A music teacher from Dunfermline has launched a petition demanding JK Rowling remove her signature from the 'Culture for Coexistence' letter published in the Guardian on 22 October.
25-year-old Mia Oudeh launched the petition after her letter to JK Rowling comparing Harry Potter characters to make points about the Israeli Cultural Boycott went viral.
"I wanted to speak to her, because she had spoken to me and given me so much support over the years through her books that I needed to hear that she was still the same person who argued for freedom and peace in her novels," said Mia.
JK Rowling responded to Mia's open letter after it was published on The Herald.
Mia has launced the petition with the following note:
"Dear J K Rowling,
You have publicly stated that you "want to see the Israeli government held to account for that injustice and brutality." But, you have signed the'Culture for Coexistence' letter which was partly organised by Neil Blair, who is on the board of the UK Friends of the Abraham Fund. This is a normalisation group which is sponsored by the Israeli bank 'Hapoalim' which funds the construction of illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank (thus breaking UN resolution 446 and the Fourth Geneva Convention, article 49). This shows that the letter is associated with the Israeli state policy.
Despite what you may believe about BDS, there is nothing in the movement which promotes the isolation of individuals. Many Israelis andPalestinians have both called for the international community to endorse BDS. Israeli politicians are known to fear BDS and have previously called an "emergency" meeting to discuss it, and have called it a "strategic threat" to their racist state guilty of the "injustice and brutality" you have recognised.
Further to the two previous posts written about why dialogue is ineffective and BDS is, we, the undersigned, would like you to withdraw your signature from the letter, because despite you voicing your dismay at the Israeli government, it has originated from sympathisers of these leaders.
Thank you for your time."
The petition currently has 20% of the needed signatures, and can be found here.
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