David Cronin: Do you think the campaign for a cultural boycott of Israel is having an impact?
Roger Waters: I’d like to think that it was.
My experience when I speak to people to and say “don’t go” is either they reply “that sounds good” or they say “don’t you think it’s better to go there?”
Well, no, I fucking don’t.
I think that the kind of boycott that was implemented against the apartheid regime in South Africa back in the day is probably the most effective way to go because the situation is that the Israeli government runs an apartheid regime in Israel, the occupied territories and everywhere else it decides. Let us not forget that they laid waste to most of Lebanon around the time I started getting involved in this issue. They destroyed airports, hospitals, any public buildings they could.
They are running riot and it seems unlikely that running over there and playing the violin will have any lasting effect.
DC: Have you personally asked any fellow musicians to boycott Israel?
RW: Yeah, I have.
DC: Would you prepared to say who those musicians were?
RW: No, I wouldn’t be. It was entirely private between me and them.
All I would say is that part of my involvement here in the Russell Tribunal today and tomorrow is that I am about to publish an open letter written to all my colleagues in the music industry, asking them to join me in the BDS movement. This is not just to colleagues in the UK or US but around the world.
What caused me to write this public letter was an affair where Stevie Wonder was hired to play a gala dinner for the Israeli Defense Forces on 6 December last year. I wrote a letter to him saying that this would be like playing a police ball in Johannesburg the day after the Sharpeville massacre in 1960. It wouldn’t be a great thing to do, particularly as he was meant to be a UN ambassador for peace. It wasn’t just me. Desmond Tutu also wrote a letter.
To his eternal credit, Stevie Wonder called them [the gala’s organizers] up and said “I didn’t quite get it” [and canceled the performance]. This happened one week after I made a speech to the UN. Neither of these events were reported anywhere in the mainstream media in the United States of America.
Both events were almost as important as [TV personality] Kim Kardashian’s bra size. The way they are not being reported means the media must be under instructions from somewhere not to report these things to the American public, on what grounds I cannot guess.
DC: How do you feel about the support for Israel offered by David Cameron’s government in your native Britain?
RW: Cameron has absolutely adopted Tony Blair’s wolf’s clothing that he [Blair] adopted so eagerly and happily when he went to war in Iraq on George Bush’s coat-tails.
Cameron is entirely content for Great Britain to be a satellite nation of the US. None of us can quite understand why.
There is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel. The EU’s diplomatic emissaries [in the West Bank] joined together [recently]. They protested the settlements and asked for sanctions. This is almost unprecedented. But the governments of these emissaries have done nothing and continue to do nothing.
I have been very disillusioned with UK foreign policy really since [Harold] Wilson [a Labor Party prime minister during the 1960s and 1970s]. It was such a political turnabout from [Labor leaders] Keir Hardie and [Clement] Attlee and the principles of British socialism. It was a precursor for taking over the country with the appalling monetarist strategies of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. I’m quite ashamed of the way we have behaved. The UK has been royally fucking the world over for centuries — not least you bog Irish.
DC: One of your fellow jurors on the Russell Tribunal, Stéphane Hessel, died recently. Did you know him well?
RW: I knew him very little. What a brave, eloquent, good-hearted, brilliant man.
DC: As a musician, have you had a chance to check out the vibrant Palestinian hip-hop scene?
RW: I haven’t. But if it thrives, I can’t find anything negative about that, so long as it’s not about bling and booty and wearing a baseball cap sideways. So long as it’s about protest and realism, rather than the flight from realism that hip-hop is in the US.
DC: In your speech to the UN, you paid tribute to Rachel Corrie. Is there anything you would like to say about Rachel Corrie, given that it’s the tenth anniversary of her murder?
RW: Her parents attended the [Russell Tribunal] session in New York [last year]. It was very moving.
DC: Do you support the hunger strikes being undertaken by a number of Palestinian prisoners?
RW: The thing about political prisoners is: it doesn’t matter if you are in the Maze [in Northern Ireland] or in a prison somewhere in Israel, your options are very limited. Hunger strikes or dirty protests are some of the very few options to bring attention to your specific predicament.
I respect the brave men and women who go to those lengths. As we know, hunger-striking is not like going on a diet. It is real, dangerous and painful. You don’t do it without compelling reasons.
