Thread by @PACBI

Inspired by the international boycott movement that helped bring down apartheid in South Africa, Palestinian civil society, including almost its entire arts and culture community, has called for a cultural boycott of Israel since 2004.

@vieuxfarkatoure bdsmovement.net/news/vieux-far…

In 2010, reacting to the Cape Town Opera’s plan to ignore the boycott and perform in Tel Aviv, South African anti-apartheid leader, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said ...

“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”.

Just weeks ago, over 900 musicians, including FKA Twigs and Seun Kuti, joined the inspiring #MusiciansForPalestine initiative that already counted more than 600 others, including Cypress Hill, Patti Smith and Asher Gamedze, among many more. These more than 1500 musicians say ...

“As musicians, we cannot be silent… Silence is not an option as millions of Palestinian refugees are denied their collective right of return. The Israeli government operates a settler-colonial project committed to the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian population...

"The legacies of systemic violence, racism & dispossession shaped by colonialism must stop. Today, we speak together & demand justice, dignity & the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people & all who are fighting colonial dispossession & violence across the planet..

"We call for you to join us with your name in refusing to perform at Israel’s complicit cultural institutions”. #MusiciansForPalestine

#VieuxSkipBarby

Leading human rights organizations including Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, and Israel’s largest human rights group B’Tselem have reported in detail that Israel’s apartheid regime oppresses millions of Palestinians ...

... joining a consensus already shared by the government of South Africa, 10 ex-presidents and hundreds of MPs from the Global South, and dozens of UN experts.

We are proud that a fast-growing number of Jewish Americans and Jewish Israelis endorse our peaceful calls for Israel and its complicit institutions to be held accountable according to international law.

They are joining a truly diverse coalition of supporters worldwide, from unions, associations and social justice movements, to leading filmmakers, authors and poets.

We hope that you will not undermine our struggle against Israel’s settler-colonial regime by crossing our peaceful picket line. @vieuxfarkatoure

Regardless of intentions, performing at such a venue that celebrates massacres against us, as Barby does, is to signal indifference – at best – to the violence of our oppressor. Instead, we hope you will stand for freedom, justice and equality for all, including Palestinians.