150 Irish Artists Boycott Israel

150 Irish artists launched the historic “Irish artists’ pledge to boycott Israel” on Thursday 12 August. The Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) organized the pledge and announced the boycott at a lunchtime concert in Meeting House Square in Dublin. The signers are Irish creative and performing artists, novelists, playwrights, poets, actors, composers, singers, dancers, painters, sculptors and filmmakers.

"In response to the call from Palestinian civil society for a cultural boycott of Israel, we pledge not to avail of any invitation to perform or exhibit in Israel, nor to accept any funding from any institution linked to the government of Israel, until such time as Israel complies with international law and universal principles of human rights," the pledge reads.

The IPSC was established in 2001 by a group of Irish human rights and community activists, academics and journalists who were deeply concerned with the current situation in the Occupied Territories, says their website. The group works in partnership with Palestinians in Ireland to provide a voice for Palestine in Ireland.

An Israeli embassy spokesman said the boycott “was regrettable and ill-advised” and that “vilifying and ostracizing Israel and promoting a lose-lose program of boycotts is not the way to secure legitimate Palestinian rights”.

Dr. Raymond Deane, an IPSC Cultural Boycott Officer and coordinator of the pledge, announced: “These artists are aware of the Israeli Foreign Ministry's statement in 2005 that ‘We see culture as a propaganda tool of the first rank, and ... do not differentiate between propaganda and culture.’”

“These artists refuse to allow their art to be exploited by an apartheid state that disregards international law and universal principles of human rights, but look forward to the day when normal cultural relations can be re-established with an Israel that fully complies with such laws and principles,” he continued.

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) released a statement saying that the group “strongly welcomes the Irish artists’ 'pledge’ to boycott Israeli cultural institutions until Israel complies with international law. This pledge not only represents a significant victory for the ethical responsibilities of international cultural figures; a key factor in the cultural boycott of Israel, but is a ground breaking strategy in supporting Palestinian struggle for freedom and justice.”

Dr. Deane, a classical composer, recalled Nelson Mandela's motto that "boycott is not a principle, it is a tactic depending upon circumstances."

"Five years ago, when 170 Palestinian civil society organizations called a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel, they provided a central plank for worldwide activism on behalf of their cause" he added.

"Culture cannot stand aloof from such activism. Whether or not art is 'above politics', its presentation and representation in the real world can all too easily be hijacked by oppressive states,” Dr. Deane said. “With this pledge, Irish artists have an opportunity to distance themselves from such exploitation, and to take a non-violent stand on behalf of the oppressed Palestinian people."