David Cronin is a contributing editor with The Electronic Intifada. His book Europe’s Alliance With Israel: Aiding the Occupation is published by Pluto Press.
Copyright © 2013 ElectronicIntifada.net.
[Photo: Roger Waters, British rock legend and co-founder of the group Pink Floyd, visits Israel’s wall surrounding the West Bank town of Bethlehem, 21 June 2006. (© MaanImages/Magnus Johansson)]
March 11, 2013
March 10, 2013
March 3, 2013
February 25, 2013
![In Eyes of the World, Palestinians are “subhuman” | Al Akhbar English
By Haidar Eid
February 24, 2013
Article one of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It does not, however, say “with the exception of Palestinians.”
But we, 11 million Palestinians, know very well that we are the exception to that rule. Whether we are “Israeli Arabs,” “Arabs of the occupied territories,” or diasporic Arabs, we cannot have the same rights as “all human beings.” Others have the right to life, work, security, health, movement, democracy, education, electricity, water, medicine, food, love, marriage. We don’t.
Any attempt to understand the rationale behind these blatant human rights violations – what Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, John Dugard, and many others call apartheid – is faced with accusations of anti-Semitism, a weapon used to silence voices calling for justice in the Middle East. Take, for example, the accusations hurled at the organizers of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) event at the Brooklyn College. Of course, no American president wants to be at the receiving end of such accusations
As Ben White wrote: “The abuse of the charge of anti-Semitism to shield systematic human rights abuses and to smear activists, while tired and transparent to many, is still a favorite tactic.”
The possibility of peace with justice at this moment is far from realization. The impossibility of the realization of the national dream of one third of the Palestinian people has brought forward the embarrassing question of the rights of the remaining two thirds, namely the dispossessed refugees living in miserable camps.
What is the Palestinian cause if not the right of return of the refugees both inside and outside Palestine? Is there a slight possibility of having ‘peace’ in the Middle East without resolving this question? If, as some Israeli leaders claim, there is a way of finding a ‘just solution’ that does not include their return, does that guarantee a just comprehensive peace?
The whites of apartheid South Africa defined the institutions of the country as democratic – albeit white democracy, i.e. by and for whites only. Native Africans never recognized the ‘white nature’ of that country. The idea of defining the country as exclusively white and democratic at the same time was never accepted by the international community. It was considered blatant racism. Unlike Palestinians, black Africans are considered human beings, and therefore, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to them.
That is precisely what the call for the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state means. Forget about 6 million refugees scattered all over the world as a result of the process of ethnic cleansing that accompanied the establishment of Israel.
According to this formula, the Palestinians are only those who live in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. ‘The Middle East conflict,’ in case you didn’t know, will be resolved if the latter are given a flag and three to four truncated bantustans with a chief that we can call a president.
US President Barack Obama’s expected talks in Ramallah and Tel Aviv next month are not going to allude to the refugees’ issues. Obama also won’t utter a word about the civil rights of 1.2 million Palestinian citizens inside the state of Israel. One thing he will not forget to say again and again: The US is committed to the security of the state of Israel! Hendrik Verwoerd and P. W Botha, the architects of Apartheid, would have been vindicated.
Haidar Eid is an assistant professor at al-Aqsa University in Gaza.
Copyright © 2013 Al Akhbar English.
[Photo: Palestinians aid a wounded protester following clashes with Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra near Nablus on 23 February 2013. (© AFP - Jaafar Ashtiyeh)]](http://24.media.tumblr.com/cd80f57454212901f5dd8ccee8671874/tumblr_mirec2h9vK1qb5wbbo1_1280.jpg)
In Eyes of the World, Palestinians are “subhuman” | Al Akhbar English
By Haidar Eid
February 24, 2013
Article one of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” It does not, however, say “with the exception of Palestinians.”
But we, 11 million Palestinians, know very well that we are the exception to that rule. Whether we are “Israeli Arabs,” “Arabs of the occupied territories,” or diasporic Arabs, we cannot have the same rights as “all human beings.” Others have the right to life, work, security, health, movement, democracy, education, electricity, water, medicine, food, love, marriage. We don’t.
