The Nightly: UW's Anarchist Newspaper - WA Artists Unite For Palestine

WA Artists Unite For Palestine

By: The Nightly Crew

In the past months, hundreds of Seattle area artists and cultural workers have been organizing around an open letter. They hope to counter the complacency of their employers, demanding their industry cut ties with genocide profiteers like Amazon.

“The state of Israel is not only murdering Palestinians, it is intent on erasing all evidence of Palestine. This includes arts institutions, cultural institutions, academic institutions, and more besides. If we as a sector—as a *community*—want to stand for freedom of expression and the right to exist, then our institutions have no excuse.” Dana W. wrote in a quote provided to The Nightly.

In addition to Amazon, war-profiteer Boeing also sponsors Seattle arts institutions. Last month, UW-based group Resist US-Led war described this as a mechanism for companies like Boeing to “launder its reputation and gain billions in tax breaks.”

Artists across the state from many disciplines have already signed onto the letter. These include, “Creative Writing, Education, Theatre, Arts Administration, Music, Poetry, Dance, Film, Community Engagement, Cultural Worker, Tattoo, Burlesque, Visual Arts, Opera, Arts Criticism, Museum Curation, Community Health, and Textile Art” according to organizers.

A full copy of the open letter has been pasted below. If you are an artist or cultural worker here is the link to sign onto the letter: link.

Letter of Solidarity From Washington Artists and Cultural Workers for a Free Palestine

Written on: February 13, 2024

We, the undersigned Washington State artists and cultural workers, stand in solidarity with the people of Palestine and we demand that Washington arts institutions do the same. We urge all arts organizations, artists, and cultural workers to join us in committing to the Palestinian international call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS), and to comply with the Palestinian Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). We ask Washington arts organizations and artists to make a public and internal commitment to boycotting Israel as well as divesting from genocide profiteers Amazon and Boeing.

In doing so, the Washington arts community refuses to participate in the normalization of occupation and apartheid by Israel. PACBI is not a boycott of artists or individuals based on their nationality, ethnicity, or religion, but is a refusal to engage with projects that support Israeli occupation, either explicitly or implicitly.

At the time of this writing, more than 4 months of Israeli siege and genocide have gone by, and over 28,000 Palestinians have been murdered. Every day the death toll rises as more Palestinians are murdered or die of starvation and disease due to the brutal siege. Beyond the last few months of siege on the Palestinian people, it is important to recognize the genocidal history of violence and land theft over the last century under the Zionist Colonial project and State of Israel. Palestinians have a right to their homeland. Their land is NOT U.S claims to oil reserves, a testing ground for new weapons, or Israeli settlers’ claim to the territory. For Palestinians, their homeland IS their connection to their history, art and culture. Irrespective of this, Israel has made its intentions clear: continued bloodshed, suffering and displacement far into 2024.

We write this letter in the absence of ANY statement of solidarity or action from the majority of Washington’s arts institutions.

Black Lives, in the 2020 uprisings, prompted solidarity statements and commitments to addressing white supremacy within arts organizations. #LandBack and the uplift of Real Rent Duwamish prompted the widespread of land acknowledgements and the recognition of Indigenous communities as stewards and storytellers of the land. As Palestinians are being actively and violently displaced from their land, we call upon the Washington arts community to commit to actions that align with their “stated values” and support Palestinian right to life - especially in their homeland. The racial oppression here in the United States and the genocide of Palestinians are tied through oppressive colonialism, racist nationalist ideologies, shared military and police tactics, and the deliberate oppression of Black and Brown people everywhere.

We are also keenly aware of many of our Washington arts institutions’ ties to Boeing and Amazon, two companies which are complicit in the ongoing genocide. We are calling on Seattle arts institutions to cut ties with Boeing* and Amazon**. We are calling on Washington arts institutions who have received funding from these companies to recognize their own resulting connection to the ongoing genocide, and to publicly call for a ceasefire and end to Israeli war crimes against Palestinians.

We acknowledge public actions in solidarity with Palestine may jeopardize foundation and donor relationships, artist opportunities, and staff positions. Regardless of this risk, we implore the Seattle arts community to stand up for Palestinian life and liberation, and help reverse the course of oppression and genocide as part of the global Free Palestinian movement.

Finally, the authors of this letter do not represent the entirety of activism and organizing for a Free Palestine. In fact, Washington organizations such as Falastiniyat, Samidoun Seattle, and Super UW have been working in solidarity for Palestine long before October 7th, 2023. We encourage you to engage with these organizations and uplift their work within your own circles. To connect with these organizations and more: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1UUFF2RubQggXIh1qfVKwVvKbzKVm_pJCAmDa6SoHcT4/edit?usp=sharing

To add your name to this letter, go to: bit.ly/WA-Artists-For-Palestine-Sign-Here

Published 3-15-24