Authors unite for Palestine

SLOUGH, ENGLAND:

If the widespread Israel-led brutality in Palestine has proven anything, it is that protests, boycotts and music from the heart are but a fly in the ointment. Activists, civilians and celebrities may take to the streets – or to their keyboards – but bombs will continue to fall, lives will continue to be laid to waste, and children continue to be orphaned. All this, despite the combined efforts of red-pinned Artists4Ceasefire, rapper Macklemore with Hind's Hall, and the boycott of adored celebrities via Blockout 2024.

Then again, even the most dewy-eyed spectator donning the most rose-tinted glasses in existence would have twigged that a cultural boycott would never result in an outright ceasefire. The whole point of raising a voice when those being slaughtered are in no position to do so is exactly that: to raise a voice, spread awareness, and call a spade a spade. Or, in this case, call this genocide a genocide instead of a 'conflict'. Or 'war'.

An open boycott letter

Joining the fray in a desperate bid to remind us all that the hell faced by Palestinians is not over, an open letter organised by the Palestine Festival of Literature (PalFest) has called on the publishing industry this week to boycott Israeli institutions that "have remained silent observers" to the ongoing crisis in Gaza.

According to The Bookseller, the boycott letter asks signatories to pledge not to "cooperate with Israeli institutions including publishers, festivals, literary agencies and publications". The PalFest letter, seen by The Bookseller, references the "emergency" situation faced by Palestinians in Gaza and the "years of displacement" experienced by Palestinians. According to the letter, "culture has played an integral role in normalising these injustices".

The letter continues to note that those who have signed will not co-operate with Israeli institutions that are "complicit in violating Palestinian rights" or that "have never publicly recognised the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in international law". More than 1,000 writers – both Pakistani and international – have signed the open letter. Among these names are Fatima Bhutto, Mohsin Hamid, Saba Imtiaz, Ayesha Manazir Siddiqi, and Kamila Shamsie, as well as Sally Rooney, Arundhati Roy, Rupi Kaur, William Dalrymple, and Rachel Kushner.

A counter-letter

If you believe that the world of literature would attract little attention, you are about to be swiftly disabused of that notion. A counter-petition to uphold freedom of expression has already been put in motion and has been signed by high-profile figures in the entertainment industry, both in and out of publishing. Jack Reacher author Lee Child and actors Debra Messing, Mayim Bialik and Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are amongst the signatories listed on the counter-petition.

"To achieve peace, we must humanise one another and build bridges across communities through the open exchange of ideas," noted Child. "Literature allows for that. Boycotts hinder it."

The Big Bang Theory actor Bialik echoed a similar sentiment. "Silencing and sowing discord in this way reduces complex individuals to oversimplified caricatures which only hardens existing hostility and makes the hope for peace inch further away."

A concert gone awry

Balik may wish to avoid polarisation, but when it comes to this particular genocide, that ship has already sailed. When it comes to the ongoing atrocities in Palestine and the widespread reach of celebrities, fans and followers have not stopped seeking open condemnation from anyone with a public following – as Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke discovered in Melbourne on Wednesday. Yorke is currently in the middle of his Australian solo tour, and videos posted online show him walking off stage mid-concert after a row with a man in the crowd who shouted, "What will it take for you condemn the Israeli genocide in Gaza?"

With the tension ratcheted up, the full spectrum of the protester's plea is inaudible – but with snippets slipping through, the gist is crystal clear. "There are already 200,000 dead, half of them are children!" he can be heard yelling. "How can you be silent!"

A quietly angered Yorke can be heard responding into the microphone, "Come up here and say that. Right now." Letting the expletives rip, Yorke adds, "Hop up on the f- stage and say what you want to say. Don't stand there like a coward. Come here and say it. Come on!"

The protester, makes no move towards the stage, and shouts out once more, "How many dead children will it take for you to condemn the Israeli genocide in Gaza?"

The final question proved to be the last straw, with Yorke removing his guitar and halting his set. "You want to p*ss on everybody's night?" says the singer as he walks off. "Okay, you do it, see you later." The disturbance led to a chorus of boos from the crowd, although these turned to cheers when, shortly after, Yorke returned to the stage to play the Radiohead song Karma Police.

Demand for accountability

According to the BBC, this is not the first time Radiohead has been tainted by its seemingly pro-Israeli stance. In 2017, the group faced pressure to cancel shows in Israel, causing Yorke to push back.

"We've played in Israel for over 20 years through a succession of governments, some more liberal than others," Yorke said in a statement at the time as he defended a decision to go ahead with a planned concert in Tel Aviv. "We don't endorse Netanyahu any more than Trump, but we still play in America. Music, art and academia are about crossing borders not building them."

In yet another instance of not openly condemning brutality against Palestinians in Gaza, Yorke's Radiohead bandmate Johnny Greenwood was accused earlier this year of "artwashing" for performing alongside Israeli-Arabic musician Dudu Tassa in Tel Aviv. At the time, Greenwood stood by his decision and made his views clear in a statement on X. "No art is as 'important' as stopping all the death and suffering around us," he wrote. "But... silencing Israeli artists for being born Jewish in Israel doesn't seem like any way to reach an understanding between the two sides of this apparently endless conflict."

The man who interrupted Yorke's concert received little support from the crowd and was escorted off the premises by security. But as PalFest's open letter has proved, the views upheld by Yorke's concert disrupter have the power to stir strong sentiment. Yorke did not openly declare his loyalties – although perhaps in this instance, not declaring a side is no different to declaring one. Whether or not a literary boycott will engineer change, however, is a different story altogether.