People’s art gallery for Free Palestine was erected in Washington DC by Artists Against Apartheid ahead of the November 4 protest in the city. Photo: Zoe Alexandra
Well-known artists and cultural workers are joining the movement to institute a cultural boycott of Israel and the institutions that support it. Jewish Photographer Nan Goldin has canceled a New York Times project over “complicity with Israel” and “how they question the veracity of anything Palestinians say,” said the artist. The Times has come under fire recently for pro-zionist coverage of the genocide in Gaza. On November 9, a group of writers and journalists occupied the lobby of the Times building in Manhattan, reading out the names of Gazans slain by Israel.
Yesterday’s most sobering moment—when hundreds of writers occupied @nytimes in protest of its genocidal complicity—was reciting the names of Palestinian martyrs Israel killed in just a month:
It took an hour to read a fragment of the names of victims who are just 1-year-olds. pic.twitter.com/7F6x6b1ZkD
— Mohammed El-Kurd (@m7mdkurd) November 10, 2023
Indian-Canadian poet Rupi Kaur declined an invitation to a Diwali event by the White House. Kaur wrote that she was “surprised this administration finds it acceptable to celebrate Diwali, when their support of the current atrocities against Palestinians represent the exact opposite of what this holiday means to many of us.” In a later post, Kaur referred to US President Joe Biden’s statement that there is “no possibility” of a ceasefire in Gaza. “Let’s keep applying pressure. Let us sign petitions. Keep posting. Boycott,” she said.
US rapper Macklemore has signed the “Artists Against Apartheid” petition, which is a firm statement of solidarity “with those resisting occupation and fighting for their right to self-determination.” Macklemore was also a speaker at the 300,000-strong march for Palestine in Washington, DC on November 4, the largest pro-Palestine demonstration in US history.
“We have been taught to just be complicit. To protect our careers, to protect our interests,” said the rapper at the Freedom Plaza in DC on November 4. “And I’m not gonna do it anymore. I’m not afraid to speak the truth.”
