In a brave response to the anti-free expression and antisemitic murders in Paris and Copenhagen, the Assad regime’s indiscriminate slaughter of Syrians (read this heartbreaking interview), the Chinese government’s persecution of the artist Ai Weiwei, the Iranian government’s ban on filmmaking by the director Jafar Panahi (he manages to make them anyway) and innumerable other acts of brutality and repression worldwide, more than 700 British “artists” (John Rees is an artist? C’mon!) have announced a “cultural boycott” of– you guessed it– Israel.
Here’s the obligatory Letter to The Guardian. And here’s a complete list of the boycotters.
I was quite pleased not to see the name of Billy Bragg– of whom I used to be a big fan, with whom I’ve had some serious political differences, but whom I’ve always believed to be fair-minded.
If you know any of these people personally, please don’t hesitate to inform them of what you think.
