Palestinian group urges Rolling Stones to boycott Israel
Tamar Sukenik, Haaretz Correspondent 21 May 2007
A Palestinian group lobbying for boycotts against Israel has urged the Rolling Stones to cancel their scheduled September performance in Israel, comparing performing in Israel to performing in apartheid South Africa and noting that the legendary rock band had supported the boycott of South Africa in the 1980s.
The Rolling Stones: (from left) Mick Jagger, Ronnie Woods, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts. Both Keith Richards and Ronnie Woods were prominent in opposing apartheid in South Africa
An open letter calling on the Rolling Stones not to appear in Israel was sent to the band by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) on Sunday.
The letter listed groups that have blacklisted Israel and then asked, "Is it too much, then, to expect conscientious artists like the Rolling Stones to similarly uphold the values of freedom, equality and justice for all by supporting the growing boycott against Israel?"
In the letter the organization "strongly urged" the group cancel the planned concert because of what it called Israel's "colonial and apartheid designs to further dispossess, oppress and ultimately ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homeland."
It called on the Stones to refrain from performing in Israel "until the time comes when (Israel) ends its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and respects fundamental human rights."
The group's producer in Israel, Shuki Weiss, declined to comment on the report.
An open letter to the Rolling Stones: Boycott Israel – Don’t Play another “Sun City”!
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)
An open letter to the Rolling Stones regarding their planned gig in Israel
Dear Rolling Stones,
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights Prof. John Dugard, and South African government minister Ronnie Kasrils have repeatedly declared, Israel has created a worse system of apartheid than anything that ever existed in South Africa.
The Palestinian arts community received in disbelief media reports of your upcoming performance in Israel, at a time when Israel continues unabated with its colonial and apartheid designs to further dispossess, oppress, and ultimately ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their homeland. If the news is accurate, and we sincerely hope it is not, we strongly urge you to cancel your plans to perform in Israel until the time comes when it ends its illegal occupation of Palestinian territory and respects fundamental human rights as well as the relevant precepts of international law concerning Palestinian rights to freedom, self-determination and equality.
Performing in Israel at this time is morally equivalent to performing in South Africa during the apartheid era. We all remember how leading Rolling Stones musicians played a prominent role in enforcing a cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa in the 1980’s, and participated in recording the timeless song, Sun City, which had a singular influence on raising public awareness about apartheid and its injustices. As Archbishop Desmond Tutu, UN Special Rapporteur on human rights Prof. John Dugard, and South African government minister Ronnie Kasrils have repeatedly declared, Israel has created a worse system of apartheid than anything that ever existed in South Africa.
Performing in Israel at this time is morally equivalent to performing in South Africa during the apartheid era. We all remember how leading Rolling Stones musicians played a prominent role in enforcing a cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa in the 1980’s, and participated in recording the timeless song, Sun City, which had a singular influence on raising public awareness about apartheid and its injustices.
Indeed, Israel’s policies throughout its illegal military occupation of Palestinian territory, which have surpassed their South African counterparts, include house demolitions; Jews-only colonies and roads; uprooting hundreds of thousands of trees; indiscriminate killings of civilians, particularly children; incessant theft of land and water resources; denying freedom of movement to millions under occupation, cutting up the occupied Palestinian territory into Bantustans, some entirely caged by walls, fences and hundreds of roadblocks. Sixty years since the Nakba, Israel’s planned campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Palestinian people, and 40 years into its military occupation of Palestinian and other Arab territory, Israel has consistently and relentlessly violated basic human rights and relevant precepts of international law with utter impunity. Moreover, Israel’s war of aggression against Lebanon last year caused more than one thousand civilian deaths, not to mention massive destruction to infrastructure and decimation of entire residential neighbourhoods.
The resounding failure of the international community to date in ending Israel’s occupation, collective punishment, and other forms of oppression was what prompted Palestinians to appeal to international civil society to bear its moral responsibility to put an end to injustice, just as it did against apartheid South Africa. To this end, Palestinian civil society has almost unanimously called for boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) against Israel until it fully complies with international law and recognizes the fundamental human rights of the people of Palestine. A specific call for cultural boycott of Israel was issued last year, garnering wide support. Among the many groups and institutions that have heeded the Palestinian boycott calls and started to consider or apply diverse forms of effective pressure on Israel are the Church of England; the Presbyterian Church (USA); a group of top British architects; the British National Union of Journalists in the UK; the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU); the South African Council of Churches; the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) in Ontario; Aosdana, the Irish state-sponsored academy of artists; celebrated authors, artists and intellectuals led by John Berger; and Palme d’Or winner director Ken Loach. Is it too much, then, to expect conscientious artists like the Rolling Stones to similarly uphold the values of freedom, equality and justice for all by supporting the growing boycott against Israel?
