Growing Strong
BDS and Palestinian Liberation By Ariana Haghighi. Photo courtesy of Aman Kapoor.
from the Israeli government and complicit institutions such as the Sydney Festival. Given that many of these institutions operate on profit incentives and positive press, boycotts disrupt business as usual in a way that forces them to reckon with their association.
Every January, the Sydney art scene explodes with the bang of the Sydney Festival, a cornucopia of theatre performances and visual art installations. It is renowned for its progressive image and support of marginalised communities. This year, however, this image was questioned as it came to light that the Sydney Festival accepted $20,000 in funding from the Israeli embassy. Israel is an apartheid state that was founded on the genocide and dispossession of Palestinian people. As such, artists and consumers alike denounced the Festival’s acceptance of funding as hypocritical, particularly considering their purported ‘anti-colonialist stance’.
Campaigns for divestment aim to encourage institutions such as banks and universities to withdraw investments from the State of Israel. The movement also pressures governments and international bodies such as the United Nations to censure and sanction Israel. The withdrawal of aid and abetment of Israel is significant; it seeks to isolate Israel economically and on the international political stage. The movement is now a juggernaut, but first found its footing in 2005 with a coalition of 170 grassroots Palestinian groups, such as unions, refugee networks and women’s organisations. These groups drafted an open letter one year after the International Court of Justice opined that Israel’s barrier-building was illegal, detailing the envisioned use of “non-violent punitive measures” to restrain Israel’s activity.
The Australian branch of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement wrote an open letter calling for the Board to “seriously reconsider” their association with the Israeli embassy. From a few performers signing on and refusing to perform, now more than 100 individuals and organisations have withdrawn, disrupting more than 40% of the scheduled events. This is one of the most successful BDS campaigns seen in Australia but the campaign itself has a long history.
The letter mentioned the groups’ inspiration from effective initiatives used to abolish South African apartheid. In the 1980s, boycotts and divestment campaigns against the South African government were at their zenith, placing increasing pressure on the Cabinet until it successfully crumbled and justice was had. South Africa was banned from participation in international cricket for 22 years, which eventually extended to all international sporting competitions
Palestinian-led BDS is a global effort encompassing unions, academic associations and other groups. It aims to compel the Israeli government to recognise the rights of Palestinian people and censure Israel’s regime of settler colonialism, apartheid and occupation. The method of BDS is three-fold. Boycotts involve the withdrawal of support 25
