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APN Backs Israeli Artists who Refuse to Perform in Settlements

APN today released the following statement:

APN Backs Israeli Artists who Refuse to Perform in Settlements

Washington, DC - Americans for Peace Now (APN) joins its Israeli sister organization Peace Now (Shalom Achshav) in backing the decision taken collectively by dozens of Israeli performers, authors, artists and scholars not to take part in performances at the new cultural center in Ariel, a settlement located in the heart of the West Bank, or in other West Bank settlements. APN also commends American performers and artists who have expressed support for their Israeli colleagues.


"Supporters of the Israeli settlement enterprise have for years been trying to blur the line between Israel and the West Bank, in the hope that Israelis will come to think of settlements as part of Israel," said APN President and CEO Debra DeLee. "What we are seeing today is an example of settlers using something ostensibly non-political - the arts - to quietly legitimize settlements and cement the occupation that Israeli and Palestinian leaders are now trying, through direct negotiations, to bring to an end. Israeli artists, as individuals of conscience who possess an inalienable right to free expression, have the right to refuse to take part in this cynical charade. We applaud them for doing so. 

"We also unequivocally condemn efforts to block these artists' right to refuse to perform in settlements through punitive actions taken against Israeli theater companies. Efforts to change Israeli laws or regulations to impose sanctions against artists or companies that refuse to perform in settlements are just one more example of the frightening erosion of democratic values in Israel. All who care about Israel, regardless of political outlook or affiliation, must reject them."

While APN backs the Israeli artists' decision not to perform in settlements in the West Bank, we do not support the international boycott and divestment campaign against Israel, which we view as misguided and counterproductive.

APN and Peace Now have battled against the settlement enterprise for decades, recognizing that settlements pose an existential threat to Israel as a Jewish, democratic state. They extinguish hope among Palestinians that Israel is serious about making peace. They destroy the credibility of Palestinian moderates who reject violence and tell their people that negotiations with Israel are the correct path to statehood. They create facts on the ground that make any viable arrangements for a two-state solution difficult, and eventually, impossible.

If Israel does not end the settlement enterprise and achieve a peace agreement that enables it to get out of most of the West Bank, Jews will soon become a minority in the area under Israel's control. Israel will be then forced to choose between being a Jewish state or a democratic state.
 
APN is America's leading Jewish organization advocating for peace for Israel.