What Israeli cultural ambassadors now must do

Udi Aloni, an Israeli-American film maker, suggests a code of conduct for Israeli artists:

We, as Israeli artists opposed to the occupation, must act according to the following guidelines:

1. Declare everywhere that Israel is an apartheid state, violating international law as far as it concerns the Occupied Territories.

2. Demand the immediate lifting of the siege on Gaza.

3. Reject the bear hug offered by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, asking Israeli ambassadors not to attend officially the Homage to Tel Aviv events or any other cultural events.

4. Declare that the IDF is an immoral occupying army, playing a pivotal role in racism-based land grab.

5. Declare that the city of Tel-Aviv is not so hip but in fact a racist city, and declare that the gradual persistent expulsion the city is committing against Jaffa’s Arab residents must end now, or it shall remain a lasting sign of infamy.

6. Understand the objectives of the boycott campaign against the State of Israel (BDS), and conduct a dialogue with the initiators of the boycott campaign, in order to see how artistic freedom can be maintained while we are raising international awareness of the gross injustice in our country (by the way, we can allow ourselves to receive funding from the state, but just as the anti-Zionist Ultra-Orthodox Israelis do not change their beliefs because of such funding, neither should we).

7. Declare, as artists, our infidelity to the state until the complete ending of the occupation and the racist apartheid regime.

8. Promise to strive for just peace and equality between Jews and Palestinians, within either a two-state framework or a single bi-national, multi-cultural, multi-genderial framework, for the benefit of the Jew and the Palestinian and the foreigner living here side by side and one among the other in our common land.

Text and images ©2024 Antony Loewenstein. All rights reserved.

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