In solidarity with the Palestinian Filmmakers, Artists and Cultural Workers Call for a Cultural Boycott of Israel…



SHUT IT DOWN!


Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema

(Presented in partnership with the Consulate General of Israel to the Midwest)


www.chicagofestivalofisraelicinema.org/sponsors.htm


Opening night-Thursday, Sept. 7


Webster Place 11, 1471 W. Webster Ave., Chicago


Picket line starts at 7 PM



So long as occupation is business as usual in Israel...there will be no business as usual with Israel



On August 1, 2006, sixty prominent Palestinian artists issued a call for a cultural boycott of Israel. The Chicago chapter of the International Solidarity Movement calls upon other progressive organizations to endorse our call for the September 7 picket line at the opening night of the Chicago Festival of Israeli Cinema. There can be no “safe haven” for those that support the Israeli occupation of Palestine and the destruction of Lebanon by Israeli Occupation Forces.



We call on activists to bring Palestinian and Lebanese flags, large photos of the victims of Israeli state terrorism in Lebanon and Palestine, posters calling for a cultural boycott and divestment from Israel to the September 7 protest.



Endorsers list in formation: Palestine Solidarity Group, Chicago Coalition Against War and Racism, Neighbors for Peace


Contact: ISM-Chicago Chapter at 773-489-3505 or ISMinChicago (at) aol.com


Visit www.palsolidarity.org for more information on the International Solidarity Movement



A copy of the Call for a Cultural Boycott of Israel is available via e-mail from ISM-Chicago
Palestinian Filmmakers, Artists and Cultural Workers Call for a Cultural Boycott of Israel


August 1, 2006



Dear Filmmakers & Artists,


During the past few weeks we have borne witness to the escalation of Israeli aggression into open war on both Palestine and Lebanon.


With Israel's invasion of Gaza on June 27th, 2006, ministries and educational institutions have been destroyed, as has the plant that supplies nearly 50 percent of Gaza's electricity. Bridges, roads, dozens of homes, and hundreds of dunams of agricultural land have also been destroyed. Sixty-four elected Palestinian legislators, cabinet ministers and officials have been detained without charge.


On July 12th, Israel brought its campaign of collective punishment and military violence to Lebanon, with "Operation Just Reward". A complete assault, via land, sea, and air, of the Lebanese population and infrastructure has led to total destruction. In just 3 weeks, almost 1 million Lebanese civilians have been displaced and the death toll has reached 900 Lebanese and 160 Palestinians, with a UN count saying one-third of the dead are children.


Additionally, in violation of international law, Israel continues to occupy Gaza, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), and Syria's Golan Heights. In violation of the Fourth Geneva Convention, Israel continues to hold 9,600 Palestinian political prisoners in Israeli jails and detention centers without due process, among them 130 Palestinian women and 388 children, many of them taken from their homes in the middle of the night.


We, the undersigned Palestinian filmmakers and artists, appeal to all artists and filmmakers of good conscience around the world to cancel all exhibitions and other cultural events that are scheduled to occur in Israel, to mobilize immediately and not allow the continuation of the Israeli offensive to breed complacency. Like the boycott of South African art institutions during apartheid, cultural workers must speak out against the current Israeli war crimes and atrocities.


We call upon the International community to join us in the boycott of Israeli film festivals, Israeli public venues, and Israeli institutions supported by the government, and to end all cooperation with these cultural and artistic institutions that to date have refused to take a stand against the Occupation, the root cause for this colonial conflict.



We call upon you to take a stand in order to appeal to the Israeli people to give up their silence, to abandon their apathy, and to face up to their responsibility in the destruction and killing their elected government is wreaking. To the Lebanese and Palestinians terrorized by this Army's planes, bombs and missiles, this silence, apathy and lack of action from Israelis, are regarded as complicit in the ongoing war crimes, as for those Israeli artists, academics and intellectuals who continue to serve in the Israeli army they are directly implicated in these crimes.


We call upon you to give way to action that would replace words spoken too often and forgotten too quickly. We call upon you to make your voices heard in calling for an end to this bloodshed and an end to this oppression that has lasted too long.


To endorse or answer this call for a cultural boycott of Israel please send an email with your name, position and country to pal.filmmakers (at) gmail.com mailto:pal.filmmakers (at) gmail.com


Signatures (Alphabetical)
1. Adila Laidi, Lecturer
2. Anan Brakat, Filmmaker, Arab Cinema School
3. Annemarie Jacir, Filmmaker
4. Azza El-Hassan, Filmmaker
5. Bahia Munem, Filmmaker
6. Dahna Abourahme, Filmmaker
7. Dima Abu Ghoush, Filmmaker
8. Emily Jacir, Artist
9. Enas Muthaffar, Filmmaker
10. Faten Farhat, Khalil Sakakini Cultural Center
11. Ghada Terawi, Filmmaker
12. Hanna Atallah, Filmmaker
13. Hanna Elias, Filmmaker
14. Hany Abu-Assad, Filmmaker
15. Haya Al-Jareedy, Filmmaker
16. Hayan Charara, Writer
17. Hazim Bitar, Filmmaker
18. Iman Aoun, Ishtar Theatre
19. Iman Hammouri, Popular Art Centre
20. John Halaka, Artist
21. Juliano Mer Khamis, Actor & Director
22. Kais Al-Zubaidi, Filmmaker
23. Kamal Boullata, Artist
24. Karma Abu-Sharif, Writer
25. Khadijeh.H.Abu-Ali, Filmmaker
26. Khaled Jubran, Musician
27. Larissa Sansour, Artist
28. Leila Sansour, Filmmaker
29. Liana Saleh, Filmmaker
30. Lina Bokhary, Artist
31. Mahmoud Massad, Filmmaker
32. Mai Masri, Filmmaker
33. Mazen Saade, Filmmaker & Writer
34. Michel Khleifi, Filmmaker
35. Miguel Littin, Filmmaker
36. Nabila Irshaid, Artist
37. Nahed Awwad, Filmmaker
38. Najwa Najjar, Filmmaker
39. Nizar Hassan, Filmmaker
40. Omar Barghouti, Dance choreographer
41. Omar Qattan, Filmmaker
42. Osama Al-Zain, Filmmaker
43. Rana Bishara, Artist
44. Rania Elias- Khoury, Yabous Productions
45. Rashid Masharawi, Filmmaker
46. Reem Fadda, Palestinian Association of Contemporary Art
47. Riyad Deis, Filmmaker
48. Rowan Al Faqih, Filmmaker
49. Saed Andoni, Filmmaker
50. Saleh Bakri, Actor
51. Salim Abu Jabal, Writer
52. Salwa Mikdadi, Curator
53. Samia A. Halaby, Artist
54. Sobhi al-Zobaidi, Filmmaker
55. Suleiman Mansour, Artist
56. Suzy Salamy, Filmmaker
57. Taghreed Mishael, Filmmaker
58. Ula Tabari, Filmmaker
59. Vera Tamari, Artist
60. Wafa Jamil, Filmmaker


The following are excerpts from "The Case for Boycotting Israel" written by Virginia Tilley, a professor of political science and US. citizen who is currently working in South Africa.



counterpunch.org/tilley08052006.html


It is finally time. After years of internal arguments, confusion, and dithering, the time has come for a full-fledged international boycott of Israel. Good cause for a boycott has, of course, been in place for decades, as a raft of initiatives already attests. But Israel's war crimes are now so shocking, its extremism so clear, the suffering so great, the UN so helpless, and the international community's need to contain Israel's behavior so urgent and compelling, that the time for global action has matured. A coordinated movement of divestment, sanctions, and boycotts against Israel must convene to contain not only Israel's aggressive acts and crimes against humanitarian law but also, as in South Africa, its founding racist logics that inspired and still drive the entire Palestinian problem.


Fortunately, from the South African experience, we know how to go forward, and strategies are proliferating. The basic methods of an international boycott campaign are familiar. First, each person works in his or her own immediate orbit. People might urge divestment from companies investing in Israel by their colleges and universities, corporations, clubs, and churches. Boycott any sports event that hosts an Israeli team, and work with planners to exclude them. Participate in, and visit, no Israeli cultural events - films, plays, music, art exhibits. Avoid collaborating with Israeli professional colleagues, except on anti-racist activism. Don't invite any Israeli academic or writer to contribute to any conference or research and don't attend their panels or buy their books, unless their work is engaged directly in anti-racist activism. Don't visit Israel except for purposes of anti-racist activism. Buy nothing made in Israel: start looking at labels on olive oil, oranges, and clothing. Tell people what you are doing and why. Set up discussion groups everywhere to explain why. For ideas and allies, try Googling the "boycott Israel" and "sanctions against Israel" campaigns springing up around the world. Know those allies, like the major churches, and tell people about them. For more ideas, read about the history of the boycott of South Africa.