Sydney Festival boycott: Israeli embassy sponsorship clouds opening night

By TOKS OGUNDARE

The Sydney Festival’s opening night on Thursday was overshadowed by protests after about 80 people gathered outside the Sydney Opera House to oppose the festival’s decision to accept $20,000 from the Israeli embassy to stage Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin’s work Decadance. 

The Disrupt Sydney Festival protest was organised by Palestinian civil society groups that have spearheaded a boycott of the festival, calling for artists on the festival’s lineup to support the Boycott, Divestments and Sanctions (BDS) movement, and demand that Sydney Festival divests from the funding partnership.

The boycott has led to at least 30 individuals and groups pulling out of the lineup, including comedian Tom Ballard, hip-hop artist Barkaa, Hope D, Good Morning and Marcus Whale.

Assembled at the entrance to the festival, speakers at the protest focused on the motivations behind the boycott, drawing attention to Palestinian prisoner Hisham Abu Hawwash who, on Tuesday, ended a 141-day hunger strike to protest being imprisoned without charge by Israeli authorities.

Co-organiser Fahad Ali said that the success of the boycott “should serve as a lesson for Sydney Festival”.  

“We stand here today with nearly a fifth of their program having been completely destroyed,” he said at Thursday’s rally. Ali expressed gratitude to the artists who have withdrawn from the festival: “on behalf of the Palestinian people I say thank you – history will remember this.”

There has also been a growing movement in support of the festival, as more than 120 entertainment industry figures signed an open letter rejecting the boycott. “While we all may have differing opinions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the best path to peace, we all agree that a cultural boycott is not the answer,” the letter says.

Addressing Issues

The open letter was published on Thursday by US-based organisation Creative Community for Peace, which presents itself as a counter to the BDS movement driving the Sydney Festival boycott. 

KISS frontman Gene Simmons was among the big names criticising the boycott, saying in an interview with Sunrise on Friday that “the arts should be free of political pressure”.

Speaking to The Project on Thursday, boycott organiser Jennine Khalik addressed concerns that the controversy was putting artists in a difficult position following the strains of the pandemic. 

“20% of the festival has withdrawn over a $20,000 sponsorship, which is 0.01% of Sydney Festival’s income,” she said in the interview. “They are choosing the sponsorship over artists.”

Sydney Festival’s artistic director Olivia Ansell said at the official media launch on Thursday, that the festival administration and the board remained concerned about the controversy.

“It’s sensitive, something being created to bring artists together, so we can see a myriad of perspectives,” Ansell said.

The festival’s board issued its second statement on Tuesday, reaffirming its stance that it would not be ending its sponsorship with the Israeli embassy.