250+ artists urge UK theatres to end Bloomberg Philanthropies ties over Israel war crimes

Playwrights Caryl Churchill, Sabrina Mahfouz, and Hannah Khalil and actors Alex Lawther and Billy Howle are among 261 artists calling on five leading British theatres to end partnerships with Bloomberg Philanthropies over its ties to Israel.

In an open letter published below, the cultural figures say that, in partnering with Bloomberg Philanthropies, the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court, the Young Vic, and the Almeida are “actively undermining” their own ethical commitments.

Bloomberg Philanthropies funds the Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership at Tel Aviv University. The centre provides leadership training to mayors and municipal officials, including those governing illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine’s occupied West Bank. The letter sets out new evidence documenting the centre’s complicity in a “violent project of settlement that the International Court of Justice has declared to be a war crime”.

A spokesperson for Artists for Palestine UK said:

We know from our contact with UK theatres that there is disquiet about what Bloomberg Philanthropies is doing in Israel. Some are looking again at Bloomberg as part of their due diligence procedures. Others say that their connection is no longer current, even though Bloomberg Philanthropies claims them as ‘participating organisations’. But from the five theatres named in the open letter we have heard little to indicate that they share in this disquiet. They should look at the evidence, end their silence, and take an ethical stand.”

Evidence compiled by Artists for Palestine UK with the help of supporters in Israel is published in the briefing “Bloomberg Philanthropies, Arts Sponsorship, War Crimes”, which argues that the institution is complicit in grave crimes against the Palestinian people. It reveals centre trainees as advocates and perpetrators of criminal actions in the West Bank and Gaza. It provides proof that some applaud the killing and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and have incited genocide. One of the centre’s founders has funded a party committed to annexing the West Bank, the other has supported Israel’s military violence against Palestinians, including children.

In the letter, Miriam Margolyes and Alexei Sayle joined filmmakers Aneil Kuria and Aki Kaurismaki and actors MyAnna Buring and Art Malik in urging major theatres “to set an example for the whole sector, by coming together to find alternatives to the sources of funding and support that currently compromise your institutions and our workspaces”.

They asked the theatres “to stand up for international law and against dispossession, apartheid, genocide and mass violence’, saying: “The decisions you take now will define your moral leadership and integrity for years to come.”

READ The letter in full:

To the leadership teams of the Almeida, Royal Court, Royal Shakespeare Company, Young Vic and National Theatre,

 We write as artists and culture workers committed to upholding human rights and social justice.   

We want to end the involvement of our workplaces with organisations that are giving material support to Israel’s well-documented crimes against Palestinians and its contempt for international law.

The strength of our cultural practice lies not only in artistic excellence, but in the values we collectively uphold.  As leaders of some of the UK’s best-known theatres, you are well placed to stand up for those values. You can come together to find ethical alternatives to the sources of funding and support that currently compromise them. You can and should cut your links to one of the most prominent of these sources, Bloomberg Philanthropies. 

Bloomberg Philanthropies

Bloomberg Philanthropies funds the Bloomberg-Sagol Centre for City Leadership at Tel Aviv University. The Center provides leadership training to municipal officials,  including those in illegal settlements in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank.

New evidence, collected here, proves beyond doubt that the Bloomberg-Sagol Centre is directly complicit in a violent project of settlement that the International Court of Justice has declared to be a war crime. Its graduates are vocal advocates for criminal actions in the West Bank and Gaza. Some are leading figures in the settler movement. Others are mayors of Israeli towns who publicly acclaim the killing and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians, and have incited genocide. Lecturers are closely linked to the Israeli military. One of its founders has funded a political party that aims to annex the West Bank. The other has publicly defended Israel’s military violence against Palestinian children. 

Through its funding of the Center, Bloomberg Philanthropies is implicated in these crimes. 

Ethical Commitments Across the Sector

Each of your theatres has made principled commitments.

The Almeida pledges not to accept funding from companies or individuals linked to arms, to war crimes, or to “regimes known or suspected to be in violation of human rights”.

The Royal Court aspires to take “an ethical approach to fundraising… working with those who share our environmental and ethical values”.

The Young Vic is dedicated to “prioritising the well-being of…people in the global majority”.

The Royal Shakespeare Company says,  “We are committed to equity, diversity, justice and inclusion (EDJI) in everything we do.” 

The National Theatre pledges to “uphold a culture that aims to take care of our people and the wider world”.  

These are commitments you have made to your artists, staff, audiences — and to the public trust. Yet they are being actively undermined by partnerships with an organisation that is complicit in systemic violence.

Under Charity Commission guidance, theatres must refuse donations linked to unlawful activity or human rights violations. Funding from Bloomberg Philanthropies falls squarely into those categories. 

Our Call

Your theatres are among the most prominent that partner with Bloomberg Philanthropies. You can take a lead. You can set an example for the whole sector, by coming together to find alternatives to the sources of funding and support that currently compromise your institutions and our workspaces. 

We urge you – not only individually, but also collectively – to stand up for international law and against dispossession, apartheid, genocide and mass violence. 

We call on you all to:

1. Cease Complicity
reject further funding and support from Bloomberg Philanthropies;

2. Practise Transparency
publicly disclose all current corporate sponsors and major donors, and explain how these partnerships comply with your published ethical, anti-racist, and safeguarding commitments;

3. Work Together on Alternatives
convene as a sector to explore collective alternatives to unethical funding. With imagination, collaboration, and public trust, it is possible to sustain great art without legitimising violence and oppression.

Why This Matters

In a moment of humanitarian catastrophe, amid the stark and horrifying evidence of genocide, it is more than ever clear that  art must not be financed by those who are implicated in violence and destruction. As the far right gathers momentum across the globe, institutions must stand up for international law. The decisions you take now – about whose support you accept, and whose actions you legitimise – will define your moral leadership and integrity for years to come.

We urge you to act.”

Pictured: Miriam Margolyes; Art malik; Alex Lawther; Sabrina Mahfouz.

Signatories: