Cultural events are vitally important tools for bringing people together and fostering bonds among nations; however, such events don’t give a space for abusers of human rights to whitewash their crimes by taking part in these events, whether they are individuals or states.

Recently, global public opinion was attracted by the strong decisions of more than 30 artists and arts organizations announcing their withdrawal from the Sydney Festival in support of the Palestinian people.

The Sydney Festival is a world-renowned arts festival that started in 1977 and annually hosts hundreds of artists from across the world to perform their shows.

The story started with the Sydney Festival board accepting a donation from the Israeli Embassy in Australia for one of the events within the Festival. Activists worldwide spoke up, rejecting the Israeli donation due to Israel’s criminal record in dealing with the Palestinian people.

In response, dozens of artists announced their withdrawal, citing their support of the Palestinians under Israeli occupation. The list of artists included comedians Judith Lucy, Nazeem Hussain and Tom Ballard, rapper Barkaa, dance ensemble Bindi Bosses, Bankstown Poetry Slam, journalist Amy McQuire, author Yumi Stynes, the Darlinghurst and Belvoir Street theater companies and the First Nations dance company Marrugeku.

They all, as well as others, expressed their refusal to accept the Israeli donation and considered it an attempt to whitewash Israeli crimes against Palestinians.

The boycott policy

For decades, Palestinians have suffered under discriminatory and racist Israeli policies. These policies included aggression campaigns and a blockade on Gaza, the expropriation of Palestinian lands, the building of Israeli settlements, the cold-blooded killing of Palestinians, even those who do not pose a threat, the daily arbitrary arrests of Palestinians and last but not least the policy of home demolitions applied widely in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.

These grave violations are well-documented by international rights groups, which came to the conclusion that Israel’s practices against Palestinians are practices of an apartheid regime, as seen in the Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) report published in April 2021.

Despite the thorough documentation of Israeli violations, world governments, including the U.S. and European governments, have so far failed to bring an end to discriminatory Israeli policies against Palestinians.

In the light of the official-level failure to react, activists and advocacy groups took their moral responsibility and carried out activities to raise Palestine’s voice, raise awareness on what’s going on in occupied Palestine and pressure Israel to end its violations. Campaigns across the world started to organize different events to highlight the Palestinian plight.

These events included calls to boycott Israel on different levels, including the economic and the cultural levels, a tactic that proved effective in pressuring the Israeli regime and spreading the Palestinian narrative, which has long been obstructed by the mainstream Western media.

In the past decade, there were countless campaigns and events across the world that contributed to the growing condemnation of Israeli injustice. During the successive Israeli campaigns of aggression on Gaza in 2008, 2012, 2014 and lastly, in May 2021, boycott campaigns were seen across the world and were joined by world celebrities, leading to the cancellation of many Israeli events.

The growing reaction

Before the Sydney Festival boycott calls, there were at least two important similar boycott cases that helped bring the Palestinian voice to the world stage. In October 2021, famous Irish novelist Sally Rooney decided not to allow an Israeli publishing house to publish – and to translate into Hebrew – her recent book, "Beautiful World, Where Are You," because of her support for Palestinian people and the boycott movement. Her decision was hailed by the Palestinians and their supporters worldwide.

Moreover, in a letter, more than 70 notable writers and publishers including Rachel Kushner, Francisco Goldman and Eileen Myles expressed their support to Rooney’s move and described it as "an exemplary response to the mounting injustices inflicted on Palestinians."

In January, the world also paid attention to the supportive remarks of British actress Emma Watson – a global star following her role as Hermione Granger in the "Harry Potter" film series – who voiced solidarity with pro-Palestinian activism. Her few words on her 65 million-follower Instagram account ("solidarity is a verb") were enough to increase global support and shed the light on Israel’s violations against Palestinians.

Watson’s stance caused an outcry among Israeli officials, who went on to accuse her of anti-Semitism, a trite accusation that most Israeli officials use to counter any supporter of the Palestinian cause. Israeli officials realize the scope of effect of such stances from celebrities on global public opinion, as it also prompts other celebrities to speak out more about Israeli injustice and racism.

The economic dimension

If 2022 started with the boycott of dozens of artists of the Sydney Festival, in 2021, the Israeli government was slapped with the decision of the U.S. ice cream company Ben & Jerry’s to stop its sales in Israeli settlements, citing that continuing to sell ice cream in occupied Palestinian territory would be "inconsistent" with its values.

The decision by Ben & Jerry’s was echoed worldwide and highlighted the topic of Israeli settlement construction on Palestinian lands and its violation of international law. It also pushed campaigners to call on many other companies to follow the same path.

Currently, efforts are still underway to get Puma to end its sponsorship of the Israel Football Association and its operation in Israeli settlements. Actions have been seen in 20 countries so far, with vigils held at Puma shops calling for an end to Puma’s partnership with Israel.

Similarly, following an international campaign in July 2018, Adidas announced it would be ending its sponsorship of the Israeli football team.

It is working

The cultural boycott, as well as the economic boycott, is an effective tool for raising awareness of the Palestinian plight. These boycott campaigns are making a difference in global awareness of the Palestinian cause. These campaigns are growing daily, with more influential people joining the efforts to express solidarity with Palestinians.

The campaigners for boycotting seek to say, "let Israel pay the price for the longest-ever occupation in modern history, let them feel isolated as long as they keep isolating an entire population," as the case with the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

Our moral responsibility will continue to push for more activism in support of Palestinian rights, and with more efforts worldwide, the Israeli occupation will not tolerate the price of the international boycott, as was the case of the apartheid regime in South Africa.