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المقاطعة الثقافية

نظرة عامة

تكثر إسرائيل من استخدام الثقافة كشكل من أشكال البروباغاندا لتحسين صورة نظام الاحتلال والاستعمار الاستيطاني والفصل العنصري المفروض على الشعب الفلسطيني وتبريره. 



سارت الحملة الفلسطينية للمقاطعة الأكاديمية والثقافية لإسرائيل على خطى النشطاء المناهضين لنظام الفصل العنصري الجنوب إفريقي والذين دعوا الفنانين والكتاب والمؤسسات الثقافية إلى مقاطعة جنوب إفريقيا ثقافياً، حيث تحث الحملة العاملين الثقافيين الدوليين والمؤسسات الثقافية الدولية، بما في ذلك النقابات والجمعيات على مقاطعة و/أو العمل على إلغاء الفعاليات أو الأنشطة أو المشاريع التي تشمل إسرائيل أو مجموعات اللوبي أو المؤسسات الثقافية الإسرائيلية.



هذا ويطلب من فعاليات والمهرجانات الدولية مقاطعة التمويل وأي شكل من أشكال الرعاية من الحكومة الإسرائيلية. ويرفض حالياً آلاف الفنانون من كافة أنحاء العالم أداء عروض لهم في إسرائيل، بمن فيهم مجموعة من النجوم العالميين مثل روجر ووترز من فرقة بينك فلويد، ولورين هيل وتشاك د.


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BDS

المقاطعة الثقافية

لماذا?

قضية المقاطعة الثقافية لإسرائيل

لخص مسؤولون حكوميون إسرائيليون كيف تستخدم إسرائيل الثقافة كأداة لتغطية انتهاكاتها الجسيمة للقانون الدولي. حيث أقر أحد المسؤولين "نحن نعتبر الهسبره [البروباغاندا] أداة من الطراز الأول،" ويضيف "وأنا لا أفرق بين الهسبره والثقافة."

وتوفر وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية التمويل للفنانين والكتاب الإسرائيليين شرط "ترويج مصالح السياسات" الإسرائيلية كونهم "مزودو خدمات". ويعمل العديد من الفنانين الإسرائيليين "كسفراء ثقافيين" للدولة.

حين يؤدي الفنانون الدوليون عروضهم في الفعاليات والمؤسسات الثقافية الإسرائيلية، فإنهم يعطون الانطباع الخاطئ بأن إسرائيل دولة "طبيعية" كغيرها.

هذا وتبنت الغالبية العظمى من الكتاب والفنانين والمراكز الثقافية الفلسطينية المقاطعة الثقافية لإسرائيل، وهنالك تزايد في عدد الإسرائيليين المناهضين للاستعمار الذين يدعمون حركة المقاطعة، بما في ذلك المقاطعة الثقافية لإسرائيل.
اعرف المزيد

رداً على الحملة الفلسطينية للمقاطعة الأكاديمية والثقافية لإسرائيل، ولصرف النظر عن جرائمها ضد الفلسطينيين وتحسين صورتها، أطلقت إسرائيل حملة "براند إسرائيل" سنة 2005.

 

فعلى سبيل المثال، أعلن مسؤول إسرائيلي بعد المجزرة الإسرائيلية في قطاع غزة سنة 2009 عن خطة "لإرسال روائيين وكتاب معروفين إلى العالم وشركات المسرح والمعارض" وذلك "لإظهار إسرائيل بوجه أجمل."

 

وغالباً ما يوقع الفنانون الإسرائيليون الذين يتلقون التمويل الحكومي لأداء العروض خارج إسرائيل على عقد يتعهدون فيه "بترويج مصالح سياسات دولة إسرائيل من خلال الثقافة والفن، بما في ذلك المساهمة في خلق صورة إيجابية لإسرائيل،" وبذلك يكونوا تنازلوا عن أية مطالب تتعلق بالحرية الفنية.

 

ويلاحظ أن عدد الفعاليات الدولية التي تتردد في قبول التمويل الحكومي الإسرائيلي أو استضافة فنانين/كتاب ممولين من الحكومة الإسرائيلية في تزايد مستمر.

Israel tries to create a positive image of itself through "Brand Israel", in response to increased international organizing for Palestinian rights.

حين يؤدي الفنانون الدوليون عروضهم في الفعاليات أو المؤسسات الثقافية الإسرائيلية، فإنهم يساهمون في خلق الانطباع بأن لإسرائيل دولة طبيعية كغيرها.

