We are disturbed by attempts in Germany to impose political conditions on artists supporting Palestinian human rights. We are glad that the international outcry has convinced the Ruhrtriennale arts festival to reverse its repressive decision to cancel a performance by the Young Fathers, after they refused to distance themselves from the global Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Palestinian rights.

Ruhrtriennale’s earlier decision was a particularly alarming form of censorship, “blacklisting” and repression.

We welcome the stance of another German festival, Morgenland, in resisting a similar attempt to suppress free speech.

We stand firmly against all forms of racism and identity-based discrimination, including anti-blackness, sexism, antisemitism, Islamophobia and homophobia. Conflating nonviolent measures to end Israel’s illegal occupation and human rights violations with anti-Jewish racism is false and dangerous. It denies Palestinians their right to peaceful protest and undermines the struggle against antisemitism.

While we may hold diverse views on BDS, we are united in considering it a lawful exercise of freedom of expression. Boycotts that are anchored in universal human rights and aimed at achieving justice for marginalised and oppressed communities are a legitimate nonviolent tactic. They have been used worldwide, including against apartheid in South Africa and the Jim Crow segregation laws in the US.

This is the view of the EU, hundreds of US rabbis, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and hundreds of European NGOs.



Mai Abu ElDahab Director, Mophradat

Tunde Adebimpe Musician

Antonia Alampi Artistic co-director, Savvy Contemporary

Nir Alon Artist

Julia Aranda Artist

Mohammed Bakri Actor

Saleh Bakri Actor

Jeff Barrett Founder, Heavenly Recordings

Yves Berger Artist

Judith Butler Philosopher

David Calder Actor

Noam Chomsky Linguist, philosopher

Julie Christie Actor

Caryl Churchill Playwright

Jarvis Cocker Musician

Molly Crabapple Artist, writer

Liam Cunningham Actor

Angela Davis Political activist, academic

Lawrence Dreyfus Director, Phantasm viol consort

Tania El Khoury Artist

Brian Eno Composer, producer

Reem Fadda Curator

David Farr Writer, director

Chiara Figone Archive Books/Kabinett/Journal

Marina Fokidis Curator, writer

Rebecca Foon Musician

Peter Gabriel Musician, founder, Womad festival

Dani Gal Artist

Danny Glover Actor

Carl Gosling Heavenly Recordings

Ian Ilavsky Co-founder, Constellation Records

Ghada Karmi Writer, academic

Aki Kaurismaki Film director

AL Kennedy Writer

Naomi Klein Writer

Judith Knight Co-director, Artsadmin

Hari Kunzru Writer

Paul Laverty Screenwriter

Mike Leigh Writer, director

Mason Leaver-Yap Associate curator, KW Institute for Contemporary Art

Ken Loach Film director

Jens Maier-Rothe Curator

Jumana Manna Artist

Miriam Margolyes Actor

Yann Martel Author

Massive Attack Band

Thurston Moore Musician

David Morrissey Actor

Nicholas Mirzoeff Cultural theorist

Danny Mitchell Heavenly Recordings

Leil Zahra Mortada Film-maker

Viggo Mortensen Actor, writer, artist

Karma Nabulsi Professor of politics

Mira Nair Film director

Bonaventure Ndikung Founder, Savvy Contemporary

Paul Northup Director, Greenbelt Festival

Rebecca O’Brien Film producer

Ilan Pappe Historian

Jocelyn Pook Composer

Cat Power Musician

Jeremie Pujau Artist

Fanny-Michaela Reisin President, International League for Human Rights

Michael Rosen Children’s poet, broadcaster

Eran Schaerf Artist

James Schamus Screenwriter, producer, director

Eyal Sivan Documentary film-maker

Harry Leslie Smith Writer

John Smith Artist, film-maker

Patti Smith Musician

Jesse Smith Musician, activist

Desmond Tutu Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, South Africa

Alice Walker Writer

Roger Waters Musician

Eyal Weizman Architect

Vivienne Westwood Designer

Don Wilkie Co-founder, Constellation Records

Tim Wilson Founder, Vault festival

Tim Wise Writer

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