Jonathan Mills, director of the Edinburgh International Festival, is wrong in refusing to cancel the performances of the Batsheva Dance Group at this year's Festival.
We do not accept his assertion that art can be divorced from politics. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs states on its website that Batsheva is "the best known global ambassador of Israeli culture".
Hana Awaad of El Funoun, one of Palestine's premier dance troupes, encapsulates Israel's cultural apartheid well when she states: "While Israeli artists and performers have freedom to tour, exhibits and performances by Palestinian artists are systematically banned, sabotaged and closed down by the Israeli occupation.
"Artists themselves are targets of violence, arbitrary arrests and deportations. Israel's three-tiered system of occupation, colonisation and apartheid ruthlessly suffocates the livelihoods of Palestinian communities, including the right to artistic and cultural expression."
We call upon Jonathan Mills, even at this late stage, to heed the appeal of all sections of Palestinian society and withdraw his invitation immediately.
Tom Leonard,
Liz Lochhead,
AL Kennedy,
Raja Shehadeh,
Tam Dean Burn,
Nabil Shaban,
Robert Rae,
Ghazi Hussein,
Dick Gaughan,
Iain Banks,
100 Victoria Embankment,
London.
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