safeword endorses the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel

 

In solidarity with the people of Palestine, safeword is committed to adhering to the Palestinian international call for Boycott, Divestment, & Sanctions (BDS) and endorses the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). 

 

Since 2004, PACBI has called for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions based on their complicity in human rights violations perpetrated by Israel’s regime of apartheid and illegal military occupation against Palestinians, including the restriction of their freedom of movement and freedom of expression.

 

The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) strategy, of which PACBI is a crucial component, is a form of nonviolent direct action inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement. With the goal to end all forms of complicity with Israel’s regime of occupation, settler-colonialism, and apartheid against the Palestinian people, BDS and PACBI are meaningful forms of pressure the international community can exert to compel Israel to comply with international law. 

 

An important distinction of this boycott is that it targets institutions and NOT individuals. It targets complicity and NOT identity. By endorsing PACBI, we commit to boycotting the following:

• Israeli cultural institutions that have not ended all forms of complicity in Israel’s regime of oppression and that have not endorsed the comprehensive rights of the Palestinian people under international law.

• Israeli cultural products that are state commissioned and serve Israel’s propaganda efforts.

• Cultural events or activities that are partially or fully sponsored by an official Israeli body, a complicit institution, or an Israel lobby group.

• Normalization projects which intentionally bring together Palestinians/Arabs and Israelis through a deceptive lens of co-existence under oppression and do not recognize full Palestinian rights.

 

PACBI defines complicity as follows: “As a general overriding rule, Israeli cultural institutions, unless proven otherwise, are complicit in maintaining the Israeli occupation and denial of basic Palestinian rights, whether through their silence or actual involvement in justifying, whitewashing or otherwise deliberately diverting attention from Israel’s violations of international law and human rights.”

 

To remove the boycott, cultural institutions must fulfill two basic conditions: 

• Publicly recognize the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in international law. 

• End all forms of complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law, including discriminatory policies and practices as well as diverse roles in whitewashing or justifying Israel’s violations of international law and Palestinian human rights.

 

PACBI rejects the boycott and censorship of individuals based on their opinion or identity and upholds the universal right to freedom of expression. Mere affiliation of Israeli cultural workers to an Israeli cultural institution is not grounds for applying the boycott unless they are acting as a representative of the state of Israel or a complicit Israeli institution.

 

More detailed information about the official BDS guidelines are available here. 

 

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A core tenet of our work at safeword is the ongoing interrogation of our relationship to, and complicity in, state violence and systemic oppression under settler colonialism. Embedding anti-oppression values and practices into our spaces not only strengthens our creative work, it aligns with our artistic commitments to truth, justice, and accountability.

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We are deeply disturbed by the silence of many arts institutions and the silencing of artists who speak out against Israel’s apartheid of the Palestinian people. Art must reflect the times we live in. Theatre, in particular, holds a unique power to connect us through a shared humanity. Amid one of the most severe humanitarian crises of our time, we find it shameful that so many institutions in our community are prioritizing fear—of ostracization, of losing financial support—over confronting the ongoing mass killing and wounding of Palestinians by Israel in Gaza and the West Bank. We unequivocally reject complacency, apathy, and inevitability politics in the face of these atrocities.

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By taking this step, we call on others in the arts to strengthen their solidarity with the Palestinian people and to put pressure on cultural institutions to sever ties with organizations complicit in Israeli apartheid—most notably, the Azrieli Foundation. Our advocacy is not exclusive to this issue and we recognize that the collective liberation of all oppressed peoples is interconnected. We condemn all settler-colonial states, including Canada, that seek to profit from displacement, resource theft, ecocide, slavery and mass death.

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Any accusations that our support for PACBI is antisemitic are false. Our position is grounded in opposition to state violence, apartheid, genocide, ethnic cleansing, and racism. These crimes are not the product of a generalized group of people, but of the specific, documented actions of the Israeli state.

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We are inspired by, and deeply grateful to, the artists and organizers in our community who continue to lead these vital acts of solidarity. If you are interested in endorsing PACBI, or want to learn more about the process, please contact theatre4palestinianvoices@gmail.com or pacbi@wawog.com. 

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