Any attempt to understand the rationale behind these blatant human rights violations – what Jimmy Carter, Desmond Tutu, John Dugard, and many others call apartheid – is faced with accusations of anti-Semitism, a weapon used to silence voices calling for justice in the Middle East. Take, for example, the accusations hurled at the organizers of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) event at the Brooklyn College. Of course, no American president wants to be at the receiving end of such accusations
As Ben White wrote: “The abuse of the charge of anti-Semitism to shield systematic human rights abuses and to smear activists, while tired and transparent to many, is still a favorite tactic.”
The possibility of peace with justice at this moment is far from realization. The impossibility of the realization of the national dream of one third of the Palestinian people has brought forward the embarrassing question of the rights of the remaining two thirds, namely the dispossessed refugees living in miserable camps.
What is the Palestinian cause if not the right of return of the refugees both inside and outside Palestine? Is there a slight possibility of having ‘peace’ in the Middle East without resolving this question? If, as some Israeli leaders claim, there is a way of finding a ‘just solution’ that does not include their return, does that guarantee a just comprehensive peace?
The whites of apartheid South Africa defined the institutions of the country as democratic – albeit white democracy, i.e. by and for whites only. Native Africans never recognized the ‘white nature’ of that country. The idea of defining the country as exclusively white and democratic at the same time was never accepted by the international community. It was considered blatant racism. Unlike Palestinians, black Africans are considered human beings, and therefore, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights applies to them.
That is precisely what the call for the recognition of Israel as a Jewish state means. Forget about 6 million refugees scattered all over the world as a result of the process of ethnic cleansing that accompanied the establishment of Israel.
According to this formula, the Palestinians are only those who live in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. ‘The Middle East conflict,’ in case you didn’t know, will be resolved if the latter are given a flag and three to four truncated bantustans with a chief that we can call a president.
US President Barack Obama’s expected talks in Ramallah and Tel Aviv next month are not going to allude to the refugees’ issues. Obama also won’t utter a word about the civil rights of 1.2 million Palestinian citizens inside the state of Israel. One thing he will not forget to say again and again: The US is committed to the security of the state of Israel! Hendrik Verwoerd and P. W Botha, the architects of Apartheid, would have been vindicated.
Haidar Eid is an assistant professor at al-Aqsa University in Gaza.
Copyright © 2013 Al Akhbar English.
[Photo: Palestinians aid a wounded protester following clashes with Israeli settlers in the West Bank village of Qusra near Nablus on 23 February 2013. (© AFP - Jaafar Ashtiyeh)]
February 23, 2013
"In the situation that exists today, until a Palestinian state is created, we are actually one state. This joint state — in the hope that the status quo is temporary — is an apartheid state."
— Alon Liel, former Israeli Foreign Ministry Director-General and ex-Ambassador to South Africa, February 20, 2013
January 30, 2013
"Lorsque les premiers éléments du programme ultra secret sud-africain - le Project Coast - ont percé durant l’été 1998, nul n’imaginait encore l’ampleur qu’avait prise ce véritable bioterrorisme d’État. Anthrax, Ebola, Sida, Choléra, stérilisation de masse, poisons chimiques ethniquement sélectifs, figurent parmi les armes envisagées par les autorités de l’Apartheid contre la population noire. Un projet de guerre bio-chimique à caractère raciste largement soutenu par les puissances occidentales. Mis sur pied en 1985, le programme militaire n’a apparemment pris fin qu’en 1994, sans que toutes les responsabilités soient clairement établies. À ce jour nul ne sait où a disparu cette technologie de mort ni entre quelles mains elle se trouve. Encore moins sait-on qui pourrait en faire usage…"
— Tristan Mendès France, Dr la Mort. Enquête sur le bio-terrorisme d’État en Afrique du Sud, 2002
January 23, 2013
"Welcome to Israel, where “Left” means racist, “change” means strengthening apartheid, & shooting dead Palestinian women means “security"
January 6, 2013
2012 Summary of the Cultural Boycott of Israel | Refrain Playing Israel
By DPAI (UK, Australia, Ireland, USA)
Monday, December 31, 2012
The year 2012 was an amazing year full of many successes in the campaign for the cultural boycott of Israel. This summary focuses on the cultural boycott with an emphasis on musical artists and groups.
The fall of South African apartheid was preceded by the movement by artists of conscience to boycott “Sun City.” A similar anti-apartheid movement is rapidly growing; and musicians increasingly do not want to perform in Israel.
The Israeli Philharmonic Orchestra, Habima, Batsheva, and the Cameri Theater continued to be sent to perform abroad as “cultural ambassadors” for Israel. This year people who oppose apartheid gathered in many cities to raise awareness of the complicity of these artists. Almost all Batsheva performances were protested. Demonstrations took place in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Italy, throughout the UK and in Edinburgh, Scotland.
January, 2012: The Tuneyards cancel their gig in Israel. The lead singer Merrill Garbus is a signatory of the Artists Against Israeli Apartheid pledge.[1]
Jacques Ranciére, acclaimed French intellectual and Emeritus Professor of Philosophy, University of Paris (St. Denis) writes that he will not violate the boycott, and cancels plans to give public readings at Tel Aviv University. [2]
February, 2012: Award winning singer-songwriter Cat Power (Chan Marshall) cancels her gig in Tel Aviv, tweeting, “MUSIC IS HEALING AND IT IS NOT HUMANE IF ALL CANNOT HAVE THE CHOICE, THE RIGHT, TO ATTEND. H E L P, A W A R E N E S S”[3]
New York Indie band The Pains of Being Pure at Heart announce they will not play Israel. Israel’s “Walla” press reports the cancellation was political. [4]
Grammy-winning jazz singer Cassandra Wilson was scheduled to be the featured performer at the Holon International Women’s Festival. Just days before her sold out performances, she politely bowed out, saying “As a human rights activist I identify with the cultural boycott of Israel.” [5] Wilson received letters of thanks signed by solidarity groups from around the world.
Israeli TV uses the term “refuseniks” to refer to Bruce Springsteen, Eric Clapton, U2 and Coldplay. The term implies that these artists have a political reason to refuse to perform in Israel. [6]
March, 2012: The cultural boycott moves to New York City as Batsheva attempts to present Israel’s pretty face through dance; Adalah-NY volunteers are ready with their own performance outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Palestinian dancer Hana Awwad writes, “Exhibits and performances by Palestinian artists are systematically banned, sabotaged, and closed down by the Israeli occupation. Artists themselves are targets of violence, arbitrary arrests, and deportations.” [7]
Actors and artists sign onto a letter asking Shakespeare’s Globe in London to withdraw its invitation to Habima, and refuse to be complicit with human rights violations and the illegal colonisation of occupied land. Thirty seven artists sign, including the highly acclaimed Academy Award, Emmy and and Golden Globe winning Emma Thompson. [8]
Staying true to punk rock, Zdob si Zdub from Moldavia keep Israel off their tour plans. Punks Against Apartheid wrote a letter to the band in January, asking them to respect the boycott.[9]
April, 2012: The six member Irish band Dervish agrees to respect the cultural boycott, cancelling a series of planned shows in Israel, stating: “At the time we agreed to these performances we were unaware there was a cultural boycott in place. We now feel that we do not wish to break this boycott,” and adding, “Our decision to withdraw from the concerts reflects our wish to neither endorse nor criticise anyone’s political views in this situation.”[10] Fullset, also from Ireland, announce that they had not been aware of the cultural boycott, and cancel their concert in Israel on the back of the Dervish cancellation. [11]
The Mediterranean Delight International Bellydance Festival was slated to take place in Marrakech, Morocco. When it was uncovered that the festival was sponsored by an Israeli belly dancer, a campaign against normalization successfully shut down the show. Belly dancer Noor refuses to participate in the Israeli backed festival, and it was relocated to Greece. [12]
Qatar cancelled the Music and Dialogue Festival which featured Israeli musicians, scheduled for April 30 - May 4, marking another milestone for the growing anti-apartheid movement.[13]
Singer Macy Gray responds to a letter written to the Red Hot Chili Peppers asking them to boycott apartheid Israel. Gray reaffirms her commitment to justice when she tweets to activist Tali Shapiro (Boycott From Within) “Nvr give up the good fight Tali. Yer a great human. “ [14]
