Following calls by artists to boycott Australia’s most prestigious cultural event over Israeli funding, a Hollywood-based pro-Israel group is leading the response against BDS ‘censorship’ with a 120-strong open letter
A Hollywood-based pro-Israel organization is spearheading a campaign countering the efforts of a boycott by artists from the Sydney Festival, after several performers withdrew from the prestigious arts festival over Israeli funding.
The Sydney Festival boycott was launched in protest of the arts festival’s inclusion of the Sydney Dance Company’s performance of “Decadance” – a work created by famed Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin, who leads the Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv. The dance production is being underwritten by a 20,000-Australian-dollar grant (about $15,000) by Israel’s embassy in Canberra.