We appeal to your moral principles and your record of standing up for human rights and human dignity. If the reports are true, we sincerely hope that you shall cancel this ill-conceived and particularly harmful concert in Israel. If they are not true, we urge you to issue a statement to clarify where you stand on this issue of principle.
Sincerely,
Organizations
1. Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, Ramallah, Palestine
2. Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, Jerusalem, Palestine
3. El-Funoun Palestinian Popular Dance Troupe, Al-Bireh, Palestine
4. Yabous Productions, Jerusalem, Palestine
5. Popular Art Centre, Al-Bireh, Palestine
6. Jerusalem Center for Arabic Music, Jerusalem, Palestine
7. Darat al Funun, The Khalid Shoman Foundation, Amman, Jordan
8. International Academy of Art, Ramallah, Palestine
9. Ashtar Theatre, Ramallah, Palestine
10. Palestine Solidarity Association in Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden
11. Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods (J-BIG), UK
12. Interfaith Council for Peace in the Middle East, Cleveland, USA
13. Americans Against the War - France, Paris, France
14. Comite pour une Paix Juste au Proche-Orient, Luxemburg
15. International Solidarity Movement, North Carolina, USA
16. Canada Palestine Association, Canada
17. Idriss Stelley Foundation, San Francisco, USA
18. Palestinian Counselling Center, Jerusalem, Palestine
19. Palestine Solidarity Association in Sweden, Stockholm, Sweden
20. Academics For Justice, USA
21. Campaign to End Israeli Apartheid-Southern California, USA
22. Culture and Free Thought Association, Khan Younis (Gaza), Palestine
23. Boycott Israeli Goods Campaign, UK
24. Grassroots Palestinian Anti-Apartheid Wall Campaign, Palestine
25. Boston Coalition for Palestinian Rights, Boston, USA
26. Union of Health Work Committees, Jerusalem, Palestine
Artists, Academics, Intellectuals, Human Rights Activists
(Affiliation is for identification only)
27. Dennis Brutus, Poet, Activist and Academic, Durban, South Africa
28. John Berger, Artist and Writer, London, UK
29. Gayatri C. Spivak, Director, Center for Comparative Literature & Society, Columbia Univ., NY, USA
30. Ahdaf Soueif, Author, London, UK
31. Rima Tarazi, Musician, Ramallah, Palestine
32. Jan-Erik Lundstrom, Museum Director, Bildmuseet, Sweden
33. Chico Ocaña, Flamenco Musician, Martires del Compas, Seville, Spain
34. Raymond Deane, Composer and Pianist, Dublin, Ireland
35. Frank Hendriks, Musician, Amsterdam, Netherlands
36. Suleiman Mansour, Artist, Jerusalem, Palestine
37. Moshe Machover, Professor and Israeli dissident, London, UK
38. Nancy du Plessis, Writer and Performer, NY, USA / Berlin, Germany
39. Joseph Purugganan, Musician, Quezon City, Philippines
40. Rich Siegel, Pianist, Vocalist, Teaneck, USA
41. Issam Batran, Palestinian Ministry of Culture, Ramallah, Palestine
42. Jeremy Pikser, Screenwriter, NY, USA
43. Mustafa al-Kurd, Musician, Jerusalem, Palestine
44. Dana Bartelt, Director, Prague Institute - College of Design, Prague,Czech Republic
45. Mark Brown, Theatre Critic, Glasgow (Scotland), UK
46. Patricia Alessandrini, Composer, Paris, France
47. Samieh Jabbarin, Film and Theatre Director, Jaffa, Palestine
48. Amina Rachid, Professor, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
49. Miko Peled, Israeli Peace Activist, San Diego, USA
50. Harold A. Knight, Music Director, St. Paul Lutheran Church, Farmers Branch, USA
51. Pierre Abi-Saab, Journalist, Beirut, Lebanon
52. Reem Fadda, Artist and Curator, Ramallah, Palestine
53. Mehreen Saigol, Filmmaker, London, UK
54. Sehbal Senyurt, Documentary Film Director, Bodrum, Turkey
55. Zakaria Mohammed, Author, Ramallah, Palestine
56. Rim Banna, Palestinian Singer and Composer, Nazareth
57. Leonid Alexeienko, Ukrainian singer & composer, Nazareth
58. Ada Garton, Artist, Llanelli, UK
59. Nawel Skandrani, Choreographer, Tunis, Tunisia
60. Josef Brown, Performer, London, UK
61. Hans Kretz, Musician, Paris, France
62. Malcolm Crowthers, Musician & Creative Photographer, London, UK
63. Mary Ann DeVlieg, Project co-Director, Arte e Dialogo, Turin, Italy
64. Ulla Lundqvist, Writer, Sweden