 

تعتبر إسرائيل زيارة الفنانين الدوليين لها بأنها علامة على دعمهم لسياساتها. فعلى سبيل المثال، حين انتهكت المغنية أليشا كيز المقاطعة وأدت عرضاً في تل أبيب سنة 2013، شاركت وزارة الخارجية الإسرائيلية هذه الزيارة عبر تويتر بفخر كبير أكثر من ثمانية مرات.

 

كما ويتزايد عدد الفنانون، بمن فيهم نجوم عالميون مثل روجر ووترز من فرقة بينك فلويد، ولورين هيل وتشاك د، الذين يرفضون أداء العروض في إسرائيل. ويمارس العديد من الآخرين "المقاطعة الصامتة" من خلال رفض المشاركة في العروض الثقافية في تل أبيب دون الإعلان عن دعم حركة المقاطعة بشكل علني.

Musician and activist Gil Scott Heron is one of many artists who has refused to perform in Israel in protest of their apartheid system and violations of Palestinians' human rights.

تنفذ إسرائيل سياسة الاستهداف المتعمد للثقافة الفلسطينية كجزء من التطهير العرقي للشعب الفلسطيني. وفيما يلي بعض الأمثلة على ذلك:

 

 

  • اختارت الجامعة العربية واليونيسكو سنة 2009 القدس كعاصمة الثقافة العربية لتلك السنة. وقد منعت إسرائيل الاحتفالات وقامت الشرطة بتفكيك التجمعات الثقافية في مختلف الأماكن في القدس الشرقية المحتلة.

 

  • خلال الاجتياح العسكري الإسرائيلي لرام الله سنة 2002، نهب الجنود المراكز الثقافية ودمروا مخطوطات أصلية تعود للشاعر الفلسطيني محمود درويش.

 

يمكنك قراءة المزيد من الأمثلة من خلال: قضية المقاطعة الثقافية لإسرائيل (فنانون لأجل فلسطين – المملكة المتحدة).

Arabic books stolen from Palestinian homes by Israeli forces during the creation of the Israeli state. They are now held in Israel's National Library and marked as 'abandoned'.

قد يكون النظام الإسرائيلي المضطهِد للشعب الفلسطيني مزيجاً خاصاً من الاحتلال والاستعمار الاستيطاني والفصل العنصري، إلا أن بعض الشخصيات المهمة الجنوب إفريقية، مثل الوزير روني كاسريلز من حكومة مانديلا والقادة المسيحيين الذين قاوموا الفصل العنصري، قالوا بأن إسرائيل تجسد نظام فصل عنصري أكثر تعقيداً وتطوراً وقساوةً من ذلك الجنوب إفريقي.

 

وتقع على أولئك المترددين من دعم المقاطعة الثقافية المؤسساتية لإسرائيل، في حين أنهم دعموا في السابق مقاطعة ثقافية شاملة ضد نظام الفصل العنصري الجنوب إفريقي، تقع عليهم ضغوط كبيرة لتفسير هذا التناقض.

A protest against South African apartheid.

أصدرت الحملة الفلسطينية للمقاطعة الأكاديمية والثقافية لإسرائيل، وهي تجمع من الأكاديميين والفنانين والعاملين الثقافيين الفلسطينيين، دعوة سنة 2004 للمقاطعة الثقافية لإسرائيل.

 

وتحث هذه الدعوة الفنانين والعاملين الثقافيين والمؤسسات الثقافية الدولية على المقاطعة والعمل على إلغاء الأنشطة التي تشمل إسرائيل ومجموعات اللوبي الإسرائيلية والمؤسسات المتواطئة أو التي تعمل على تحسين صورة الانتهاكات الإسرائيلية لحقوق الإنسان.

 

يمكنك التعرف على هذه الدعوة بشكل أكبر من خلال قراءة الدعوة الكاملة وتوجيهات المقاطعة الثقافية.

الأثر

ماذا يحدث

عدد الفنانون الملتحقون بالمقاطعة الثقافية من كافة أنحاء العالم في تزايد مستمر، وذلك في ظل زيادة الوعي بشأن اضطهاد إسرائيل للفلسطينيين.

