[spectre] John Berger and 93 other authors, film-makers, musicians and performers call for a cultural boycott of Israel.

[Jayce Salloum]

John Berger and 93 other authors, film-makers, musicians and performers call
for a cultural boycott of Israel.

 

In a letter to appear in this Friday¹s Guardian, the 94, including as well
as the renowned author John Berger, UK musicians and song-writers Brian Eno
and Leon Rosselson, film maker Sophie Fiennes, documentary maker Jenny
Morgan, singer Reem Kelani and novelist Arundhati Roy call on their
colleagues not to visit, exhibit or perform in Israel:

 

The letter, signed by artists from across Europe North and South America, as
well as Israelis and Palestinians, reads:

 

³There is a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, albeit daily violated by Israeli
overflights. Meanwhile the day to day brutality of the Israeli army in Gaza
and the West Bank continues. Ten Palestinians are killed for every Israeli
death; more than 200, many of them children, have been killed since the
summer. UN resolutions are flouted, human rights violated as Palestinian
land is stolen, houses demolished and crops destroyed. For archbishop
Desmond Tutu, as for the Jewish (former ANC military commander presently
South African minister of security), Ronnie Kasrils, the situation of the
Palestinians is worse than that of black South Africans under apartheid.
Meantime Western governments refer to Israel¹s Œlegitimate right¹ of
self-defence, and continue to supply weaponry.

 

The challenge of apartheid was fought better. The non-violent international
response to apartheid was a campaign of boycott, divestment, and, finally UN
imposed sanctions which enabled the regime to change without terrible
bloodshed. Today Palestinians teachers, writers, film-makers and
non-governmental organisations have called for a comparable academic and
cultural boycott of Israel  as offering another path to a just peace. This
call has been endorsed internationally by university teachers in many
European countries, by film-makers and architects, and by some brave Israeli
dissidents. It is now time for others to join the campaign ­ as Primo Levi
asked: If not now, when?

 

We call on creative writers and artists to support our Palestinian and
Israeli colleagues by endorsing the boycott call.

 

 Read the Palestinian call (www.pacbi.org).

 

³Don¹t visit, exhibit or perform in Israel!²

 

For further information contact:

British Committee for the Universities of Palestine

0207 713 1709/07968783137

info at bricup.org.uk

 

John Berger is available for interview by request

 

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Full list of signatures as of 13th December:

 

Aguirre, Carmen, (dramatist)

Al Bayati, Hana (film-maker)

Alcalay, Ammiel, (poet)

Alkadhi, Rheim (artist)

Aziz, Sylvat (artist)

Benner, Ron (artist)

Berger, John (writer and artist)

Beverley, John (writer)

Bove, Paul (editor and writer)

Bresheeth, Haim (film-maker)

Brittain, Victoria (writer)

Budney, Jen (curator)

Cameron, Lindsley (author)

Carew, Keggie  (artist)

Casana, Manuel Molins (dramatist)

Chanan, Michael (writer and film-maker)

Chirot, David-Baptiste (artist/writer)

Chrysakis,. Thanos (composer)

Courtney, Andrew (artist)

Cox, Molly Hankwitz (artist and writer)

Creativity commons collective

D¹Agostino, Ornella (choreographer)

Davis, Matt (musician)

Deane, Raymond (musician)

Deutsch, Stephen (composer)

Dibb, Mike (film maker)

Donoghue, Ben (film maker)

Eno, Brian (musician)

Erfanian, Eshrat (artist)

Fiennes, Sophie (film-maker)

Fisher, Jean (writer)

Frere, Jane (video artist)

Fried, Klaus (film maker)

Galeano, Eduardo (writer)

Ghaibah, Anas (TV director)

Ghossein, Mirene (writer and editor)

Gill, Rajdeep Singh (curator)

Gordon, Avery (writer)

Greyson, John (film-maker)

Guillen, Maria Munoz (dancer)

Halama, Henry (artist)

Hamka, Nada (artist)

Hashemi, Gita (artist)

Hassan, Jamelie (artist)

Huleileh, Serene (dancer/choreographer)

Humm, Maggie (writer)

Hussien, Reham (translator)

James, Rob (writer)

Jenik, Adriene (media artist)

Jimeno, Dolores (writer)

Joly, Magdalene (dancer and musician)

Kelani, Reem (singer)

Karabelia, Vassia (art historian)

Kauff, Tarak (writer)

Kaya, Mircan (musician)

Knupp, Rainer (movement artist)

Kukovec, Dunja (art historian)

Kumar, Vinod (writer)

Lane, Joel (poet)

Levidow, Les (writer and musician)

Loshitzky, Yosefa (writer)

Lozano, Rian (curator)

Malinowitz, Harriet (writer)

Marlat, Daphne (writer)

Masri, Hala (theatre coordinator)

Matelli, Federica (curator)

McCaughey, Peter (artist)

Metcalfe, Rohelia Hamilton (Film-maker)

Miyoshi, Masao (writer)

Montagnino, Carlo (artist)

Morgan, Jenny (film-maker)

Muntadas, Antoni (artist0

Naguib, Fabiola Nabil (curator)

Neufeldt, Brigitte (artist)

Nunez, Alejandra Perez (sound artist)

Ostrow, Saul (critic/curator)

Pangbourne, Annabelle (composer)

Parker, Cornelia (artist)

Pennell, Miranda (film-maker)

Radhakrishnan, R (writer)

Rosselson, Leon (song writer and author)

Roy, Arundhati (novelist)

Rubin, Andrew (writer)

Salloum, Jayce (artist)

Sampaio, Miriam (artist)

Samuel, Julian (novelist)

Sances, Jos (artist)

Saraste, Leena (photographer)

Sarlin, Paige (film-maker)

Scordìa, Cinzia (performer0

Serra, Toni /Abu Ali (videomaker)

Shammas, Anton (novelist and film-maker)

Shibli, Ahlam (artist)

Shiri, Keith (curator)

Simons, Patrick (composer)

Smith, John (artist-film-maker)

Solt, John (poet)

Somes-Charlton, Chris (director)

Soueif, Ahdaf (novelist)

Staikou, Evi (artist)

Suleiman, Elia (film maker)

Sureda, Joseph Ramis (dancer)

Szpakowski, Michael (composer)

Tres (artist)

Tudela, Ana Navarrete (artist)

Valldosera, Eulalia (artist)

Van Zwanenberg, Roger (publisher)

Walkley, Ron (architect)

Ward, David (composer)

Younghusband, Gene (media theorist)

Zangana, Haifa (novelist)

 

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