We believe that you, the artists, are in favor of human rights and equality, not occupation and genocide. For these reasons, we urge you to heed our boycott call and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people by refusing to perform at ZorluHolding’s Performing Arts Center.
We are writing this letter to you because we have noticed that you will be performing at Sonar Istanbul 2024, which will take place at Zorlu Performing Arts Center between April 26and 28. As BDS Turkey, we feel deeply sorry to see this, because Zorlu Holding continues to provide economic and logistical support for the Israeli occupation regime. This support has enabled Israel to continue its attacks on the Palestinian people in Gaza for more than six months now. It is the most visible genocide of the 21st century. It has been happening in plain sight, covered by all the world’s media and yet the calls for Israel to stop its attack have been falling on deaf ears.
The atrocities committed by Israel – which has practically defined itself as an apartheid state by its introduction of the Jewish Nation-State Law in 2018 – have been condemned by international institutions, first and foremost by the United Nations, and are clearly violations of international law. Despite this, the Israeli regime does not recognize any UN decisions that go against its interests, continues to expand the territories it occupies, and violates the historical rights of the Palestinian people. For 17 years Israel has maintained a siege and strict embargo on Gaza and continues to commit new crimes in front of the eyes of the whole world. Since October 2023, Israel has killed more than 33,000 Palestinians, including at least 13,000 children in its genocidal operation to exterminate generations of the Palestinian people. As a result of this situation the Palestinian people have been deprived of their basic needs such as food, water and energy resources,and access to health care. The International Court of Justice ruled that Israel must take the necessary measures to prevent acts prohibited by the Genocide Convention.
While the Palestinian people in Gaza are living in such depravation, Zorlu Holding, a Turkish business group in cooperation with the Israeli occupation regime is investing heavily in Israel’s energy sector, producing electricity to be used in Israel’s official institutions and industrial facilities. As of today Zorlu Holding has partnerships in 3 different power generation plants in Israel while Palestinians living in Gaza are unable to access electricity and fuel, and the few remaining hospitals there are unable to provide health services. Zorlu Holding continues to operate in areas surrounding the Gaza Strip thereby aiding and enabling the occupation force to continue its attacks.
The executives of Zorlu Holding have declared that what is happening in Gaza does not concern them and that they will continue their investments in the occupied territories, saying “Each country has its own policy… and this does not bind usas investors”. This attitude means that they are in effect complicit in the crimes committed against the Palestinian people by the Israeli state.
However we know that without prosecution or effective international sanctions the State of Israel will continue to commit crimes and violate human rights.
With this in mind Palestinians who have resisted Israel’s policies of massacre, exile and occupation for decades, along with dissident Jews who do not want to be complicit in thesecrimes, came together in 2005 to launch the international BDS (Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions) movement. Also, as part of this movement, the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) emerged. PACBI calls on cultural and academic workers, artists, intellectuals and the international community to engage in an inclusive and consistent boycott of institutions that support the Israeli occupation force until Israel recognizes the historical rights of the Palestinian people. Many cultural and academic institutions and thousands of cultural workers and academics from around the world are currently supporting the BDS movement’s boycott campaigns.
As BDS Turkey we call on artists and arts and culture workers who want to lend a hand to the Palestinian people’s struggle for freedom, to boycott Zorlu Performing Arts Center until Zorlu Holding withdraws the investments that empower the occupation regime.
We believe that you, the artists, are in favor of human rights and equality, not occupation and genocide. For these reasons, we urge you to heed our boycott call and stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people by refusing to perform at ZorluHolding’s Performing Arts Center.
BDS Turkey