ويحظى الدعم الذي تتلقاه المقاطعة الثقافية وإلغاء العروض باهتمام كبير في الإعلام الإسرائيلي، وهذا يبين للإسرائيليين العاديين أنه هنالك تزايد في معارضة حرمان إسرائيل لحقوق الفلسطينيين.

الأهداف المحققة
Roger Waters graffitis Israel's apartheid wall

أحداث هامة

الآلاف من الفنانين من كافة أنحاء العالم يدعمون المقاطعة الثقافية

وقع آلاف الفنانين والعاملين الثقافيين على بيانات عامة دعماً للمقاطعة الثقافية. ووقع حوالي ألف شخصية ثقافية في المملكة المتحدة سنة 2015 على تعهد بالمقاطعة الثقافية. كما وأطلقت مبادرات متعلقة بحركة المقاطعة في مونتريال (كندا) وإيرلندا وجنوب إفريقيا وسويسرا ولبنان والولايات المتحدة وغيرها من الدول.

كما وأقدم عدد من الشخصيات الثقافية المرموقة على تبني المقاطعة الثقافية لإسرائيل، ومن بينهم الراحل ستيفان هيسيل وهو ناجي من الهولوكوست وساهم في الإعلان العالمي لحقوق الإنسان ، وتشاك د (في الصورة)، وروجر وولترز، وطالب كويلي، وجون بيرغر، وأرونداتي روي، ولين بانكس، وجوديث باتلر، وجونوت دياز، ونايومي كلاين، وكين لوتش، وأليس ووكر، وأنجيلا دايفس، وميرا نير، ومايك ليه، وغيرهم.

العديد من الفنانون المرموقون يلغون فعاليات في إسرائيل

أقدم عدد من الفنانين الكبار، من بينهم لورين هيل (في الصورة) وإلفيس كوستيلو وجيل سكوت-هيرون وفرقة فيثليس وماريانا وفرقة U2 وبيورك وذاكر حسين وجان-لوك غودارد وسنوب دوج وكات باور وفانيسا باراديس، على إلغاء عروضهم في إسرائيلي أو رفض أداء العروض فيها.

وعلى الرغم من عرض مبالغ طائلة من المال على فنانين عالميين لمناهضة المقاومة الثقافية، إلا أن المروجين الإسرائيليين يتذمرون بأن جذب الفنانين المشهورين يزداد صعوبة.
61
Number of artists who urged the prestigious São Paulo Biennial to end its Israeli sponsorship deal

المؤسسات الثقافية ترفض التمويل الحكومي الإسرائيلي

شهدت الاحتجاجات المتعلقة بالمقاطعة في مهرجان إدنبرة فرنج سنة 2014 طرد فرقتان ممولتان من دولة إسرائيل من المهرجان، في حين أنه لم يتم اعتراض عروض لفرقتين إسرائيليتين غير مرتبطتان بدولة إسرائيل. ولم تحضر أية فرقة ممولة من الحكومة الإسرائيلية المهرجان سنة 2015.

وقام مهرجان ساو باولو المرموق الذي يقام كل سنتين بإنهاء صفقة رعاية إسرائيلية سنة 2014 بعد دعوات للقيام بذلك من الغالبية العظمى من الفنانين المشاركين.
وأصبحت رسالة المقاطعة التي تستهدف النظام الإسرائيلي المضطهِد وسفراء إسرائيل الثقافيين تصل إلى الفنانين الإسرائيليين.

بادر بالعمل

بدأت تصل المقاطعة الثقافية لإسرائيل إلى الجمهور بفضل العمل الدؤوب من الفنانين التقدميين ومنظمي حملات المقاطعة.

ويلعب الفنانون دوراً في غاية الأهمية. وإذا كنت فناناً، أظهر دعمك للمقاطعة الثقافية لإسرائيل وأقنع زملائك الفنانين بالسير على خطاك.

مقدمة قصيرة حول نشر قصتنا

ساعدنا في نشر تجربة المقاطعة الثقافية إلى الفنانين وأصدقائك وعائلتك. شارك هذه الصفحة عبر مواقع التواصل الاجتماعي.

مقدمة قصيرة حول البحث عن شريك محلي

يوجد لدى الحملة الفلسطينية للمقاطعة الأكاديمية والثقافية لإسرائيل شبكة من الشركاء في كافة أنحاء العالم ويعمل هؤلاء الشركاء من الفنانين على تطوير المقاطعة الثقافية. ابدأ بالتواصل مع منظمة في بلدك أو اتصل بالحملة عبر pacbi@pacbi.org.

