600 musicians sign letter pledging to boycott ‘Israel’
600 musicians have signed an open letter calling for an end to human rights abuses to Palestinians in the Occupied Territories and asking other artists to refuse “to perform at Israel’s complicit cultural institutions” until it ends its occupation of Palestine.
The musicians have pledged their support to the boycott call, which has been organised under the banner “Musicians for Palestine” and has garnered 600 signatures so far.
Musicians! Want to join us?
Please post the below images along with the hashtag #MusiciansforPalestine & the following text:
I join #MusiciansforPalestine & stand in solidarity with Palestinians for the end of apartheid & for freedom, justice & equality for all @Musicians4PS pic.twitter.com/a5ygWFgFnX
— #MUSICIANSFORPALESTINE (@Musicians4PS) May 27, 2021
“As musicians, we cannot be silent. Today it is essential that we stand with Palestine. We are calling on our peers to publicly assert their solidarity with the Palestinian people. Complicity with Israeli war crimes is found in silence, and today silence is not an option,” the musicians state in the letter published on Thursday morning.
“Today, we speak together and demand justice, dignity and the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people and all who are fighting colonial dispossession and violence across the planet,” they continue.
The letter asks other artists to refuse “to perform at Israel’s complicit cultural institutions, and by standing firm in your support of the Palestinian people and their human right to sovereignty and freedom”.
“We believe this is crucial to one day live in a world without segregation and apartheid,” the letter says.
The Roots’ Black Thought and Questlove, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Thurston Moore, Bun B, Royce Da 5’9″, Talib Kweli, Run the Jewels, Anti-Flag, The Strokes’ Julian Casablancas, members of Cypress Hill, Patti Smith, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters and System of a Down’s Serj Tankian were among the hundreds of signatories.
I join #MusiciansforPalestine & stand in solidarity with Palestinians for the end of apartheid & for freedom, justice & equality for all
+ especially being Jewish it’s vital to keep being vocal abt this & dispel the idea that anti-zionism is antisemitismhttps://t.co/Om9QXtSjZe pic.twitter.com/N9ibPpp5I3
— u ⌕ (@umru_) May 27, 2021
Thank you for amplifying #MusiciansForPalestine https://t.co/EFm9KSNr7J
— IRAQ-A-FELLA (@TheNarcicyst) May 27, 2021
#MusiciansForPalestine @Musicians4PS pic.twitter.com/2WIxHKjiLt
— Anti-Flag (@anti_flag) May 27, 2021
I join #MusiciansforPalestine & stand in solidarity with Palestinians for the end of apartheid & for freedom, justice & equality for all @Musicians4PS pic.twitter.com/Ogc54Lgkrx
— Michel Banabila (@Banabila) May 27, 2021
Lately, over 1,000 Canadian artists and cultural workers have also signed on to a statement calling for the Canadian government to impose military and economic sanctions on ‘Israel’ and “to end its complicity in the oppression of Palestinians”.
Declaring support for the Palestinian-led Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the group of artists also called on Canadian art organisations and institutions to end any form of collaboration with Israeli state-financed and sponsored art and cultural activities with ‘Israel’.
“We, the undersigned Canadian artists and cultural workers, support the Palestinian people in their seven decades of struggle for freedom, liberation, and the Palestinian refugees’ right of return,” the Canadian artists said in the statement.
They added, “We call upon the Canadian government to impose military and economic sanctions on Israel and to end its complicity in the oppression of Palestinians.”
“We are deeply shocked by the recent developments on the ground in Palestine/Israel-the fourth bombardment since 2009 in Gaza.”
“The death toll of 260 lives including 62 children and the random destruction of residential buildings, hospitals, schools and infrastructure constitute war crimes.”
“Enough is enough,” they said.
This support and calling to boycott the occupation state of ‘Israel’ came after the latest 11-day Israeli aggression, in which at least 279 Palestinians were killed, including 69 children and 40 women, and 1,910 others injured in the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
More than 90,000 Palestinians were displaced from their homes, and much of Gaza’s infrastructure and many residential buildings were completely destroyed or levelled.
19 families in the Gaza Strip have also been wiped off the population civil registry, including 45 children, after the Israeli bombardment on residential areas.
This also came after Israel’s violence against the Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied Palestine territories.
