Irish Anti-Apartheid Activists, Trade Unionists, International Artists and Israeli and Jewish human rights activists support Cultural Boycott of Israel and IPSC
The following letter was published in the Irish Times on Monday 4th June 2012. The impressive list of individual and organisational signatories is indicative of the widespread domestic and international support that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, and the IPSC’s promotion of this campaign, enjoys. The publication came after a month of sustained attacks in the Irish media against the IPSC and the Palestinian call for a cultural boycott campaign against Israel.
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Sir, – We wish to express our support for the Palestinian call for a campaign of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it abides fully by its obligations under international law and the Palestinian people enjoy the fruits of freedom, justice and equality.
The campaign for a cultural boycott of Israel is an important and integral aspect of this strategy as the Israeli state seeks to use culture, in particular, to whitewash it’s record of occupation, apartheid and war crimes.
We salute the courage of the more than 200 Irish artists who have signed a pledge not to perform in Israel, and support the efforts of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) to promote this non-violent campaign. – Yours, etc,
KEN LOACH, film-maker;
EAMON MCMAHON, on behalf of Trade Union Friends of Palestine (ICTU);
CONNIE HACKBARTH, on behalf of Alternative Information Center (Joint Palestinian-Israeli organisation);
OFER NEIMAN, on behalf of Boycott from Within (Israelis supporting BDS);
MUHAMMED DESAI, on behalf of South African Artists Against Apartheid;
ANDREW FELLUS, on behalf of Artists Against Apartheid (International Alliance);
TONY GREENSTEIN, on behalf of Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (UK);
MIKE MILOTTE and JOHN ROSE, Former international anti-apartheid activists;
LOUISE ASMAL, TERENCE MCCAUGHEY, GARRY KILGALLEN, SEAN EDWARDS, RAFIQUE MOTTIAR, ROBERT BALLAGH, MICK O’REILLY, BILLY FITZPATRICK, CAROL FOX, ROGER COLE, CHARLIE HAYES, TOM REDMOND, MICHEÁL MAC AONGHUSA, EUGENE MCCARTAN, EDDIE GLACKIN and FRANK KEOGHAN (Former members of the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement),