Figures such as Four Tet, The Black Madonna and Ben UFO have lent their support to a new campaign in support of the Palestinian call for cultural boycott of Israel.
The DJs for Palestine campaign has been launched in part as a response to the recent attention surrounding Meteor Festival in Israel which saw a number of acts, including Lana Del Rey, cancel their appearances following dialogue around the Israeli government’s occupation of Palestine.
Caribou, Rrose, Call Super, Laurel Halo, the Discwoman collective, Peder Mannerfelt and numerous other DJs and industry figures have also shared their support and voiced their commitment of solidarity with the Palestinian people.
"As long as the Israeli government continues its brutal and sustained oppression of the Palestinian people we respect their call for a boycott of Israel as a means of peaceful protest against the occupation," reads the message shared by those supporting the campaign.
In an Instagram post, Ben UFO added: "My personal history on this issue is that I travelled to play at The Block in Tel Aviv in 2013. I made several friends there, who I’ve stayed in touch with, and who I spoke with about the cultural boycott of Israel after I decided to decline further invitations to play. I wasn’t well informed then, and my experience of travelling there was what gave me the impetus to read and learn more.
"My feeling since my first visit has been that while Palestinian civil society calls for a boycott, showing solidarity with their cause is worth more to me than travelling to play a show. This has been my position since 2013. Having been asked to participate in this campaign, I felt it would be dishonest to continue to say nothing. I’m still really hopeful that one day I’ll be able to play in Israel again."
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) has also responded to the DJs for Palestine campaign, saying: "We welcome the DJs, producers, record labels and electronic musicians today endorsing the Palestinian call for the cultural boycott of Israel."