65. Trevor Richard Wells, Project co-Director, Arte e Dialogo, Turin, Italy
66. Sameh Yahya Bshara, Architect, Dubai, UAE
67. Paola Canarutto, Exec. Committee Member, European Jews for Just Peace, Turin, Italy
68. Jacqueline de Bruijn, Film Director, Netherlands
69. Jayce Salloum, Filmmaker, Vancouver, Canada
70. Rania Elias-Khoury, Director, Yabous Productions, Jerusalem, Palestine
71. Juliette Touma, Media and Public Relations Activist, Palestine
72. Omar Barghouti, Dance Choreographer, Palestine
73. Mary Morcos van Teeffelen, Curator, Bethlehem University Library, Bethlehem, Palestine
74. Herman Asselberghs, Artist, Brussels, Belgium
75. Walid Kazziha, Chair, Dept. of Political Science, American Univ. in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
76. Jonathan Rosenhead, Emeritus Prof. of Operational Research, London School of Economics, UK
77. Phil Rendel, English Department, Kingswood College, Eastern Cape, South Africa
78. Diana el Jeiroudi, Filmmaker, Damascus, Syria
79. Brigitte Neufeldt, Multimedia Artist, Monakam, Germany
80. Brian Johnston, College of Fine Arts, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, USA
81. Ekram Quran, Graphics Artist, Ramallah, Palestine
82. Mary Ellen Davis, Filmmaker, Montreal, Canada
83. Janet E. Ertz, Artist, Schenectady, USA
84. Majeed Al-Barghouthi, Palestinian Poet and Writer, Amman, Jordan
85. Hagit Borer, Linguistics Dept., University of Southern California, Los Angeles, USA
86. Rania Jawad, Emergency Broadcast Artists, NY, USA
87. Ted Stoffer, Dancer, Brussels, Belgium
88. Matthew Cassel, Photographer, Chicago, USA
89. Brian Pickett, Theaters Against War, NY, USA
90. Claudine Dauphin, Honorary Prof. in Archaeology and Theology, University of Wales, Lampeter, UK
91. Bertell Ollman, Dept. of Politics, New York University, NY, USA
92. Jean Bricmont, Prof. of Physics, university of Louvain, Belgium
93. Julie Guard, Labour Studies Program, University of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada
94. Deborah Fink, Singer, London, UK
95. John Halaka, Professor of Visual Arts, University of San Diego, San Diego, USA
96. Patrick Wolfe, ARC Australian Research Fellow in History, Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia
97. Mahmoud El Lozy, Professor of Drama, American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
98. Anne Martin, Senior Lecturer, University of Granada, Granada, Spain
99. Miranda Pennell, Filmmaker, London, UK
100. John Smith, Filmmaker and Prof. of Fine Art, University of East London, London, UK
101. Rebekah Wingert-Jabi, Filmmaker, Reston, USA
102. Caroline Rooney, Dir., Centre for Colonial and Postcolonial Research, Univ. of Kent, Kent, UK
103. Sue Blackwell, Dept. of English, Univ. of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
104. Sue Harris, Co-Director, Peoples Video Network, NY, USA
105. Adania Shibli, Author and Screenwriter, London, UK
106. Julian Phillips, Architect, Cardiff, UK
107. Najwa Najjar, Filmmaker , Ramallah, Palestine
108. Randa Farah, Assistant Prof. of Anthropology, Univ. of Western Ontario, Ontario, Canada
109. Richard Hudson, Emeritus Professor of Linguistics, UCL, London, UK
110. Mounira Soliman, Professor, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
111. Sayed AlBahrawy, Professor, Cairo University, Cairo, Egypt
112. Jennifer Hsu, Video Producer, Alternate Focus, San Diego, USA
113. Elaine Hagopian, Prof. Emerita of Sociology, Boston, USA
114. Jamil Hilal, Writer, Ramallah, Palestine
115. John Spritzler, Author and Research Scientist, Harvard University, Boston, USA
116. Rita Giacaman, Professor of Community & Public Health, Birzeit University, Ramallah, Palestine
117. Rosemary Sayigh, Anthropologist & Oral Historian, Beirut, Lebanon
118. Muna Giacaman, Lecturer, Birzeit University, Birzeit, Palestine
119. Serene Huleileh, Arab Education Forum, Amman, Jordan
120. Raed Asfour, Al Balad Theatre, Amman, Jordan
121. Sam Richmond, Consultant Neonatologist, Sunderland Royal Hospital, Sunderland, UK
122. Nancy Harb Almendras, Teacher, Wiesbaden, Germany
123. Anne Selden Annab, Poet, Mechanicsburg, USA
124. Sharif S. Elmusa, Prof. of Political Science, American University Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
