Roger Waters. (Photo: JStone/Shutterstock)
Numerous British artists are boycotting Israel, ignoring the true facts and accusing Israel of being an apartheid regime.
Some 700 British artists and performers signed a letter declaring their support for an initiative called “Artists for Palestine,” a cultural boycott on Israel, in reaction to what they termed “the Palestinian catastrophe.”
The artists, including Roger Waters, Brian Eno, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, and Richard Ashcroft, stated in a letter published in the Guardian that they will not “engage in business-as-usual cultural relations with Israel.”
“We will accept neither professional invitations to Israel, nor funding, from any institutions linked to its government,” the letter read.
Likening the situation in Israel to apartheid in South Africa, which was widely boycotted, the letter states: “Now we are saying, in Tel Aviv, Netanya, Ashkelon or Ariel, we won’t play music, accept awards, attend exhibitions, festivals or conferences, run master classes or workshops, until Israel respects international law and ends its colonial oppression of the Palestinians.”
Not all artists have been misled by the claim that Israel is an “apartheid state” and oppressive regime. For instance, Waters, a virulent supporter of the anti-Israel BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) movement, unsuccessfully tried to persuade British rocker Alan Parsons to cancel a concert in Israel. Parsons rejected Rogers’ appeals, stating on twitter that he was “happy to be in Tel Aviv.” The Alan Parsons Live Project rocked Tel Aviv’s Nokia Arena last week.
By: United with Israel Staff