The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and all its partners, individuals and organizations active in art, culture and human rights, regard the cancellation of the Jericho-Tel Aviv event, planned by “One Voice” to take place on 18 October, as a substantial accomplishment for the Palestinian boycott movement. A solid partnership between diverse civil society organizations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory has succeeded in thwarting the event’s organizers’ attempt to mislead public opinion and to use deceptive slogans to market a political program that concedes some fundamental Palestinian rights. Read more about Concert cancellation victory against normalization 

On 18 October, One Million Voices, an organization led by Israelis and international figures with the support of some Palestinians, is organizing a public event in Jericho and Tel Aviv, simultaneously but suspiciously fails to call for an end to Israel’s occupation, amongst other basic requisites to genuine peace. The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel finds that the event falls under the category of normalization projects and violates the call for boycott, divestment and sanctions. Read more about One Million Voices: Celebrating peace or camouflaging apartheid? 

While British colleagues prepare to discuss the Palestinian boycott call and consider the implications of normal academic links with the Israeli academy during the coming academic year, a disturbing development has been noted in the United States and Canada. No sooner had the UK’s University and College Union motion deploring the denial of educaitonal rights for Palestinans been passed than dozens of American and Canadian university presidents and rectors rushed to condemn the Union, basing their attacks on mostly false or inaccurate data. Read more about Open door to boycott debate and uphold academic freedom 

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) salutes the courage and moral consistency of British academics who support an institutional academic boycott of Israel similar to that imposed on apartheid South Africa in the past. We specifically welcome the motions submitted to the upcoming University and College Union (UCU) Council in Bournemouth that recognize the complicity of the Israeli academy in the occupation, and urge academics “to consider the moral implications of existing and proposed links with Israeli academic institutions.” Read more about Boycott the Israeli Academy Now! 

PACBI is pleased to announce that in a letter that appears in today’s Guardian, the 94, including the renowned author John Berger; UK musicians and song-writers Brian Eno and Leon Rosselson; filmmakers Sophie Fiennes, Elia Suleiman and Haim Bresheeth; documentary maker Jenny Morgan; singer Reem Kelani; writers Arundhati Roy, Ahdaf Soueif, and Eduardo Galeano, call on their colleagues not to visit, exhibit or perform in Israel. The letter comes after the August 2006 statement issued by Palestinian filmmakers, artists, writers, and other cultural workers calling for a cultural boycott of Israel. Read more about John Berger and 93 other authors, film-makers, musicians and performers call for a cultural boycott of Israel 

We the undersigned groups and organizations request that the Venice Biennale cancel the country exhibition of Israel entitled “LIFE SAVER - Typology of Commemoration in Israel - Architecture and Society” for the following reasons: The Israeli participation is supported by the Israeli state, a state that continues against all International laws and UN resolutions to occupy the West Bank and Gaza Strip; to deny the right of return for Palestinian refugees; and to wage a daily war against Palestinian children, men and women, their homes and livelihoods. Read more about Letter to the Organizers of the 10th International Architecture Exhibition at the Venice Biennale 

Ken Loach, the acclaimed British director and winner of this year’s Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival, an artist who is known for his politically and socially engaged films, has declared in a personal statement his support of “the call by Palestinian film-makers, artists and others to boycott state sponsored Israeli cultural institutions and urge[s] others to join their campaign”. He anounced that he would not take part in the “Haifa Film Festival or any other such occasions,” a clear statement of his intent to boycott Israeli film festivals, and an acknowledgment of the fact that “Palestinians are driven to call for this boycott after forty years of the occupation of their land, destruction of their homes and the kidnapping and murder of their civilians”. Read more about Filmmaker Ken Loach Joins the Cultural Boycott of Israel