125. Ibrahim Dakkak, Member of The Higher Islamic Committee, Jerusalem, Palestine
126. Dina Jacir, Students for Justice in Palestine, Hampshire College, Amherst, USA
127. James C. Faris, Professor Emeritus, University of Connecticut, Storrs, USA
128. André W. Payant, Writer, Ottawa, Canada
129. George Salzman, Prof. Emeritus, University of Massachusetts at Boston, Boston, USA
130. David Ingleby, Professor of Intercultural Psychology, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
131. Geno Rodriguez, Director of Alternative Museum, NY, USA
132. Khalil Bendib, sculptor/cartoonist, Studio Bendib, Berkeley, USA
133. Ashraf Abdul Fattah, Lecturer in Translation, Univ. of Westminster, London, UK
134. Jay Murphy, Writer and Academic, Aberdeen (Scotland), UK
135. Khalil Nakhleh, Anthropologist, author, Ramallah, Palestine
136. Lois Nakhleh, Artist, Ramallah, Palestine
137. Vera Tamari, Artist, Ramallah, Palestine
138. Sari Hanafi, Assoc. Professor of Social and Behavioral Sciences, AUB, Beirut, Lebanon
139. Stephanie Cronin, Fellow, Iran Heritage Foundation, Univ. of Northampton, Northampton, UK
140. Abdelkader Mokhlisse, Prof., Faculty of Sciences, Marrakech Univ., Marrakech, Morocco
141. Paul Tabar, Chair, Social Science & Education Division, Lebanese American Univ., Beirut, Lebanon
142. Samuel R. Peterson, Retired Prof. of Islamic Studies, Arizona State Univ., USA
143. Sara R. Powell, Editor of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, Oakland, USA
144. Tilde Rosmer, Research Fellow, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
145. Sylvia Finzi, Artist, London, UK
146. Gaie Delap, Artist and Teacher, Bristol, UK
147. Howard Davidson, Assoc. Prof. of Extended Education, Univ. of Manitoba, Manitoba, Canada
148. Agustin Velloso, Prof. of Comparative Educ., Univ. Nacional de Educ. a Distancia, Madrid, Spain
149. Philip Gasper, Prof. of Philosophy, Notre Dame de Namur Univ., Belmont, USA
150. Gaby Saldanha, Professor, Imperial College London, London, UK
151. Mark Lance, Professor of Philosophy, Georgetown University, Washington (DC), USA
152. Miriam Adams, Justice First, New Mexico, USA
153. Paula Abrams-Hourani, Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East, Austria
154. Lawrence Davidson, Prof. of History, West Chester University, West Chester, USA
155. Sam Bahour, Palestinian-American Businessman, Youngstown, USA / Al-Bireh, Pal.
156. Leila Batran, Translator, Ramallah, Palestine
157. Chris Burns-Cox, Physician, Gloucester, UK
158. Ken Baker, St. Jerome Publishing Ltd, Manchester, UK
159. Jenny Howell, Oyster Clothing, Cardiff, UK
160. Rabab Abdulhadi, Assoc. Prof. of Ethnic Studies, San Francisco State Univ., San Francisco, USA
161. Anat Matar, Senior Lecturer in Philosophy, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
162. Mary Rizzo, Tlaxcala Translations Collective and Blogger, S. Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
163. Rev. Dr. Leonard B. Bjorkman, Owego, USA
164. Ronnie Barkan, Anarchists Against The Wall, Tel Aviv, Israel
165. Dave Chappell, Fire Brigades Union official, London, UK
166. Ahlam Haroun, Projects Coordinator, Bani Naim Charitable Society, Hebron, Palestine
167. Guenter Schenk, Collectif Judéo-Arabe et Citoyen Pour la Paix, Strasbourg, France
168. Alejandro Ganimian, Exec. Director, Educar, Integrar, & Crecer (Argentina), Cambridge, UK
169. Nachoua el Azhari, Head of Translation Section, League of Arab States, Cairo, Egypt
170. Mouna Schaheen, Teacher, Tucson, USA
171. Timothy Williams, Retired Civil Servant (Inland Revenue), Exeter, UK
172. Eldad Benary, Engineer, Saugerties, USA
173. Ron& Maria De Stefano, NJPeace Action, West Paterson, USA