Join the cultural boycott of Israel!

Refraining from participating in cultural events in Israel or in Israel-funded activities around the world is the most important expression of support the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott of Israel. If you’re in the US, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, Canada, Switzerland or France there are public pledges in support of the cultural boycott that you can add your name to.


check the guidelines

Let your favourite artists know about the cultural boycott

Whoever your favourite artists are, make sure they know about the fact that Palestinian artists are calling for a cultural boycott of Israel. Experience shows that polite, fact-based and logical letters, tweets and messages to artists work best to convince them to heed or endorse the cultural boycott as an effective way to support Palestinian rights. ​


Tell people about your support for the cultural boycott!

If you’re an artist that supports the cultural boycott, tell the whole world! Share information about the cultural boycott through your social media channels and when you meet others at performances and exhibitions. Share with colleagues that you don’t perform or exhibit your work in Israel. Share your public statement with us so we can help to publicize it.

Join an international campaign against a big name artist

PACBI sometimes launches international public campaigns that often convince famous artists not to perform in Tel Aviv, just as conscientious artists boycotted Sun City. Follow PACBI on social media and check back on this page for details of any ongoing public campaigns. Your help in such campaigns would be well appreciated.

Organise a statement of support from artists in your country or field

Organising a statement of support for the cultural boycott from hundreds of artists in a particular country or genre/field is a long term and difficult process but can be a very effective way to spread the word about cultural boycott and bring new people on board. Contact us so we can share with you our related experiences and best practices.

Bring artists and cultural workers together to discuss the cultural boycott

Organising a speaker event, debate or a teach-in can be a great way to bring people together to discuss and learn about the cultural boycott. Contact us for suggested speakers and ideas on organising a teach-in or debate.

Make sure your local cultural venue is “occupation free”

Mobilise appeals to convince your local cultural venue not to accept Israeli government of lobby funding or host events sponsored by Israel, its lobby or complicit institutions.

الدليل الموجز

The reference for the cultural boycott of Israel is the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a collective of Palestinian academics, artists and cultural workers. PACBI is a founding member of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), the broadest coalition in Palestinian civil society that leads the global BDS movement and runs the BDSmovement.net website. PACBI has set out detailed guidelines outlining the principles of the cultural boycott and how it should be implemented in order to be in coherence with the PACBI call for a cultural boycott. This page is a summary of those detailed guidelines. It is intended to give artists and supporters a general sense of the principles of the cultural boycott. If you are trying to establish whether or not an institution, project or event is boycottable, it is important that you consult the full cultural boycott guidelines and/or contact PACBI.

المقاطعة الثقافية - ملخص

PACBI urges international artists, cultural workers and cultural organisations to boycott and work towards the cancellation of and activities that involve Israel, its lobby groups and complicit institutions or that whitewash Israel’s human rights violations.

This is a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions not Israeli individuals. BDS targets complicit, not identity.

The cultural boycott of Israel should continue until Israel meets the three demands of the BDS call.

Israeli cultural institutions can avoid being targeted by the boycott if they meet the three demands of the BDS call and end all forms of support for Israeli violations of international law.
Specifically, PACBI urges a boycott of:

Performances and exhibitions in Israel, except in certain situations

International artists are asked not to perform or exhibit in Israel. This is because performances in Israel help to create the impression that Israel is a “normal country”, thus whitewashing its violations of Palestinian human rights. Israel considers performances in Tel Aviv as endorsement of its policies. Palestinians reject the idea that the damage done by an artist performing or exhibiting their work in Israel can in some way be compensated for by a parallel performance or exhibition in occupied Palestinian territory. This attempt at “balance” undermines Palestinian rights.

All complicit Israeli cultural institutions

As a general overriding rule, Israeli cultural institutions, unless proven otherwise, are complicit in maintaining the Israeli occupation and denial of basic Palestinian rights. Israeli cultural institutions provide support to Israel’s crimes whether through their silence or actual involvement in justifying, whitewashing or otherwise deliberately diverting attention from Israel’s violations of international law and human rights. Israeli cultural institutions include music bands, orchestras, dance troupes, theatre companies, film production companies, film festivals, museums, etc.

Cultural products that are commissioned by an official Israeli body or a non-Israeli body that promotes Israel

Israeli artists that receive state funding often sign a contract promising to be a good ambassador for Israel and its policies. Any resultant cultural product or event is clearly boycottable. All non-Israeli (e.g., international, Palestinian) cultural products that are funded by official Israeli bodies or international “brand Israel” organizations are politically motivated and should be subject to boycott. Israeli cultural products that receive state funding as part of the individual cultural worker’s entitlement as a tax-paying citizen, without her/him being bound to serve the state’s political and propaganda interests, are not boycottable.

Events and activities that are sponsored by an official Israeli body or a complicit institution

The general principle is that any cultural activity or event carried out under the sponsorship of or in cooperation with an official Israeli body, Israeli lobby group or a complicit institution constitutes complicity and therefore is deserving of boycott. The same may apply to support or sponsorship from non-Israeli institutions that serve Israel’s branding/propaganda purposes. Events and activities include art exhibits, film screenings, festival, plays, conferences, performances (music, dance, etc.), tours, among other activities.

Normalization Projects

In the Palestinian context, normalization refers to any activity that creates the impression that Israel is a state like any other and that Palestinians, the oppressed, and Israel, the oppressor, are both equally responsible for “the conflict”. Far from challenging the unjust status quo, such projects contribute to its endurance, are intellectually dishonest and should be boycotted. An example of a boycottable normalization project would be a joint event that is designed explicitly to bring together Palestinians/Arabs and Israelis so they can present their respective narratives or perspectives, or to work toward reconciliation without addressing the root causes of injustice. However, a joint project is not boycottable if: (a) the Israeli party in the project recognizes the comprehensive Palestinian rights under international law (corresponding to the 3 rights in the BDS call); and (b) the project/activity is one of “co-resistance” to oppression rather than “co-existence” under oppression.

Fact finding missions that are sponsored by Israel, Israeli institutions or lobby groups

Fact finding missions that are sponsored by Israel, Israeli institutions or lobby groups are boycottable.

Common sense boycotts

Supporters of justice around the world may call for a boycott or protest against an individual in response to their individual complicity in, responsibility for, or advocacy of violations of international law or other human rights violations. While an individual Israeli artist’s freedom should be fully and consistently respected in the context of cultural boycotts, an individual, Israeli or otherwise, cannot be exempt from being subject to this kind of “common sense” boycott.

أسئلة متكررة

What is the cultural boycott of Israel?

In 2004, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) called for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions. It is the part of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC) tasked with overseeing the academic and cultural boycott aspects of BDS.  The cultural boycott was called for in response to the active involvement of Israeli cultural institutions in maintaining and whitewashing Israel’s occupation, colonisation and apartheid. It urges individuals and organisations to boycott Israeli cultural institutions, and calls on artists to refuse to perform in Israel. The cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa was a key inspiration for the Palestinian boycott calls and their criteria, despite some crucial differences. In particular, the Palestinian boycott, unlike the South African cultural boycott, is institutional and does not target individuals as such. There is a growing number of anti-colonial Israelis who support BDS, including the cultural boycott of Israel.

How are Israeli cultural institutions complicit in Israeli violations of Palestinian rights?

Cultural institutions are part and parcel of the ideological and institutional scaffolding of Israel’s regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid against the Palestinian people. Israeli cultural institutions (including performing art companies, music groups, film organizations, writers’ unions and festivals) have cast their lot with official Israeli policy. Notwithstanding the efforts of a handful of principled individual artists, writers and filmmakers, these institutions actively justify and support Israel’s systematic denial of Palestinian human rights.  Whether through silence or direct participation in the government-led “Brand Israel” propaganda campaign, Israeli cultural institutions help to whitewash, and therefore maintain, the regime of oppression. For instance, Israel’s image took a further steep dip after its war of aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip in 2009. This prompted the government to throw more money into the Brand Israel campaign. A top Israeli foreign ministry official told the New York Times, “We will send well-known novelists and writers overseas, theater companies, exhibits. This way you show Israel’s prettier face.”

Why a cultural boycott of Israel?

A boycott of complicit Israeli cultural institutions would expose their whitewashing role and pressure them to end their complicity. Boycott, at the most fundamental level, constitutes “withdrawing … cooperation from an evil system,” as Martin Luther King, Jr. said. In turn, BDS calls on people of conscience and their institutions to fulfill their moral obligation to end complicity in Israel’s system of oppression.

What are the principles of the cultural boycott?

