Where are the liberal American Zionists on this one? What will J Street do? Important news:
Ynet learned on Monday that prominent Israeli authors A. B. Yehoshua, Amos Oz, David Grossman and Sami Michael are supporting a long line of actors, playwrights and artists who announced they would refuse to perform in the new culture auditorium in Ariel, which is located outside the Green Line.
"The show does not have to go on," read a letter drafted by the authors. "We, the signatories, express our support for the people of the theater who refuse to perform in Ariel. The Israeli occupation has recently entered its 43rd year. Legitimizing the settlement enterprise and coming to terms with it severely harm Israel's chances of reaching a peace agreement with its Palestinian neighbors."
I thought the artists who announced their boycott of the colonies changed their mind the very next day and withdrew their names from the list. No?
Now that deserves applause! As is often said here, those in Israel seeking justice are often a step ahead of their counterparts in the US and Europe. If Peter Beinarts recent piece has indeed opened a door for Americans, as Phil suspected, now would be a good time to go through that door.
I’ll start believing in the sincerity of Israelis wanting to end Israel’s colonialist project on the WB when the’yd start protesting to their government about subsidies that encourage settlements, exclusive roads for settlers, electricity and water being supplied to them, military protection provided for their security and most of all, when they’d start protesting Israel’s water theft from the WB that that all Israelis are now enjoying throughout Israel and the WB. Backing the artists refusing to perform on the WB is mostly show business. Is the purpose of this protest to stop shows from happening or to stop the occupation? I’d much rather see the shows going on but a stoppage of settlement construction and I’m not impressed with these “protest” games.
Hold on there, but isn’t Israel’s occupation of Palestine in its sixty third, not forty third year. Furthermore the settlers (every Jewish Israeli) occupy the whole of Palestine, not just these West Bank settlements. So doesn’t this suggest that BDS of the settlements alone might not suffice to topple apartheid Israel (not its people). BDS of all of Israel, however, this could do it! Indeed, considering how critical the International Rugby Association’s boycott of apartheid South Africa’s rugby team was in bringing down apartheid South Africa, wouldn’t a cultural boycott of Israel itself very likely do the same to that apartheid state?
“wouldn’t a cultural boycott of Israel itself very likely do the same to that apartheid state?”
It would, although it is in all likelihood much harder to accomplish.