Hundreds of musicians sign letter pledging to boycott Israel over Palestinian lands occupation​

New York, May 31 (RHC)-- Hundreds of international musicians have signed on to an open letter that calls upon other artists to boycott performances in Israel until the Tel Aviv regime puts an end to its occupation of Palestinian territories, which have been under Israeli military control since 1967.

Members of American rock band Rage Against the Machine, Julian Casablancas – the lead singer and primary songwriter of rock band The Strokes, members of Cypress Hill, Patti Smith and Serj Tankian are some of the musicians who have pledged their support to the boycott call.  The campaign has been organized under the banner “Musicians for Palestine” and has obtained 600 signatures so far. 

"As musicians, we cannot be silent.  Today it is essential that we stand with Palestine. We are calling on our peers to publicly assert their solidarity with the Palestinian people.  Complicity with Israeli war crimes is found in silence, and today silence is not an option,” the letter reads."

“Today, we speak together and demand justice, dignity and the right to self-determination for the Palestinian people and all who are fighting colonial dispossession and violence across the planet,” it continues.

The open letter urges fellow artists to refuse “to perform at Israel's complicit cultural institutions, and by standing firm in your support of the Palestinian people and their human right to sovereignty and freedom.”   “We believe this is crucial to one day live in a world without segregation and apartheid,” it points out.

Cultural and academic boycotts are tenets of the international anti-Israel movement of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS).  The BDS movement, which is modeled after the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, was initiated in 2005 by over 170 Palestinian organizations that were pushing for “various forms of boycott against Israel until it meets its obligations under international law.”

Thousands of volunteers worldwide have since then joined the BDS movement, which calls for people and groups across the world to cut economic, cultural, and academic ties to Tel Aviv, to help promote the Palestinian cause.

Israel occupied East Jerusalem al-Quds, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip – the territories the Palestinians want for their future state – in 1967. Currently, about 700,000 Israelis live in over 230 illegal settlements built in the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds.

Hundreds of employees from Amazon, Google and Apple have also called on the giant technology companies to support Palestinian rights and sever ties with Israel's military and intelligence agencies. 

Earlier this week, a group of more than a thousand Canadian artists put out an open statement and asked the Ottawa government to impose military and economic sanctions on Israel and “to end its complicity in the oppression of Palestinians." 

Rehab Nazzal, one of the organizers of the statement and a long-time pro-Palestine activist, said Palestine has received unprecedented support in Canada in recent weeks.