Israel Must Be Held To Account For Ongoing Violence Against Palestinians

We share with millions our anger at the indiscriminate and pitiless bombing of the Gaza Strip; at the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah; at the armed invasion of the Al-Aqsa compound during the holy month of Ramadan; at the brutal attacks on peaceful protests in the Occupied West Bank, and on Palestinian citizens of Israel in towns within Israel. All this must stop immediately.

The violence the Israeli authorities are meting out is the same violence that has displaced, repressed and fragmented Palestinians since the Nakba of 1948, when over 700,000 Palestinians fled or were forcibly removed from their homes. Israel’s policy of forced displacement, and the ongoing police repression that punishes any form of protest or peaceful resistance by Palestinians, has been taking place in many forms for decades, often without it registering in our news media.

Israel’s impunity must end

At the beginning of 2021, Israel’s largest human rights organisation B’tselem published their report ‘This is Apartheid’, echoing what Palestinians have been saying for many years about the regime they live under. In April, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report detailed how Israel’s policies ‘amount to the crimes against humanity of apartheid and persecution’ and called for ‘targeted sanctions’. The action that should follow such conclusions is plain.

Artists and arts producers should play our part, heed the call of Palestinian cultural workers and collectively refuse to engage with a system that so fundamentally oppresses Palestinians. We must pressure our governments to hold Israel to account for its violations of Palestinian rights, and to bring an end to Israel’s impunity. ‘Business as usual’ with Israel is no longer an option. We see upholding human rights and opposing injustice as a moral obligation, and believe that ending Israeli apartheid is in our hands.

Solidarity

We join in solidarity with our friends and colleagues around the world who came together to make such an extraordinary show of global support for the Palestinian people over the Nakba Day protests last weekend. The current unity amongst the Palestinian people moves and inspires us. As people working in the arts, we fully support the Palestinian-led movement for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) and stand with the Palestinian people to demand freedom, justice and equality for all the inhabitants of Palestine/Israel.