Fourtet, Caribou and The Black Madonna are among the dozens of DJs and producers today endorsing the Palestinian call for the cultural boycott of Israel, posting with the hashtag #DJsForPalestine.

They were joined by Discwoman, Ben UFO, Deadboy, Laurel Halo and Truants, who all posted the same message, which reads, “As long as the Israeli government continues its brutal and sustained oppression of the Palestinian people we respect their call for a boycott of Israel as a means of peaceful protest against the occupation”.

Ben UFO added on his Instagram page, “my personal history on this issue is that I travelled to play at The Block in Tel Aviv in 2013. I made several friends there, who I’ve stayed in touch with, and who I spoke with about the cultural boycott of Israel after I decided to decline further invitations to play. I wasn’t well informed then, and my experience of travelling there was what gave me the impetus to read and learn more.

“My feeling since my first visit has been that while Palestinian civil society calls for a boycott, showing solidarity with their cause is worth more to me than travelling to play a show. this has been my position since 2013. having been asked to participate in this campaign, I felt it would be dishonest to continue to say nothing. I’m still really hopeful that one day I’ll be able to play in Israel again.

“To those who ask why this boycott is selective and only applies to one state, I would say that if a comparable situation existed elsewhere in the world, and a boycott had been called by the affected oppressed class of people, then I would respect that too. For me, this is primarily an issue of solidarity and an exercise in listening. My position on this issue is part of a more general politics of anti-racism, which I hope that I can live up to.”

The outpouring of support for the Palestinian call for the cultural boycott of Israel follows a series of cancellations from Israel’s Meteor festival last week. In addition to headliners Lana Del Rey and of Montreal, many DJs and producers were among the twenty cancellations.

Shlohmo, DJ Python, Baba Stiltz, DJ Seinfeld, Shanti Celeste, Volvox, Leon Vynehall, Mall Grab and Honey Dijon withdrew from the festival. Shlohmo wrote on Twitter, “Sorry to the fans I’m letting down and to the festival staff but supporting the oppressed thru my absence is more important to me especially after the government’s recent human rights atrocities.”

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), a founding member of the largest Palestinian civil society coalition, the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) national committee, said: “We welcome the DJs, producers, record labels, collectives and electronic musicians today endorsing the Palestinian call for the cultural boycott of Israel.

“Cultural boycott played a key role in the South African anti-apartheid movement, with progressive artists refusing to whitewash the oppression of the Black majority.

“There should be no business-as-usual with Israel’s regime of occupation, apartheid and settler-colonialism as long as it denies Palestinians our fundamental rights.

“Thank you, #DJsForPalestine, for your meaningful solidarity with our nonviolent struggle for freedom, justice and equality.”

The BDS movement was founded in 2005 and has three aims: the end to Israel’s military occupation; equality for Palestinians with Israeli citizenship; and the right to return for Palestinian refugees.

Sorry for short notice but I will NOT be playing in Israel next week. Sorry to the fans Im letting down and to the festival staff but supporting the oppressed thru my absence is more important to me especially after the government's recent human rights atrocities. — shlohmo (@shlohmo) September 1, 2018