The cultural boycott of Israel is institutional and conforms to the definition of freedom of expression as stipulated in the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). BDS rejects censorship and upholds the universal right to freedom of expression. The BDS movement, including PACBI, is anchored in precepts of international law and universal human rights. It rejects on principle boycotts of individuals based on their identity (such as citizenship, race, gender, or religion) or opinion.  Mere affiliation of Israeli cultural workers to an Israeli cultural institution is therefore not grounds for applying the boycott.

Are there guidelines for implementing the cultural boycott of Israel?

Yes. You can read the Guidelines for the International Cultural Boycott of Israel on this page (select resources on the left hand side). If you need further advice or guidance in navigating a grey-area case, as many cases tend to be, please contact us at: pacbi@pacbi.org.

Does the boycott target individual artists?

No. Our cultural boycott targets institutions, not individuals. The only exception is when an individual cultural worker is an official representative of the state or a complicit Israeli cultural institution or when an international cultural event (whether of an individual artist or a group) is sponsored or funded by the state or an Israel-lobby group. An individual artist/writer, Israeli or otherwise, cannot be exempt from being subject to “common sense” boycotts that may be called for in response to egregious individual complicity in, responsibility for, or advocacy of war crimes or other grave human rights violations; incitement to violence; etc. This, however, is beyond the scope of the PACBI institutional boycott criteria. At this level, Israeli cultural workers should be treated like all other offenders in the same category, not better or worse.

Why are artists asked not to perform in Israel?

Israel uses performances by international artists as a stamp of approval for its regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid. Irrespective of visiting artists’ intentions their performances are used to cover up Israel’s human rights violations. Performing in Tel Aviv today is the equivalent of performing in Sun City in South Africa during the apartheid era. Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a leader of the South African anti-apartheid struggle, has repeatedly declared that Israel’s apartheid system is comparable to -- if not worse than -- apartheid in South Africa. When the Cape Town Opera crossed the Palestinian BDS picket line in 2010 and performed in Tel Aviv, Tutu wrote, “only the thickest-skinned South Africans would be comfortable” performing before a segregated audience. He added: "Just as we said during apartheid that it was inappropriate for international artists to perform in South Africa in a society founded on discriminatory laws and racial exclusivity, so it would be wrong for Cape Town Opera to perform in Israel.”

Are Palestinian citizens of Israel asked to boycott Israeli cultural institutions?

No. BDS guidelines distinguish between coercive and voluntary relationships. Palestinian citizens of Israel live under Israeli apartheid. As citizens and taxpayers, they cannot but engage in everyday relations with Israeli institutions. This includes employment in Israeli workplaces and the use of public services such as schools, universities and hospitals. These relations are not unique to Israel, and were present in colonial contexts in India and South Africa. Thus, Palestinian citizens of Israel are not asked to boycott Israeli institutions.

Won’t the cultural boycott hurt artists in Israel who are largely progressive?

The claim that the boycott would hurt Israeli artists who are “largely progressive,” aside from being quite disingenuous and based on a false premise, is in fact intended to deflect attention from three basic facts. First, that the boycott was called for because Israel was denying Palestinians their basic rights, including cultural rights and freedoms. Second, that the Palestinian cultural boycott of Israel targets institutions, not individuals. Third, that those institutions, far from being more progressive than the average in Israel, are a main pillar of the Israeli structure of colonial and apartheid oppression. The absolute majority of Jewish-Israelis, including artists, deny the basic UN-stipulated rights of the majority of the Palestinian people—the refugees—and support maintaining Israeli apartheid.

Is the cultural boycott effective?

Yes! Many factors point to the success of the cultural boycott of Israel.

 

The Israeli government has invested significant resources to fight the growing cultural boycott of Israel. Israel realizes that its cultural isolation is increasing as BDS goes mainstream.

 

Highlighting her commitment to “justice and peace,” the iconic US R&B singer Lauryn Hill cancelled a scheduled performance in Tel Aviv in 2015, after appeals from Palestinian, Israeli, and international BDS activists.

 

Distinguished artists, writers and public intellectuals who have endorsed or heeded the cultural boycott include the late Stéphane Hessel, Holocaust survivor and contributor to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights; John Berger; Arundhati Roy; Judith Butler; Naomi Klein; Ken Loach; Alice Walker; Angela Davis; Mira Nair; Roger Waters; Snoop Dogg; Brian Eno; Jean Luc Godard; Elvis Costello; Gil Scott Heron; Faithless; Zakir Hussain; Mike Leigh and many others.  

