Palestinian Artists to Céline Dion: Cancel Apartheid Tel Aviv Concerts
Fifty Palestinian artists urge Céline Dion to cancel her August 2020 concerts in apartheid Tel Aviv
We Palestinian singers, songwriters, musicians, actors, and other artists read with concern that Céline Dion has scheduled two performances at Yarkon Park, Tel Aviv.
The far-right Israeli regime exploits all performances by international artists to whitewash, or art-wash, its systematic violation of Palestinian human rights. In this context, all artists have an ethical obligation to do no harm to our struggle for justice.
Yarkon Park itself is built on the ruins of the ethnically-cleansed Palestinian village of Jarisha, whose indigenous inhabitants were forcibly expelled in 1948 and never allowed to exercise their UN-stipulated right of return by Israel’s apartheid laws.
Jarisha is only one of more than 500 Palestinian localities destroyed in the 1948 Nakba when more than 700,000 Palestinians were systematically exiled and prevented from returning to their homes and lands so that Israel’s foundational — deeply racist — the colonial myth of “a land without a people” could flourish.
Two million Palestinians are trapped under Israeli siege and occupation in the Gaza Strip, just a short drive from the Tel Aviv park where Dion has announced two performances. Most here are refugees from previous rounds of Israeli aggression, and most are children.
UN investigators say that Israel’s atrocities in Gaza, which include the intentional, fatal killings by live sniper fire of medics, children, journalists, and disabled people, “may constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity”. Yet no-one has been held to account.
Dion named one of her sons Nelson, after Mandela, who so famously declared, “our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinian people”. Mandela also often said that “Palestine is the greatest moral issue of our time”.
At this time, when fewer and fewer major artists agree to perform in apartheid Tel Aviv, we urge Céline Dion to consider Mandela’s words and her own place in the history books.
Signed,
- Fathi Abd El Rahman, theatre director, The Popular Theatre CEO
- Tamer AbuGhazaleh, musician, singer
- Youmna AbuHilal, singer
- Mira AbuHilal, singer
- Ramzi Aburedwan, musician
- Shahd Abusalama, dancer
- Moneim Adwan, singer, musician, composer, actor
- Ahmad Al-khatib, musician
- Iman Aoun, actor, theatre director, Ashtar Theatre CEO
- Huda Asfor, singer, musician & composer
- Mahmoud Awad, musician, singer
- Nai Barghouti, singer, musician
- Marina Barham, Al-Harah Theater CEO
- Nabil Bey, musician, songwriter
- Suhail Canaan, musician
- Ahmed Eid, musician
- Mohammad Eid, actor, theatre director
- Samir Eskanda, musician
- Canaan Ghoul, musician, composer
- Ehab Haniyah, musician, sound engineer
- Youssef Hbeisch, musician
- Tareq Jabareen, instrument maker, musician
- Samer Jaradat, musician, producer
- Adnan Joubran, musician, composer
- Remi Kanazi, poet
- Mohamed Karzon, musician
- Khalil Khoury, musician, composer
- Nadem Khoury, musician
- Reem Malki, singer
- Ahmed Masoud, playwright, author
- Khalid Massou, actor, theatre director
- George Matar, production manager, dancer
- Sanaa Moussa, singer
- Edward Muallem, actor, theatre director
- Jalal Nader, musician
- Mohamad Najem, musician, composer, distributor
- Tamer Nassar, musician
- Charlie Rishmawi, musician, composer
- Yassar S’adat, musician
- Gandhi Saad, musician
- Omar Saed, musician
- Mustafa Said, musician
- Teba Said, musician
- Mirna Sakhleh, theatre director
- Naser Salameh, instrument maker, musician
- Kareem Samara, musician, composer
- Leila Sansour, filmmaker
- Iyad Staiti, musician, Al Kamandjati CEO
- Yanal Staiti, musician
- Reem Talhami, singer
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