174. Francis Clark-Lowes (DPhil), Invitation to Learn, Brighton, England
175. Karin Friedemann, Editor, World View News Service, Boston, USA
176. Jules Rabin, Writer, Marshfield, USA
177. Amir M. Maasoumi, Pres. of Centre de Resource sur la Non-Violence, Montreal, Canada
178. Manal Swairjo, Ph.D, Scientist, San Diego, USA
179. Michael Letwin, Co-Convener, New York City Labor Against the War, NY, USA
180. Naomi Binder Wall, Jewish Women's Committee to End the Occupation, Toronto, Canada
181. Imad Badran, National Institute for Agricultural Research, Strasbourg, France
182. Caty Rodriguez, Translator, Tlaxcala, Spain
183. Diana Ralph, Associate Professor, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
184. Gary Fields, Associate Professor, University of California, San Diego, USA
185. Samia Shannan Tamimi, Admin., Palestinian Association for Contemporary Art, Ramallah, Palestine
186. Di Brandt, Canada Research Chair of English Dept., Brandon Univ., Brandon, Canada
187. Issam Nassar, Professor of Middle East History, Illinois State University, Illinois, USA
188. John Docker, Humanities Research Centre, Australian National Univ., Australia
189. In’am El-Obeidi, Birzeit University, Birzeit, Palestine
190. Ned Curthoys, Fellow, Research Sch. of Humanities, Australian National Univ., Canberra, Australia
191. Mary Yoder, Registered Nurse & Member, Christian Peacemaker Teams, London (OH), USA
192. Claude Grégoire, Teacher, Luxembourg
193. Atenea Acevedo, Translator, Mexico City, Mexico
194. Michael Gillespie, Member of the Ames Interfaith Council, Ames, USA
195. Carlos Sanchis de Andrés, Translator, Tlaxcala, Catalunya, Spain
196. Rachella Mizrachi, Writer, Tel Aviv, Israel
197. Greg Wilkinson, Educator, Llanelli, UK
198. Ron Ganzfried, Business Engineer, Bern, Switzerland
199. David S. Cutler, Researcher, Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts, Boston, USA
200. Perrine Olff-Rastegar, Collectif Judeo-Arabe et Citoyen pour la Paix, Strasbourg, France
201. Raeda Bandak, Clinical Lab Scientist, San Francisco, USA
202. Faris Sayegh, Independent Consultant, Nicosia, Cyprus
203. Bob Schwartz, Gay Liberation Network, Chicago, USA
204. Tom McVitie, Scottish Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Edinburgh (Scotland), UK
205. Marlene Newesri, Justice Activist, NY, USA
206. Jeanette Cool, Musician, Amorfia Productions, San Francisco, USA
207. Ann Pett, Teacher, Los Angeles, USA
208. Giorgio Forti, Jews against Occupation, Milan, Italy
209. Amal Hawwa, Journalist and Editor, Beirut, Lebanon
210. Pauline Nunu, Dep. Coord., Ecumenical Accom. Pgm in Palestine and Israel, Jerusalem, Palestine
211. Nina Gren, Social Anthropologist, Guttenberg, Sweden
212. Naomi Wimborne-Idrissi, Life Member, National Union of Journalists, London, UK
213. Joseph Abousamra, Psychology Dept., Birzeit university, Birzeit, Palestine
214. Leigh Brady, Defence for Children International (DCI), Jerusalem, Palestine
215. John Chalcraft, Lecturer, London School of Economics, London, UK
216. Bridget Wallace, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
217. Peter Waterman, Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, Netherlands
218. Kristina Zouein, Jewelry Designer , Beirut, Lebanon
219. Piera Redaelli, Terre des Hommes Italia Foundation, Italy
220. Ruth Tenne, Jews for Boycotting Israeli Goods, London, UK
221. Marilyn Wylie, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Exeter, Exeter, UK
222. Nahed Pust, Member of Women in Black , Strasbourg, France
223. George Paizis, French Dept., UCL, London, UK
224. Anita H Fábos, Refugee Studies, University of East London, London, UK
225. Joel Kovel, Author, NY, USA
