Cultural Boycott

Tamar-kali with her band and special guest Sonny Singh at "Palestine Calling"
Brooklyn vocalist and composer Tamar-kali with her band and special guest Sonny Singh at our "Palestine Calling" event on November 14th, 2015.

Web Action

As part of the thoughtful, hopeful, and principled Palestinian-led Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and out of respect for Palestinian self-determination, we affirm that "Brand Israel" is not welcome in New York and we commit to upholding the cultural boycott however we can. We will not participate in events sponsored by the Israeli government or complicit Israeli institutions in New York, Israel, or anywhere else. As a community of New York-based artists and cultural workers, we call on other artists and cultural workers to join this global movement until Israeli occupation, colonization, and apartheid have ended.

Press Release

March 27, 2019, New York, NY -  Sixty New York human rights advocates gathered this evening outside the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) for a music and dance-filled protest of the opening night performance of the Batsheva Dance Company, a leader in helping the Israeli government whitewash its systematic repression of the Palestinian people.

Press Coverage

Dance Magazine

Abstract: 

But why target a dance company? What does Batsheva have to do with Israel's geopolitical conflicts? The protestors, who tend to be locally organized members of the larger Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel, see Batsheva as a tool of the Israeli government's efforts to distract from political controversies, such as the building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Event

Mark the anniversary of Great March of Return in Gaza with us as we oppose the artwashing of Israeli Apartheid in NYC

On March 27, just days before the one-year anniversary of Gaza’s Great March of Return, Batsheva Dance Company will be performing in NYC as a willing participant in the Israeli government’s Brand Israel public relations campaign that uses art and culture to divert attention from Israel’s violent repression of the Palestinian people, including Israel’s war crimes and crimes against Palestinian protesters in Gaza.

Press Release

February 3, 2019, New York, NY—On Sunday afternoon, seventy New York human rights advocates gathered in a noisy, musical protest in front of Carnegie Hall to demonstrate against an extravagant fundraising brunch and performance by the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO).

The IPO, a self-proclaimed “cultural ambassador” representing the state of Israel, orchestrates a positive image of Israel to divert attention from its human rights abuses, as part of the “Brand Israel” initiative launched in 2006. An Israeli Foreign Ministry official explained Israeli government efforts to rebrand Israel through the arts in 2009, saying, “We will send well-known novelists and writers overseas, theater companies, exhibits” to “show Israel’s prettier face, so we are not thought of purely in the context of war.” The IPO website proudly states that the Orchestra “represent[s] the State of Israel across the world.”

Press Coverage

The Jerusalem Post

Abstract: 

An anti-Israel organization staged a protest against the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) on Sunday.

Adalah- NY, an organization that campaigns for the boycott of Israel, raised signs and carried cardboard guitars that read “apartheid” while chanting against Israel outside New York's Carnegie Hall, causing a small disturbance on February 3. The protesters stood outside a fundraising brunch for the IPO, which was followed by a performance.

Press Coverage

Ha'aretz

Abstract: 

Dozens of supporters of the movement calling to boycott Israel gathered in New York on Sunday in protest an Israel Philharmonic Orchestra concert at the city's prestigious Carnegie Hall. 

Protesters distributed flyers with the message “Don’t harmonize with apartheid: While Palestinians hunger for freedom, New York’s elite feasts in support of Israel’s oppressive policies,” referring to the festive pre-show brunch organized for the occasion. 

Pages