A growing network of UK artists, musicians, film makers, and other cultural influencers are coming together to stand against the Israeli occupation of the West Bank. There are at least 1,000 such individuals who’ve added their names to its ranks. They call themselves Artists for Palestine, and they’re petitioning quite strongly against the Chemical Brothers‘ upcoming performance in Tel Aviv.
An open letter to the influential electronic duo, so celebrated for its spectacular live performances, argues against the scheduled Nov. 12 appearance in caustic language.
“We’re wondering why the Chemical Brothers, so formidably progressive in the London and Manchester DJ scenes, seem about to let down our great cities’ record of radicalism,” the letter reads. “Your recording company, Virgin EMI, may tell you that playing Tel Aviv on November 12 is a cool thing to do. But Tel Aviv’s hipster vibe is a bubble on the surface of a very deep security state that drove out half the indigenous Palestinian population in 1948 and has no intention of letting their descendants back in.”
Pink Floyd innovator Roger Waters signed his name to the letter alongside Scotland’s National Poet Liz Lochhead and nine others.
Tel Aviv, last night:
Bad luck, Roger.
