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‘This boycott is a nonviolent attempt to raise awareness’

TJI Pick
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PLUS61J 53 (10)

Published: 7 January 2022

Last updated: 4 March 2024

Australians who have taken a stand against the occupation tell The Jewish Independent they mostly support the Sydney Festival boycott but some express reservations about BDS

AUSTRALIANS WHO HAVE taken a stance against Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian people and territories have articulated nuanced positions and sentiments about the Sydney Festival boycott. While most of those contacted by The Jewish Independent support the boycott call, some expressed reservations about the broader BDS movement.

Vivienne Porzsolt, spokesperson for Jews against the Occupation Sydney, is forthright in her support for the boycott. “I work alongside Palestinians on the campaign to boycott the Sydney Festival because I cannot abide what the State of Israel has done and is doing to another people in my name.

“The call on both artists and audiences to boycott the Sydney Festival arises in response to the Sydney Festival’s acceptance of $20,000 sponsorship from the Israeli Embassy,” Porzsolt told The Jewish Independent.

“It is entirely beside the point that individual Israelis, like Ohad Naharin, the choreographer of Decadance, the work being produced by the Sydney Dance Company, may be opponents of Israel's ongoing oppression of the Palestinians.

The issue is not Israeli works or artists but funding of the Festival by the Israeli government - VIVIENNE PORZSOLT

“The issue is not Israeli works or artists, as opponents of the boycott call falsely claim, but funding of the Festival by the Israeli government, and billing of that government as a ‘Star Partner’ of the Festival.”

Porzsolt rejected the argument by ethicist Simon Longstaff that “this is not just a polite debate, a stimulating ‘marketplace of ideas’. This is a struggle for justice against an oppressive regime. The Sydney Festival should not be giving comfort to this regime by welcoming it into its fold”.

Porzsolt says she seeks “a solution where Jews and Palestinians can live side by side in security, peace and freedom”, which is why she supports the BDS movement “which seeks to pressure the State of Israel to comply with international law”.

Donna Jacobs Sife, the co-founder (with Lyndall Katz) of Jewish Voices for Peace and Justice (NSW), is more ambivalent about the boycott call and BDS. “I am against the occupation and I think it’s quite appropriate to boycott products from the settlements. But I don’t think it’s legitimate to boycott greater Israel,” she said.

“It can attract spurious elements such as antisemitism and the delegitimisation of Israel. When artists and academics are boycotted in the name of Israel proper, it can work against the cause itself.”

Sife stressed that her comments are her personal views and should not be taken to represent those of the group she co-founded.

I think it’s appropriate to boycott products from the settlements. But I don’t think it’s legitimate to boycott greater Israel - DONNA JACOBS SIFE

As for the argument that the Festival boycott call is against the government, and not the state, Sife said: “it’s cleaner to target the occupation itself, not greater Israel. It’s so messy when it's greater Israel”.

Regarding the decision by artists and performers to withdraw from the Festival in solidarity with the boycott call, Sife said “it is one way to have a non-violent protest. I think it’s a shame. But I don’t judge what other people want to do.”

Janet Kossy, a member of the Inner West Chavurah and Jewish Voices for Peace and Justice (NSW), said she noted that the BDS committee wrote to and met with the Sydney Festival directors about their concerns in early December, but the Israeli Embassy’s “Star Sponsor” status was upheld, so the boycott went ahead.

"I am not a huge supporter of BDS for a number of reasons, and I fought against it when it was foisted on the whole municipality of Marrickville. But in this instance I have no objection.

"This boycott is a nonviolent attempt to raise awareness of the oppressive power relationship maintained by Israel over Palestinians, and it is part of a larger movement seeking international pressure for change."

Like Vivienne Porzsolt, she rejects the argument that it is against renowned choreographer Ohad Naharin, an anti-Occupation artist, and therefore an “own goal” for the Palestinian cause. "Very explicitly the objection is to Israeli Government sponsorship of the Festival," she told The Jewish Independent.

I am not a huge supporter of BDS; I fought against it when it was foisted on Marrickville. But in this instance I have no objection - JANET KOSSY

Kossy said she also rejects the argument made by Jewish community leaders that the boycott call is “thinly-veiled antisemitism”.

"The boycott targets the Israeli Government not because it is Jewish, but because it has maintained a longstanding and oppressive military occupation of the Palestinian people.

"As a Jew, boycotts like this do make me feel uncomfortable and defensive. I am ashamed that the country created as a refuge for the Jewish people has followed the course that it has in relation to the Palestinians. And I fear increased antisemitism as a byproduct of Israel’s actions."

Regarding potential consequences for the artists affected by the boycott, and for the Sydney Festival itself, Kossy said "this is very regrettable but not sufficient reason to oppose the boycott".

Reem Borrows is a member of Partners for Peace, a group of Australian Palestinians and Jews who engage in dialogue to find paths through the Israeli-Palestinian divide.

Borrows said she supports this boycott and what it represents because “it is important to find peaceful avenues to bring the true situation to light. Boycotting certain things to take a stance will help achieve this.

No-one has been willing to talk about it with an open heart. We can no longer be scared to say this is wrong - REEM BORROWS

“We have to call out what’s not right. It’s a brutal occupation; we have to call out the second, third and fourth class of living that has been going on while the world’s eyes are closed to it.

“No-one has been willing to talk about it with an open heart. We should not be scared to talk about it. We can no longer be scared to say this is wrong. We must find the right avenues to demonstrate that and speak up.

Borrows, who was born in Haifa and came to Australia with her family in 1983, said “I have never come out publicly and said I support BDS; but I would much prefer BDS than any other means.”

She said the boycott is “specifically to do with art and culture. The whole point of this festival is to bring people together, foster collaboration and unity.

“When the Israeli embassy says culture should be a bridge between countries and peoples, that is painful - because it’s true, for everyone else except the Palestinians as far as they are concerned.

“The spirit of providing a bridge is contrary to what the Israeli regime is doing. If you are going to be a sponsor, you have to stand behind your values and be true to them with no exceptions.”

READ MORE
RANDA ABDEL-FATTAH et al: Sydney Festival: ‘Progressive Except for Palestine’
(Meanjin)
JENNINE KHALIK: Why I’m helping to organise a boycott of this year’s Sydney Festival (SMH)
LIAM GETREU: Sydney Festival boycott a blunt instrument that blocks voices of dissent (SMH)
MICHAEL VISONTAY: The occupation is unjust but that doesn’t mean boycotts are justified
(The Jewish Independent)
ALEX RYVCHIN: ‘It’s not about peace’: The endgame behind the boycott of the Sydney Festival (SMH)

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