May, 2012: Huzama Habayeb, a Palestinian novelist, led an overwhelmingly successful academic boycott effort involving the Center for Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. The Center’s planned book project titled Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women was cancelled because nearly half of the authors (13 out of 29) withdrew their literary contributions in protest of the inclusion of two Israeli authors celebrated amongst ‘institutionalised’ Israeli literary circles. Habayeb wrote “My overly conscious heart was heavy. I cannot accept, ethically and morally, that my voice be shared equally with writers who reflect the voice of an obnoxious occupier” [15] Regarding the large number of authors who refused to participate, the center’s Director Kamran Scot Aghaie writes, “On balance, the net result is that the book project is no longer viable. Therefore, we are discontinuing publication of this volume.” [16]
Slumdog Millionaire author Vikas Swarup cancels his appearance at the International Writers Festival in Israel. [17] The Indian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (INCACBI) had written to him in February. [18]
Shakespeare’s Globe in London hosted Israel’s National Theatre Habima. A twitter campaign using #loveculture developed by Israel’s UK embassy was transformed into #loveculture hate apartheid, and made global trends. As Habima performed The Merchant of Venice, streets were filled with people, signs, and Palestinian flags outside the Globe. Inside, numerous people peacefully held banners, and mentioned Palestine throughout the performance. British actor and audience member, John Graham Davies arose, delivering Shylock’s famous line during the trial scene, saying “Hath not a Palestinian eyes?” – for a moment the production almost lost its balance. Davies was then promptly removed by hired security personnel. [19]
June, 2012: Israeli advisor to the Red Sea International Classical Music Festival, tells Haaretz “I can testify that more than once projects have been cancelled or postponed based on their ‘Israeliness.’ And again - these things are not said crassly, no one will say: we are conducting a boycott. The word boycott doesn’t exist, but the political situation of Israel also impacts this field.” [20]
Grammy-Award winning tabla player Zakir Hussain of India cancels his gig in Israel. Hussain was contacted by the INCACBI. [21]
Pulitzer Prize winner and highly acclaimed author Alice Walker declines the publishing of the Color Purple by an Israeli publisher, stating: “It is my hope that the non-violent BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement, of which I am part, will have enough of an impact on Israeli civilian society to change the situation.”[22]
July, 2012: When a celebration promoting Israeli culture in Switzerland attempts to include the Palestinian dance troupe Juthor, they withdraw. Organizers of the International Folklore Encounters Festival, Fribourg had intended to bring Juthor onto the stage together with the Israeli group Shalom Israel. [23]
Rocker Serj Tankian releases Occupied Tears, raising awareness about Palestinian life under occupation. [24]
Ottawa musical group Three Little Birds sing Apartheid on CTV Morning Live, and are subsequently attacked by pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting Canada.[25]
Nino Katamadze’s five concert tour was quietly cancelled, Katamadze was contacted by Boycott From Within, and plans for a five concert tour in November were scrapped. [26]
Anti-apartheid fans of Hollywood actors Bruce Willis and Jean Claude Van Damme were relieved they cancelled their planned visit to Tel Aviv, where they were scheduled to attend a local premiere screening of their latest film Expendables 2. [27]
Controversial reggae artist Sizzla Kalonji cancels his gig in Israel after tweeting his disappointment that Obama had awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Israeli President Shimon Peres. [28]
August, 2012: The importance of the cultural boycott was emphasized when reports reassured disappointed and, at times, angry Israeli fans that the cancellations of concerts in Tel Aviv by the Swedish Cardigans [29] and by Lenny Kravitz were for reasons not related to the cultural boycott of Israel. [30]
Highly successful protests of Batsheva take place in Edinburgh, Scotland. [31]
An Israeli website announced that English electronica big beat group Prodigy would perform in Tel Aviv. Emails from Prodigy’s manager showed claims the band would perform in Israel were completely false. The same site also made false claims that Jennifer Lopez and Bruce Springsteen would perform in Israel in 2012.
