On September 15, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz published an op-ed by Neta Riskin and Magi Otsri “on behalf of many Israeli filmmakers, writers, poets, musicians, actors and intellectuals.” I will quote their words at length, and ask the reader’s patience as I explain my reasons in the final paragraphs.
The article says: “We speak not in the name of our government or of any institution, but in our own name as well as in the name of creative freedom, the freedom of imagination and the hope that still endures. For many years, Israeli artists have been cast as enemies of the nationalist regime. We've been relentlessly persecuted by governments that made us an easy target for hatred. Our names have been publicly defamed, ministers have branded us ‘traitors,’ and our budgets have been stripped because of our views. Theaters have been shut down, plays banned, films boycotted. Artists have been attacked both online and in person, subjected to threats of rape and torture, even their lives, and many have lost their livelihoods.
This is not accidental, nor is it exceptional, but the necessary outcome of a deliberate government policy designed to spread fear and silence every free voice.
Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, blows from outside Israel have joined those that strike us from within.
But know this: the only beneficiary of the suppression and silencing of our voices is the current Israeli government that despises art and artists alike. Neither freedom, nor peace, nor justice is served by silencing Israeli art. Nor are the Palestinians, who are suffering under a cruel and unending war.”
Upon painting a picture of the glee that the “fanatical coalition members” felt as they heard of the 1,200 Hollywood artists’ boycott of Israeli works, the op-ed presents a recap of Benjamin Netanyahu’s domestic victories “on his path toward dictatorship.” It goes on: “Israeli artists have always been at the forefront of the struggle against Netanyahu and fascism. We've been on the frontlines of the fight against the occupation and the settlements in the West Bank. We have demanded negotiations toward a peace agreement with the Palestinian Authority, aimed at establishing a Palestinian state. We were among the first to assert that Palestinians have a right to national self-determination and full equality. We also warned against turning the Gaza war into a war to preserve Netanyahu's rule – a war intended to distract from the fact that he's a prime minister buried under corruption indictments. We cautioned against the toxic alliance between a corrupt government and religious fanaticism, and now we call for an end to the war, an end to the starvation of Gazans and the safe return of all Israeli hostages held by Hamas through an agreement.
We are not a government arm to be fought against; on the contrary, we are a thorn in its side.
That is why supporters of fascism and nationalism have always sought to eliminate us. The Israeli government attacks us from within, and now our colleagues abroad, our artistic and ideological partners around the world, seek to silence us. If Israeli artists are silenced, it'll be the end of Israeli democracy. The path for the bloodthirsty extremists in the government to continue the war and to escalate harm to innocent civilians and commit some of the gravest atrocities and war crimes will be left unopposed. There's no greater gift to fascism in Israel.”
After an overview of the fundamental distinction between boycotting weapons and other goods and boycotting art, the article recalls the capacity of creative works to build bridges, curb extremism, and imagine a better world, as demonstrated by many Israeli works that oppose the direction Netanyahu has taken and are nonetheless not exempt from this boycott. As for the only request the article asks of artists around the world, it is to “not close the gates on us. Don't force us into isolation from the world. Don't aid the government in silencing the little freedom that remains to us. This is what the violent government wants; this is its ambition.”
In addition to the many arguments raised by the two writers, as well as the reasons to reject any boycott of culture, thought, and the arts in principle, the political juncture and its dictates we now find ourselves in are another pressing factor that cannot be ignored. Toppling Netanyahu and his government is, today, the ultimate prerequisite for achieving any noble objective that benefits the Palestinians, brings justice, and ensures Palestinians’ rights. Accordingly, encouraging those who could contribute to achieving this goal is a political necessity as well as being an ethical duty.
The fact is that the Palestinian cause is currently in a profoundly paradoxical position: on the one hand, it is achieving major moral victories and winning hearts and minds across Western societies, but on the other, it has become an endangered political cause amid Israel’s genocidal massacre, to say nothing of the threats of fragmentation, annexation, and settlement looming over the West Bank.
There are probably very few people better placed than Israelis like Neta Riskin, Magi Otsri, and their colleagues to take part in bridging this chasm that allows for seizing the opportunities created by moral victories. That is why boycotting anti-Netanyahu Israeli cultural works could well be both unwise and extremely harmful.
