Boycott all Israeli Art Iinstitutions, End the Occupation

We think that before challenging this boycott one should first make sure one is well informed about Jenin refugee camp, and the rest of the West Bank. The information is available. Let no one say in hindsight that they did not know:

Survivor Testimonies (the Indepndent, also archived on ZNet)

Coloardo solidarity delegation reports

Extra-Judicial Executions - from Law Society

Bodies continute to rot under the rubble what had been home to to 15,000 refugees. 150 camp residents remain unaccounted for. After 8 days of military assault, and several more of total siege, half of the 50 found bodies are of civilians. Houses collapsed over residents as Israel bombed them with airplanes, helicopters, missiles, tanks, and shells, then brought in armored buldozers to finish the job and bury the evidence. Israeli diplomats try to hamper a U.N. investigation. A member of the Israeli cabinet revealed that some of the army's operations were video taped by surveilance airplanes. And all major Human Rights organizations converged to demand a immediate international intervention.

Jenin illustrates events all over the West Bank and Gaza, where Israel kills several Palestinans every day, and 3 Million people are literally being locked into their villages, or neighborhoods. Civil infrastructure has been wiped out, including medical services, schools, offices, banks, and computers whereever they were found. Thousands of men are imprisoned without trial.

The text of the appeal is on-line: http://oznik.com/petitions/020704.html

More than 180 artists and concerned individuals have signed. The list of endorsers is kept up to date on the same web page.

Fill an endorsement with your name, field of activity and/or institutional affiliation, city, and country, and email address.

Because all over the West Bank and Gaza the Israeli army perpetrates crimes against humanity, we call for a ban on Israeli art institutions and events, including museums, the Israel Festival, etc... We also call on artists not to exhibit their work, or perform in Israel, which has, in its criminal acts, delegitimized itself as a venue.

We think pop artists should not come to entertain the Israeli public, and artists should not legitimize the coziness of museums and museum goers. Someone visiting the Israel Museum these days must be aware that they are buying a ticket to a pride piece funded by, and serving the Occupation Regime. They should not expect to see the work of a living artist of conscience.

This is not a call to isolate Israeli artists. While some institutions in Israel, such as Dar Andalus publishing (for example) are actively struggling against the occupation, and some Israeli artists even signed this appeal, the same cannot be said of Israeli arts institutions. This week, The Lovers of San Franando, by Swedish filmmaker Peter Torbiornsson was expelled from the Doc-Aviv documentary film festival, in Tel-Aviv- because the director wrote a letter condemnig the occupation and asked that it be read out before his film was screened. The IUPA, the Union of Israeli Performing Artists called off a gala evening in honor of singer Yafa Yarkoni because she spoke out against the occupation.

Let's keep this crystal clear: we nominate no one to compile lists of politically good, or politically bad artists.

In the original text we named five Israeli artists who are active against the occupation as an example, we decided to remove these names to prevent even the possibility of an implied blacklist in reverse. We embrace Israeli artists who struggle against the occupation.

By all means. Visit, help survivors, document, report. Visits like the one by a delegation of writers from the International Writers' Parliament just before the current assault is but one example of what artists can do. Join the International Solidarity Movement, U.S.A: Contact Thom Saffold or Paul Larudee.
Palestine: Contact George Rishmawi in Palestine.

It's important. Here's a good resource about the campaign to boycott Israeli goods.