The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg-South Africa, Student Representative Council passed a resolution that calls for the full cultural and academic boycott of Israeli institutions, stating they “will not participate in any form of cultural or academic collaboration or joint projects with Israeli institutions and will not provide any support to Israeli cultural or academic institutions.”[32]
September, 2012: Noted British theater director Peter Brook and the Bouffes du Nord theatre troop of France honored the call to boycott Israel, cancelling planned performances for December at the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv. Brook wrote: “The fact that the Cameri Theatre has accepted to support the brutal action of colonisation by playing in Ariel [in the West Bank] has made us aware that in coming to your theatre we would appear as a support for that brutal action. This forces us to decline your invitation to perform in your theatre. The decision is entirely ours, and not to come to you, it is our free choice. We know that there are many amongst you and in your country who share our attitude and it is them we wish to support as well as the people of Palestine.” [33]
The Red Hot Chili Peppers are asked to accept the anti-apartheid call, in a campaign that unites thousands in support for the cultural boycott of Israel. When the RHCP refuse to cancel their gig in Tel Aviv, internationally acclaimed Lebanese group Mashrou’ Leila, tweets “we will not be opening for the red hot chili peppers on september 6 in beirut.”[34]
Palestinian film directors refuse to participate in the filming of 24h Jerusalem, and production is halted. Twenty directors, including Israelis, pulled out of the film project in support of the cultural boycott. Though it appeared to be a benign film about culture, it was actually funded in part by the Jerusalem Development Authority, an organization implicated in numerous violations of human rights and illegal activities against Palestinians. Enas aL-Muthaffar, filmmaker, wrote: “I refuse to be part of a peace propaganda machine that continues to ignore Israel’s cruel colonization of Palestine.” [35]
A survey done in Britain finds that one in four support a full cultural boycott of Israel by musicians. [36]
October, 2012: Pulitzer Prize–winning author Alice Walker, Palestinian spoken word artist Remi Kenazi and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters join dozens of other cultural workers to call for Carnegie Hall to cancel the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra’s performance.[37]
Hip hop duo Rebel Diaz, artist Narcenio Hall and Cairo-based art collective Mosireen boycott the two-day 2012 Creative Time Summit in Manhattan because of the summit’s partnership with an Israeli organization that is funded by the Israeli government.[38]
Ramallah-based Palestinian MC Boikutt, Syrian singer Lena Chamamyan, Lebanese MC Malikah (Lynn Fattouh), and Palestinian DJ Sotusura all pull out of the Salam.Orient cultural festival in Austria, because it is sponsored in part by the Israeli embassy. [39]
Turkish band Baba Zula’s concert in Israel was cancelled, while obviously not all cancelling performers have the courage to publicly state their reasons, it isn’t a surprise when they don’t rebook.
Remi Kanazi releases Normalize This! on youtube in support of the cultural boycott of Israel, explaining why normalization cannot lead to positive change.
November, 2012: The legendary Stevie Wonder (winner of 22 Grammy Awards and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award) makes international news when he cancels a scheduled December performance at a Los Angeles fundraiser for Friends of the IDF(FIDF), an organization that raises money for the Israeli army. [40] His statement is posted on the website of his radio station, Radio FREE KJLH 102.3FM.
The Cape Town World Music Festival had to do without one of its star acts when Pops Mohamed boycotted the event because of co-sponsorship by the Israeli embassy.
Ten talented young harpists bow out of the International Harp Contest in Israel, leaving only 22 non-Israelis to complete in the increasingly unpopular state sponsored event. In addition, acclaimed harpists Naoko Yoshino and Park Stickney also quietly cancelled their performances for the Harp Contest. [41]
At least 10 international actors withdrew from the IsraDrama festival, following last minute appeals asking them not to collaborate with the Cameri Theater in Tel Aviv which performs in settlements. [42]
Zebda, a popular band from France, releases One life less-(une vie de moins), which draws attention to Israeli occupation, Gaza, and how children are affected by apartheid.[43]
Electronica musician and DJ Carl Craig of Detroit quietly cancels his gig in Tel Aviv.