226. Hana al Bayaty, Executive Committee, Brussels Tribunal, Cairo, Egypt
227. Clare Meiklejohn, Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Exeter, Exeter, UK
228. Eoin Gildea, Structural Engineer, Donegal, Ireland
229. Smadar Carmon, Israeli Peace Activist, Toronto, Canada
230. Petros Constantinou, Coordinator, Campaign Genoa 2001, Greece
231. Yiannis Sifakakis, Coordinator, Stop the War Coalition, Greece, Greece
232. Georgia Mylonaki, “Intifada” Solidarity Assoc. with the Palestinian People, Athens, Greece
233. Luk Brusselaers, Social Worker, Kuitaart, Netherlands
234. Susan Wehling, Assoc. Prof. of Spanish, Valdosta State University, Valdosta, USA
235. Judit Druks, Senior Lecturer, Human Communication Science, UCL, London, UK
236. Lily Aida Haskell, Arab Resource and Organizing Center, San Francisco, USA
237. Jean-Pierre Thys, Palestine Health Group, Brussels, Belgium
238. Arthur West, Staff Trade Union Convener in East Ayrshire Council, Ayrshire (Scotland), UK
239. Maureen Clare Murphy, Journalist, Chicago, USA
240. Samira Hassasian, Former Lecturer, Bethlehem University, Bethlehem, Palestine
241. Carl Zaisser, Teacher, Vienna, Austria
242. Edmond Smith, Executive Office, Independent Workers Union, Cork, Ireland
243. Sam Noumoff, Political Science Dept. (retired), McGill University, Montreal, Canada
244. Irman Ghaffar, Geographer, Manchester, UK
245. Siham Rashid, Director of PR, Palestinian Counseling Center, Jerusalem, Palestine
246. Reema Shwaiky, Capacity Building Dir., Palestinian Counseling Center, Jerusalem, Palestine
247. Richard Seaford, professor, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK
248. Philippe Lavalette, Alliance Québécoise des Techniciens de l'Image et du
249. Son, Montreal, Canada
250. Mamdouh EL-Adl, Consultant Psychiatrist, Northampton, UK
251. Carlos Sanchis de Andros, Mugarik Gabe, Catalunya, Spain
252. Heather Bursheh, Musician, Edinburgh (Scotland), UK
253. Fausto Velazquez, Artist, Seville, Spain
254. Maria Manrique, Artist, Seville, Spain
255. Bert Gedin, Birmingham Stop the War Coalition, Birmingham, UK
256. Huwaida Arraf, Co-Founder, International Solidarity Movement, Washington (DC), USA
257. David Ward, Composer, Aberdeenshire (Scotland), UK
258. Helen Chessum, Director, Devon English School, , Newton Abbot, UK
259. Les Levidow, Senior Research Fellow, Faculty of Technology, Open University, UK
260. Assaf Kfoury, Prof. of Computer Science, Boston University, Boston, USA
261. Jacqueline Sfeir, Educator, Bethlehem, Palestine
262. Rafiq Farah, Archdeacon Emer., Church of St. Andrew, Toronto, Canada
263. Mona Fawaz, Assistant Prof. of Urban Planning, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
264. Suha Najjar, Regional Coordinator, Arab Youth mobility Fund (Safar), Amman, Jordan
265. Birgit Althaler, Translator, Basel, Switzerland
266. Basel Nasr, Graphics Artist, Ramallah, Palestine
267. Amer Shomali, Graphics Artist, Ramallah, Palestine
268. Christine Ferrier, Producer, Geneva, Switzerland
269. Angela Godfrey-Goldstein, Action Adv. Off., Israeli Comm. Against House Demolitions, Jerusalem
270. Haithem El-Zabri, Director, PalestineOnlineStore.com, Ramallah, Palestine
271. Mohamed Dawud, Multimedia Specialist, Birzeit University, Birzeit, Palestine
272. Kinch Hoekstra, Fellow in Philosophy, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
273. Adel Nasser, IT Services, University of Manchester , Manchester, UK
274. Sonja Zimmermann, Member, Netherlands Palestine Committee, Netherlands
275. Les Skeates, Poet and Essayist, Devon, UK
276. Noora Baker, Dancer and Choreographer, El-Funoun Dance Troupe, Al-Bireh, Palestine
