Vanessa Mae, please don’t choose the side of the oppressor!

Dear Vanessa Mae,

We are a group of Israeli citizens who support the human rights-based Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) and the BDS movement  ([1] http://www.pacbi.org , http://www.bdsmovement.net/)

As the international media tends to show only a partial picture on the situation in Israel/Palestine, we are concerned that you may not be entirely aware of how problematic performing in Apartheid Israel is.  
 
Today, May the 2nd, is the 70th anniversary of the Holocaust. Perhaps this is a good reminder of the importance of taking a stand against injustice and violation of human rights. None of us has the privilege of neutrality at these times.
Whether you wish to make a political statement or not, performing in Israel makes a statement of “Business as usual”. Such statements serve the Israeli government, in sustaining the siege and killing in Gaza, promoting racist legislation of discriminatory laws against Israel's Palestinian citizens, grabbing more land for settlements in the West Bank and denying Palestinian refugees of their basic rights, after the ethnic cleansing of 1948.
 

It is not just about your performance being used to whitewash our government's policies; Palestinian fans of yours, living in the occupied territories under Israeli military occupation, will not have the possibility to come to your concerts and enjoy your performance. The choices that international artists like you make have an impact on the lives millions. As an ardent BDS supporter, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, said about his own battle with apartheid:

“If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.”

Vanessa Mae, please don’t choose the side of the oppressor! Please choose justice!

Until our government ends its belligerent policies ways and respects human rights and international law in Palestine Israel, we urge you not to perform in Israel.

Sincerely on behalf of Boycott! Supporting the Palestinian BDS Call from Within

Adi Dagan
Dorothy Naor
Herzl Schubert
Iris Hefets
Jonatan Stanczak
Naomi Lyth
Noa Abend
Ofer Neiman
Uri Davis
Rachel Giora
Renen Raz
Shir Hever
Tal Shapira