Ross Daly, Giorgos Xylouris, Giorgos Manolakis, and Kelly Thoma cancel plans to play at the Israeli state sponsored Jerusalem Oud Festival, stating “After all, we’re musicians with feelings and sensibilities, not music machines which can operate under all and any circumstances.” [44]
Roger Waters, musician and founder of Pink Floyd, explains the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement in his address to the United Nations on behalf of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine: “It aims, as many of you know, to bring non-violent economic pressure to bear on Israel to force an end to its violations, an end to occupation and apartheid, an end to the denial of Palestinians’ right of return, and an end to Palestinian citizens of Israel being required to live as second class citizens, discriminated against on racial grounds, and subject to different laws than their Jewish compatriots. The BDS movement is gaining ground hand over fist. Just last week I was happy to write a letter of support to the Student Government of the University of California, Irvine, congratulating them on demanding that their University divest from companies that profit from the Israeli occupation.”[45]
December, 2012: The London-based Jazz group Portico Quartet, cancelled their planned concert for the Red Sea Jazz Festival in Israel. The band courageously voiced their support for the cultural boycott, linking fans on their Facebook page to the Palestinian BDS National Committee’s website. [46]
Swedish virtuoso guitarist Andreas Öberg was congratulated for cancelling his planned gigs in Israel, honoring the call for a cultural boycott of the apartheid state. Öberg let fans know about his cancellation on Facebook. [47]
A campaign launched July to persuade Woody Allen to shoot his next film in Israel failed. The goals of the movie were to “enable Israel to enter the world’s imagination in a way a billion dollars of hasbara (public relations/propaganda) couldn’t possibly buy.” In an open letter to Allen, he was asked “Would it not be more ingenious to develop a movie satirising Israel’s desperate attempts to obscure its crimes against humanity?” [48]
Looking ahead to 2013:
Bruce Springsteen’s choice to refrain from playing Israel in 2012 is a welcome one to anti-apartheid campaigners. Multiple claims in the Israeli press, as well as several campaigns to pressure Springsteen to play Israel, confirm that there are still major efforts underway to convince The Boss to ignore the boycott in 2013.
Israel tends to ask bands who previously played in the apartheid state to return. Bands whose members are Kabbalists are also often invited to play in Israel. All artists are invited to respect the boycott, regardless of their spiritual commitments and if they have previously played in Israel. Campaigns are already underway to educate artists involved with Lollapalooza Israel about the boycott. The catchy “lollapartheid” has already been used to describe the festival.
Notes:
[1] 500 Artists Against Israeli Apartheid http://www.tadamon.ca/post/5824
[2] Jacques Ranciére cancelled his visit to Israel http://thesip.org/2012/01/ranciere-cancellatio/
[3] BDS Victory: Cat Power cancels show in Tel Aviv http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/bds-victory-cat-power-cancels-show-tel-aviv
[4] The Pains of Being Pure At Heart dismissed for political reasons
http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?hl=en&ie=UTF8&langpair=auto%7Cen&rurl=translate.google.com&tbb=1&u=http://e.walla.co.il/%3Fw%3D%252F6%252F2509963&usg=ALkJrhg9BlEd4I6ePpoln6_co901s_K56Q
[5] Cassandra Wilson cancels Israel show: “I identify with the cultural boycott of Israel”
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/nora/singer-cassandra-wilson-cancels-israel-show-i-identify-cultural-boycott-israel
[6] From Israeli TV see 1.50 min [Hebrew] at:
http://www.mako.co.il/news-channel2/Channel-2-Newscast/Article-066c02822978531018.htm
[7] NY Activists protest Batsheva Dance Company performance in Brooklyn http://mondoweiss.net/2012/03/ny-activists-protest-batsheva-dance-company-performance-in-brooklyn.html
[8] Dismay at Globe Invitation to Israeli Theater http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/29/dismay-globe-invitation-israeli-theatre?newsfeed=true
[9] Zdob si Zdub: Stand in Solidarity with Palestinians! http://punksagainstapartheid.com/2012/01/zsz-open-letter/
[10] Heeding boycott call, Irish band Dervish pulls out of Israel concerts
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/heeding-boycott-call-irish-band-dervish-pulls-out-israel-concerts
[11] http://www.facebook.com/FullSetBand/posts/432263436801746
[12] Israeli Orientalist Festival in Morocco Bellyflops http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/04/21/israeli-orientalist-festival-in-morocco-bellyflops/