277. Linda Clair, Manchester Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Manchester, UK
278. Randa Awad, Assistant Gen. Dir., Edward Said Nat’l Conservatory of Music, Jerusalem, Palestine
279. Shirley Parfitt, Communication for Development, London, UK
280. Faris Arouri, Chairman, Peace & Freedom Youth Forum, Ramallah, Palestine
281. Andrew Rouse, Consultant in Public Health, Birmingham, UK
282. Raymond Prucher, Artist and Educator, Dubai, UAE
283. Dan Burnstein, Lawyer and Photographer, Boston, USA
284. Miguel Guardado Albarreal, Translator, Granada, Spain
285. Nadia Habash, Architect, Ramallah, Palestine
286. Tommy Hansson, Boycott Israel, Sweden
287. Souhad Rafey, Curator, NY, USA
288. Reem Khalil, Environmental Engineer, Ramallah, Palestine
289. Judith Haiven, Chair, Department of Management, Saint Mary's University, Halifax, Canada
290. George Deo, Author, Compton, USA
291. Fanny-Michaela Reisin, Prof. of Software Eng., Technische Fachhochschule Berlin, Germany
292. Lilaine Cordova Kaczerginski, Education Counselor, Paris, France
293. Huda Odeh, Head of Programs, Edward Said National Conservatory of Music, Jerusalem, Palestine
294. John Beverley, Professor of Latin American Literature, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, USA
295. Yerah Gover, Prof. of Sociology, City University of New York, NY, USA
296. Harry Berbrayer, Member, Alliance of Concerned Jewish Canadians , Duncan, Canada
297. Rosemary Darville, Teacher (retired), Duncan, Canada
298. Amal Masri, General Manager, Ougarit Advertising, Ramallah, Palestine
299. Michael Kouwenhoven, Child Psychologist, Leiden, Netherlands
300. Greta Berlin, Women in Black Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
301. Aleid Sevenster, Translator, Leiden, Netherlands
302. Natasha Aruri, Board of Dir. Secretary, Peace and Freedom Youth Forum, Ramallah, Palestine
303. Anahi Ayala Lacucci, Associazione Comunite Papa Giovanni XXIII, Rimini, Italy
304. Dorothy Macedo, Company Director, Wellington, New Zealand
305. Oriol Poveda, Translator , Barcelona, Spain
306. Ismail Patel, Friends of Al-Aqsa, Leicester, UK
307. Jan Elshout, Author, Wervershoof, Netherlands
308. Rosario Zayas Fernandez, Diseñadora de Joyas, Seville, Spain
309. Melanie Newton, Assistant Prof. of History, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
310. Pat Bryden, Educator, Edinburgh (Scotland), UK
311. Diane Langford, Writer, London, UK
312. Hristina Mouratidou, Centre for Drama and Education, Mostar, Bosina & Herzegovina
313. Chandra Muzaffar, International Movement for a Just World (JUST), Petaling Jaya, Malaysia
314. Alexandre Zimmermann, Teacher (retired), Netherlands
315. Linda Milazzo, Writer, Educator and Activist, Los Angeles, USA
316. Eileen Fleming, Poet, Author, Clermont, USA
317. Hussin Solaiman, Arabic Novelist, Houston, USA
318. Freda Guttman, Artist, International Middle East Media Centre, Beit Sahour, Palestine
319. Ruba Anabtawi, Photographer and Journalist, Jerusalem, Palestine
320. Fred Johnston, Writer, Galway City, Ireland
321. Rahul Varma, Playwright and Artistic Director, Montreal, Canada
322. Natasha Mayers, Artist, Whitefield, USA
323. Jeff Pekrul, Computer Software Development Specialist, San Francisco, USA
We include here a quick history lesson from the struggle against apartheid in South Africa. In the 1980's musicians got together to form Artists United Against Apartheid. They produced an album - Sun City - which created awareness about the injustice of apartheid, raised money for the struggle and helped formalise the cultural boycott of South Africa. This type of endeavour needs to be repeated and expanded as the ugly face of apartheid is still here, in Palestine.
