Hundreds of British artists announce cultural boycott of Israel

Latest initiative is a reaction to what they termed “the Palestinian catastrophe” in Gaza.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
British singer Richard Ashcroft of the rock band The Verve (photo credit: REUTERS)
British singer Richard Ashcroft of the rock band The Verve
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Some 700 British artists pledged to boycott Israel on Saturday in reaction to what they termed “the Palestinian catastrophe,” the British newspaper Guardian reported on Saturday.
The artists, who include Roger Waters, Brian Eno, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Richard Ashcroft, and others, pledged 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.
“Now we are saying, in Tel Aviv, Netanya, Ashkelon or Ariel, we won’t play music, accept awards, attend exhibitions, festivals or conferences, run masterclasses or workshops, until Israel respects international law and ends its colonial oppression of the Palestinians,” the letter reads.
The initiative is known as Artists for Palestine. A full list of the cultural figures who signed on to the boycott is available here.