Four Tet, Caribou and The Black Madonna are among the DJs who have joined together to answer the Palestinian call for the cultural boycott of Israel.
Posting with the hashtag #DJsForPalestine, other DJs and producers who have also tweeted their support for the movement include Discwoman, Ben UFO, Deadboy, Laurel Halo and Truants.
The artists all posted the same message, which read: “As long as the Israeli government continues its brutal and sustained oppression of the Palestinian people we respect their call for a boycott of Israel as a means of peaceful protest against the occupation”.
In sharing the message, Ben UFO also added: “my feeling since my first visit has been that while Palestinian civil society calls for a boycott, showing solidarity with their cause is worth more to me than travelling to play a show. this has been my position since 2013. having been asked to participate in this campaign, i felt it would be dishonest to continue to say nothing. i’m still really hopeful that one day i’ll be able to play in Israel again.
“to those who ask why this boycott is selective and only applies to one state, I would say that if a comparable situation existed elsewhere in the world, and a boycott had been called by the affected oppressed class of people, then i would respect that too. for me this is primarily an issue of solidarity, and an exercise in listening. my position on this issue is part of a more general politics of anti-racism, which i hope that i can live up to.”
Shlohmo, DJ Python, Baba Stiltz, DJ Seinfeld, Shanti Celeste, Volvox, Leon Vynehall, Mall Grab, and Honey Dijon also cancelled their appearance at last weekend’s Israel’s Meteor festival.
It followed headliners Lana Del Rey and Of Montreal‘s decisions to also cancel their performances at the festival. “It’s important for me to perform in both Palestine and Israel and treat all my fans equally,” Del Rey wrote in a statement.
“Unfortunately it hasn’t been possible to line up both visits with such short notice and therefore I’m postponing my appearance at the Meteor Festival until a time when I can schedule visits for both my Israeli and Palestinian fans, as well as hopefully other countries in the region.”
“We came to the realization that there is no actual appropriate move other than to cancel the show,” Of Montreal said of their decision. “Now is not the time for escapism and celebrations. Now is the time for activism and protests against Israeli apartheid, Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the human rights atrocities being carried out every day in Gaza by Israeli forces.”