Artists United Against Apartheid - Sun City(1985)
Sun City album cover
Sun City - Lyrics
Steven Van Zandt (Blue Midnight Music, 1985)
We're rockers and rappers united and strong
We're here to talk about South Africa we don't like what's going on
It's time for some justice it's time for the truth
We've realized there's only one thing we can do
I ain't gonna play Sun City
Relocation to phony homelands
Separation of families I can't understand
23 million can't vote because they're black
We're stabbing our brothers and sisters in the back
I ain't gonna play Sun City
Our government tells us we're doing all we can
Constructive Engagement is Ronald Reagan's plan
Meanwhile people are dying and giving up hope
This quiet diplomacy ain't nothing but a joke
I ain't gonna play Sun City
Boputhuswana is far away
But we know it's in South Africa no matter what they say
You can't buy me I don't care what you pay
Don't ask me Sun City because I ain't gonna play
I ain't gonna play Sun City
It's time to accept our responsibility
Freedom is a privilege nobody rides for free
Look around the world baby it can't be denied
Why are we always on the wrong side
I ain't gonna play Sun City
Relocation to phony homelands
Separation of families I can't understand
23 million can't vote because they're black
We're stabbing our brothers and sisters in the back
Reading the beautiful lyrics of this song its sad that today, 22 years on, the words still accurately describes the miserly of a people on this planet - the Palestinian people.
Sun City was a grotesque Vegas like gambling resort located in a bantustan at the core of apartheid South Africa - top artists were bribed by huge salaries to come and perform there and thereby help legitimise apartheid South Africa in the international community. Leading performer Steven van Zandt, who parted with Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band at the height of their success, became interested in writing a song about Sun City to make parallels with the plight of native Americans. The rounding up of blacks in to bantustans - ethnically cleansing the land of blacks to make way for white colonisation - can be seen to be modeled on America's system of Indian reservations. Of course the parallels with what is happening in Palestine today are also all too obvious for all to see - imprisoning Palestinians in to small bantustans by an apartheid wall which is built to separate Palestinains from their land - the land is then stolen for zionist colonisation - illegal "settlements" are expanded, and new ones built to absorb the stolen land.
With the help of journalist Danny Schechter, the idea was to turning the song into a different kind of "We Are the World", or as Schechter explains, "a song about change not charity, freedom not famine." It would educate people about the evils of apartheid and at the same time raise money for the anti-apartheid movement.
With little persuasion around 50 artists agreed to participate in recording it, including Bruce Springsteen, Miles Davis, Bob Dylan, Herbie Hancock, Ringo Starr, Lou Reed, Run DMC, Peter Gabriel, Darlene Love, Afrika Bambaataa, Kurtis Blow, Jackson Browne, U2, George Clinton, Rolling Stones members Keith Richards and Ron Wood, Bonnie Raitt, Hall & Oates, Jimmy Cliff, Big Youth, Grandmaster Melle Mel, Michael Monroe, Peter Garrett, and Joey Ramone. In addition to "Sun City," a number of other songs were recorded, making up the album Sun City. The artists called for a cultural boycott of South Africa - they vowed never to perform at Sun City, to do so would be an acceptance of apartheid.
The project was hugely successful on several levels despite half of America's radio stations refusing to play "Sun City" due to its critical lyrics about President Ronald Reagan's policy of "constructive engagement" with apartheid. It raised over a million U.S. dollars for anti-apartheid projects and brought awareness about the cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa making it more difficult for other artists to sell out to apartheid.
"The Palestinian people are living in a prison with the key to everything in their lives controlled by the Israeli government and Israeli military. This is wrong! This is immoral! This is unjust! This is unethical! And in our world today, as the human family we will not stand silent and allow the Israeli government supported by the American government, and the UK government to continue to abuse the rights of the Palestinian people. Occupation must end!"