[13] Israeli-Arab Normalization Hits a Snag http://english.al-akhbar.com/content/israeli-arab-normalization-hits-snag
[14] The Blessings of 2012, an album http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=426830113999740&set=a.383361181679967.117866.100000182654841&type=1&permPage=1
[15] My ‘No’ says more, and matters more http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1894&key=texas
[16] Statement on the Cancellation of “Memory of a Promise: Short Stories by Middle Eastern Women”
http://www.utexas.edu/cola/depts/mes/news/5111
[17] http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4223273,00.html
[18] INCACBI Appeal to Vikas Swarup: Boycott the International Writers Festival 2012 in Jerusalem! http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1827
[19] ‘Hath not a Palestinian eyes?’: Protesters disrupt Habima performance at Globe
http://mondoweiss.net/2012/05/hath-not-a-palestinian-eyes-protesters-disrupt-habima-performance-at-globe.html
[20] Cultural boycott biting, but quietly, Israel Festival’s classical music advisor admits
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/cultural-boycott-biting-quietly-israel-festivals-classical-music-advisor-admits
[21] Zakir Hussain Cancels Performance in Tel Aviv http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1913)
[22] http://www.pacbi.org/etemplate.php?id=1917
[23] Palestinian group Juthour withdraws from International Folklore Encounters Festival in Fribourg http://bit.ly/Yl9nvj
[24] Occupied Tears http://youtu.be/9Qtyw84F5DM
[25]http://mondoweiss.net/2012/07/canadian-band-attacked-by-israel-lobby-group-after-playing-song-titled-apartheid.html
[26] Nino Katamadze Will Not Play Apartheid Israel http://www.usacbi.org/2012/07/nino-katamadze-will-not-play-apartheid-israel/
[27] Expendables 2: Stallone, Willis and Van Damme will not come to Israel http://news.walla.co.il/?w=%2F6%2F2553554
[28] Sizzla Tweets about Israel https://www.facebook.com/notes/dont-play-apartheid-israel/sizzla-tweets-about-israel/446169305432463
[29] Tel Aviv Cancelled! MAYDAY! MAYDAY! http://www.cardigans.com/?sid=default&bfs=1
[30] Apartheid Israel: Lenny Kravitz is not Boycotting Israel, Be Reassured
http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/08/apartheid-israel-lenny-kravitz-is-not.html
[31] Hora, EIF 2012, Review http://www.edinburghguide.com/festival/2012/edinburghinternationalfestival/horaeif2012review-11441
http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/09/peter-brooks-courageous-support-for.html
[32] South Africa’s Wits University student council unanimously passes boycott of Israel resolution http://www.bdssouthafrica.com/2011/08/university-of-witwatersrand-student.html
[33] Peter Brook’s Letter to the Cameri: “It is our free choice”
[34] Lebanon’s Mashrou’ Leila cancels on Chili Peppers after latter refuses Israel boycott call
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/lebanons-mashrou-leila-cancels-chili-peppers-after-latter-refuses-israel-boycott
[35] Jerusalem Development Authority Implicated in Boycotted Film Funding.
http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/09/04/jerusalem-development-authority-implicated-in-boycotted-film-funding/
[36] YouGov Survey Results http://cdn.yougov.com/cumulus_uploads/document/0kh4fq1eb8/Jewish%20Chronicle%20Results%20120924.pdf
[37] Open Letter from Artists to Carnegie Hall
http://adalahny.org/web-action/1002/open-letter-artists-carnegie-hall-cancel-israel-philharmonic-orchestras-performance
[38] Artists Cancel Creative Time Summit Appearances Over Israeli “Partnership” [UPDATE 7]
http://hyperallergic.com/58499/artists-cancel-their-creative-time-summit-appearances-over-controversial-israeli-partnership/
[39] Three more Arab performers pull out of Austrian music festival due to Israel embassy sponsorship
http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/three-more-arab-performers-pull-out-austrian-music-festival-due-israel-embassy
[40] http://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/rights-groups-launch-petition-thank-stevie-wonder-canceling-israel-army-benefit
[41] Ten Harpists Bow out of Apartheid Israel Harp Contest!
http://harpsofconscience.wordpress.com/2012/11/24/ten-harpists-bow-out-of-apartheid-israel-harp-contest-thank-you-for-having-a-conscience/
[42] http://www.ynet.co.il/articles/0,7340,L-4313061,00.html
[43] One life less-(une vie de moins) http://youtu.be/Cq2MpG4gQgk
[44] http://www.rossdaly.gr/en/news/102-oudfestivall
[45] http://www.russelltribunalonpalestine.com/en/3140/roger-waters-specch-at-the-un
[46] http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/12/portico-quartet-respects-boycott-of.html
[47] http://refrainplayingisrael.blogspot.com/2012/12/andreas-oberg-respects-cultural-boycott.html
[48] http://www.kadaitcha.com/2012/07/10/woody-allen-please-refuse-israels-hasbara-bribes/
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