Artists call for end to Palestine censorship – Mondoweiss

Academy Award winning actress Olivia Colman is among the over 1,300 artists who are accusing Western cultural institutions of censorship on Palestine.

The scale of violence unfolding in Gaza demands our collective attention and action,” reads their open letter to the Arts and Culture world. “Members of Israel’s far-right government are openly calling for ethnic cleansing. The use of starvation as a weapon of war, along with denial of water and electricity, is cruel beyond words.”

“The wholesale destruction of civilian infrastructure, the bombing of hospitals, schools, churches and mosques, the killing of 14,500 people in a matter of weeks, amount to a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian people,” it continues. The United Nations and hundreds of legal scolars have called on the international community to prevent genocide. As artists, we cannot remain silent in the face of such egregious violations of international humanitarian law.”

The statement cites recent examples of Palestine censorship, including Folkwang Museum in Essen’s cancellation of curator Anais Duplan’s Afrofuturism exhibition and actor Melissa Barrero’s dismissal from the upcoming movie Scream VII. Both moves came in response to pro-Palestine social media posts made by the artists.

In addition to Colman, signatories include Olivier Award winners Harriet Walter and Juliet Stevenson, BAFTA winners Aimee Lou Wood and Siobhán McSweeney, Paapa Essiedu, Susanne Wokoma, and Youseff Kerkour.

The letter calls on cultural institutions to publicly call for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, promote the voices of Palestinian artists, stand up for artists and workers who defend Palestinian rights, and refuse collaboration with bodies that are complicit in human rights violations.

“To stay silent in the face of mass injustice and worsening humanitarian crisis would be an abrogation of moral duty,” it explains. “To actively silence the principled artists and workers who do fulfill this responsibility is a failure to meet legal obligations on freedom of expression and anti-discrimination. Many artists are refusing to work with institutions that fail to meet these basic obligations.”

Last week, a coalition of UN experts put out a statement on the recent suppression of pro-Palestine sentiment throughout the world. “Calls for an end to the violence and attacks in Gaza, or for a humanitarian ceasefire, or criticism of Israeli government’s policies and actions, have in too many contexts been misleadingly equated with support for terrorism or antisemitism. This stifles free expression, including artistic expression, and creates an atmosphere of fear to participate in public life,” it reads.