 

Last year, almost a thousand cultural figures in Britain signed a pledge in support of the cultural boycott of Israel, following similar initiatives in Montreal (Canada), Ireland, and South Africa. ​

Are there differences between the cultural boycotts of South Africa and Israel?

Yes, there is a major difference. BDS calls for a boycott of Israeli institutions, not individuals. The BDS movement, including PACBI, rejects on principle boycotts of individuals, including cultural figures. The South African boycott was a blanket boycott that targeted both institutions and individuals. Those who are still reluctant, on principle, to support a boycott that expressly targets Israel's cultural institutions while having in the past endorsed, or even struggled to implement, a much more sweeping boycott against apartheid South Africa’s artists and cultural institutions are hard pressed to explain this peculiar inconsistency.

I am an Israeli artist. How can I support the boycott?

Israeli BDS activists have played an important role in calling on international artists to cancel performances in Tel Aviv and to refrain from otherwise lending their names to whitewash Israeli apartheid. You can get in touch with our Israeli partner, Boycott from Within, for more information.<

Doesn’t the cultural boycott stifle freedom of expression?

No. PACBI rejects censorship and subscribes to the internationally-accepted definition of freedom of expression as stipulated in the United Nations’ International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). The BDS movement, including PACBI, rejects on principle boycotts of individuals based on their identity (such as citizenship, race, gender, or religion) or opinion. Mere affiliation of Israeli cultural workers to an Israeli cultural institution is therefore not grounds for applying the boycott. If, however, an individual is representing the state of Israel or a complicit Israeli institution, or is commissioned/recruited to participate in Israel’s efforts to “rebrand” itself, then their activities are subject to the institutional boycott the BDS movement is calling for.

I am an artist and I support Palestinian rights. Why should I support the boycott?

BDS is the most effective way to support Palestinian rights. It is what the overwhelming majority of Palestinian civil society organisations has called for. There are many ways to support the boycott. Get in touch with your local solidarity group for more information.

How do I support the cultural boycott of Israel?

There are many ways to support the cultural boycott of Israel depending on your location and affiliation. The BDS movement operates on the principle of context sensitivity, meaning that local organisers know best how to support the boycott, while respecting the Palestinian-set guidelines. Cultural workers and organisations have worked towards canceling events that violate the boycott, for example. Others have organised mass pledges of artists in support of the boycott. If you haven’t already, you can get in touch with your local solidarity group for more information. ​ Check out the Take Action section of this page for more information and ideas. 

When there are worse regimes of oppression around the world, doesn’t the academic boycott single out Israel?

Clearly, this claim is not addressed to Palestinians who are calling for this institutional boycott.  The oppressed, after all, never choose their oppressors; it is the other way around.  Because Israel’s regime and its complicit corporations and institutions are responsible for denying the Palestinian people our rights under international law and because of the failure of the “international community,” under US hegemony, to hold Israel to account, we have called for BDS.  When you are sick with the flu, you naturally must single out the flu for treatment! This charge, however, is often made against western academics and academic associations that support the academic boycott of Israel.  The main response to this is that it is false.  Israeli columnist Larry Derfner, who recognizes that the world displays a “blatant double standard … in Israel’s favor,” argues: “If you look at the serious, painful punishments the world metes out to oppressor nations, Israel is not being singled out, it’s being let off the hook.” In fact, the European Union has imposed sanctions on many countries, including the U.S., Russia, several European states and China, but not on Israel. The unconditional economic, academic, diplomatic, military and other forms of support showered by the US and Europe on Israel singles it out and places it outside the realm of accountability. Derfner argues:  “The Western powers can punish Russia, they can punish China, they can lay in to Iran, Syria, North Korea, Zimbabwe, Sudan and the like – but they won’t touch Israel (the European Union’s wussy “guidelines” notwithstanding). Indeed, the strongest country in the world not only won’t punish Israel for its near half-century of tyranny over the Palestinians, it keeps feeding it arms while shielding it in the UN. America coddles Israel, the world’s last outpost of colonialism, like few countries have ever been coddled by a superpower in history.” This is the main reason why western academics in particular have a moral obligation to support the boycott of Israel, including its complicit academic institutions, to offset the fact that their states use their tax money and silence to maintain Israel’s brutal regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid.