Boycott Brand Israel
In 2005, the Israeli government launched a “Brand Israel” public relations initiative to use cultural production to distract from Israel’s systematic violations of Palestinian rights. As Dani Dayan, a leader of Israel’s right-wing settlers and then–Consul General of Israel in NY, put it, “I see [culture] as an integral part of our effort here.” We call on cultural institutions to decline Israeli government sponsorship for events and to refrain from hosting Israeli “cultural ambassadors.” We invite artists and art-lovers to boycott “Brand Israel” events.
“To take the Israeli government’s money, to treat it as a civilized supporter of art and culture, while it kills and tortures and segregates, is to aid and abet in its crimes.”
PEN: Drop Israeli Government Sponsorship
Over 200 writers, including Susan Abulhawa, Eileen Myles, Michael Ondaatje, Claudia Rankine, Viet Thanh Nguyen, and Jacqueline Woodson, joined Adalah-NY in calling on PEN’s World Voices Festival to end its partnership with the Israeli government. The next year, the Israeli government was not among the festival’s sponsors.
Batsheva: Don’t Dance around Apartheid
According to Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Batsheva is “perhaps the best known global ambassador of Israeli culture.” Adalah-NY’s regular protests of Batsheva include its performance at the Joyce Theater as part of Dance Fest Israel 70, sponsored by the Israeli government as a celebration of the state’s founding, and held as Israeli snipers were suppressing the Great March of Return in Gaza. Here we honored the many Palestinian protesters killed with a moment of silence.
Idan Raichel: Propagandist for the Occupation
Idan Raichel is a regular participant in the Israeli government’s PR efforts and frequently performs for the Israeli army, including during its 2014 deadly assault on Gaza, which killed over 2,200 Palestinians and injured more than 11,000. He performed a welcome concert for Jewish Americans arriving to Israel to enlist in the Israeli army and has endorsed the right-wing US nonprofit Thank Israeli Soldiers.
Boycott the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
A self-proclaimed cultural ambassador, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) proudly states on its website that it “represent[s] the State of Israel across the world.” American Friends of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra calls the IPO “the preeminent cultural ambassador for the State of Israel” and notes that “the goodwill created by these tours…is of enormous value to the State of Israel.” During the Nakba, the forced expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians from their homes, the IPO, then called the Palestine Orchestra, toured Palestine and performed to raise the morale of the Zionist militias. The IPO remains closely intertwined with Israel’s militarism today, providing free concert tickets to Israeli soldiers and running a program that brings Israeli soldiers who are musicians to practice music with children.