John Berger and 93 other authors, film-makers, musicians and performers call for a cultural boycott of Israel.

In a letter to appear in this Friday’s Guardian, the 94, including as well as the renowned author John Berger, UK musicians and song-writers Brian Eno and Leon Rosselson, film maker Sophie Fiennes, documentary maker Jenny Morgan, singer Reem Kelani and novelist Arundhati Roy call on their colleagues not to visit, exhibit or perform in Israel:

The letter, signed by artists from across Europe North and South America, as well as Israelis and Palestinians, reads:

“There is a fragile ceasefire in Lebanon, albeit daily violated by Israeli overflights. Meanwhile the day to day brutality of the Israeli army in Gaza and the West Bank continues. Ten Palestinians are killed for every Israeli death; more than 200, many of them children, have been killed since the summer. UN resolutions are flouted, human rights violated as Palestinian land is stolen, houses demolished and crops destroyed. For archbishop Desmond Tutu, as for the Jewish (former ANC military commander presently South African minister of security), Ronnie Kasrils, the situation of the Palestinians is worse than that of black South Africans under apartheid. Meantime Western governments refer to Israel’s ‘legitimate right’ of self-defence, and continue to supply weaponry.

The challenge of apartheid was fought better. The non-violent international response to apartheid was a campaign of boycott, divestment, and, finally UN imposed sanctions which enabled the regime to change without terrible bloodshed. Today Palestinians teachers, writers, film-makers and non-governmental organisations have called for a comparable academic and cultural boycott of Israel as offering another path to a just peace. This call has been endorsed internationally by university teachers in many European countries, by film-makers and architects, and by some brave Israeli dissidents. It is now time for others to join the campaign - as Primo Levi asked: If not now, when?

We call on creative writers and artists to support our Palestinian and Israeli colleagues by endorsing the boycott call.

Read the Palestinian call (www.pacbi.org).

For further information contact:
British Committee for the Universities of Palestine
0207 713 1709/07968783137
info@bricup.org.uk

John Berger is available for interview by request.

Letter in The Guardian: http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1972612,00.html

****************

Full list of signatures as of 13th December:

Aguirre, Carmen, (dramatist)

Al Bayati, Hana (film-maker)

Alcalay, Ammiel, (poet)

Alkadhi, Rheim (artist)

Aziz, Sylvat (artist)

Benner, Ron (artist)

Berger, John (writer and artist)

Beverley, John (writer)

Bove, Paul (editor and writer)

Bresheeth, Haim (film-maker)

Brittain, Victoria (writer)

Budney, Jen (curator)

Cameron, Lindsley (author)

Carew, Keggie (artist)

Casana, Manuel Molins (dramatist)

Chanan, Michael (writer and film-maker)

Chirot, David-Baptiste (artist/writer)

Chrysakis,. Thanos (composer)

Courtney, Andrew (artist)

Cox, Molly Hankwitz (artist and writer)

Creativity commons collective

D’Agostino, Ornella (choreographer)

Davis, Matt (musician)

Deane, Raymond (musician)

Deutsch, Stephen (composer)

Dibb, Mike (film maker)

Donoghue, Ben (film maker)

Eno, Brian (musician)

Erfanian, Eshrat (artist)

Fiennes, Sophie (film-maker)

Fisher, Jean (writer)

Frere, Jane (video artist)

Fried, Klaus (film maker)

Galeano, Eduardo (writer)

Ghaibah, Anas (TV director)

Ghossein, Mirene (writer and editor)

Gill, Rajdeep Singh (curator)

Gordon, Avery (writer)

Greyson, John (film-maker)

Guillen, Maria Munoz (dancer)

Halama, Henry (artist)

Hamka, Nada (artist)

Hashemi, Gita (artist)

Hassan, Jamelie (artist)

Huleileh, Serene (dancer/choreographer)

Humm, Maggie (writer)

Hussien, Reham (translator)

James, Rob (writer)

Jenik, Adriene (media artist)

Jimeno, Dolores (writer)

Joly, Magdalene (dancer and musician)

Kelani, Reem (singer)

Karabelia, Vassia (art historian)

Kauff, Tarak (writer)

Kaya, Mircan (musician)

Knupp, Rainer (movement artist)

Kukovec, Dunja (art historian)

Kumar, Vinod (writer)

Lane, Joel (poet)

Levidow, Les (writer and musician)

Loshitzky, Yosefa (writer)

Lozano, Rian (curator)

Malinowitz, Harriet (writer)

Marlat, Daphne (writer)

Masri, Hala (theatre coordinator)

Matelli, Federica (curator)

McCaughey, Peter (artist)

Metcalfe, Rohelia Hamilton (Film-maker)

Miyoshi, Masao (writer)

Montagnino, Carlo (artist)

Morgan, Jenny (film-maker)

Muntadas, Antoni (artist0

Naguib, Fabiola Nabil (curator)

Neufeldt, Brigitte (artist)

Nunez, Alejandra Perez (sound artist)

Ostrow, Saul (critic/curator)

Pangbourne, Annabelle (composer)

Parker, Cornelia (artist)

Pennell, Miranda (film-maker)

Radhakrishnan, R (writer)

Rosselson, Leon (song writer and author)

Roy, Arundhati (novelist)

Rubin, Andrew (writer)

Salloum, Jayce (artist)

Sampaio, Miriam (artist)

Samuel, Julian (novelist)

Sances, Jos (artist)

Saraste, Leena (photographer)

Sarlin, Paige (film-maker)

Scordìa, Cinzia (performer0

Serra, Toni /Abu Ali (videomaker)

Shammas, Anton (novelist and film-maker)

Shibli, Ahlam (artist)

Shiri, Keith (curator)

Simons, Patrick (composer)

Smith, John (artist-film-maker)

Solt, John (poet)

Somes-Charlton, Chris (director)

Soueif, Ahdaf (novelist)

Staikou, Evi (artist)

Suleiman, Elia (film maker)

Sureda, Joseph Ramis (dancer)

Szpakowski, Michael (composer)

Tres (artist)

Tudela, Ana Navarrete (artist)

Valldosera, Eulalia (artist)

Van Zwanenberg, Roger (publisher)

Walkley, Ron (architect)

Ward, David (composer)

Younghusband, Gene (media theorist)

Zangana, Haifa (novelist)

********************************************