Over 100 UK artists join major Israel boycott

More than 100 UK artists lent their support to a boycott of Israel on Friday, pledging not to accept invitations to the country nor funding from any institution associated with the government.

Known as “Artists for Palestine UK,” the collective is comprised of over 700 musicians, actors, writers, sculptors, painters, designers, filmmakers and technicians who vowed to maintain their pledge “until Israel respects international law and ends its colonial oppression of the Palestinians,” according to a letter published by the group in The Guardian, a British daily newspaper.

The letter asserted that Israeli institutions, in addition to suppressing the rights of Palestinians, are united in an effort to promote “Brand Israel” to a global audience. It likened this current boycott to that of apartheid South Africa.

“During South African apartheid, musicians announced they weren’t going to ‘play Sun City,'” the letter stated, referencing a South African resort that showcased international artists.

“Now we are saying, in Tel Aviv, Netanya, Ashkelon or Ariel, we won’t play music, accept awards, attend exhibitions, festivals or conferences, run masterclasses or workshops, until Israel respects international law and ends its colonial oppression of the Palestinians,” concluded the statement.

Anti-Israel activist Roger Waters, a founding member of the rock band Pink Floyd, is among the most prominent artists featured in the boycott.

Waters recently implored English rock musician Alan Parsons to cancel a gig last week in Tel Aviv, insisting he could send a “powerful message” to the world by joining the boycott.

“While I know you don’t want to disappoint your fans by canceling this gig, you would be sending a powerful message to them and the world by doing so,” Waters wrote in a letter to Parsons.

“I regret that you have decided, for now at least, to stand with the minority of artists and academics who support the policies of the current Israeli government… By ignoring the boycott, you are turning your back on a beleaguered people who are desperately in need of your support,” Waters added in a second correspondence.

Parsons, who previously worked with Waters as a sound engineer on the 1973 Pink Floyd opus “The Dark Side of the Moon,” denied Waters’s request and played a well-received show at Tel Aviv’s Nokia Theater.

“This is a political matter and I am simply an artist,” Parsons wrote to Waters. “I create music, that is my raison d’être. Everyone – no matter where they reside, what religion they follow, or what ideology they aspire to – deserves to hear it if they so choose. Music knows no borders, and neither do I.”

— JTA and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report