Tell Bristol Beacon: Don’t Let Music Be Used to Whitewash Genocide — Respect the Palestinian Cultural Boycott

Bristol Beacon  - cancel the Dudu Tassa & Johnny Greenwood show and respect the Palestinian cultural boycott.

In December 2023, Tassa participated in a series of events organised by Israel Defence Minister Yoav Gallant and Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar, and performed in Israeli bases for Israel Defence Forces soldiers fighting in Gaza. - Jerusalem Post 

As Gaza faces genocide, this performance risks helping to whitewash Israeli apartheid.

Music isn’t neutral. Cancel the show. Stand with Palestinian artists.

Palestinians are being killed. Their homes, hospitals, and cultural spaces are being destroyed. Since October 2023, over 62,000 Palestinians in Gaza have been killed by Israeli forces — including more than 17,400 children. Musicians, writers, and artists are among the dead. The International Court of Justice has ruled that Israel is plausibly committing genocide. At the same time, Palestinian civil society — including thousands of cultural workers — is urgently calling on the world to support a cultural boycott of Israel, including events and collaborations that help normalise or distract from this violence.

That’s why we’re asking Bristol Beacon to cancel the upcoming show by Dudu Tassa & Johnny Greenwood — and to respect the call for cultural boycott. Their collaboration may appear to promote harmony between cultures, blending Iraqi and Israeli musical styles. But hosting this show while Gaza’s musicians are being killed sends a dangerous message: that we can enjoy “coexistence” on stage while ignoring apartheid and genocide in reality.

This isn’t about silencing music or attacking individual artists. It’s about recognising that music isn’t neutral — and when used to create a false sense of normality, it becomes part of the problem. By platforming this performance, Bristol Beacon risks undermining a powerful, nonviolent tool of resistance: the cultural boycott, modelled on the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. Palestinian artists have asked us not to turn away, not to pretend things are fine, and not to carry on with “business as usual” while their communities are under attack.

Now is the time to act. As bombs continue to fall on Gaza, we must show that Bristol stands on the side of justice. The Beacon presents itself as a venue committed to inclusion, freedom, and human rights. This is a chance to live up to those values — not by silencing voices, but by standing in solidarity with artists whose voices are being silenced by occupation and war.

We are calling on Bristol Beacon to:

• Cancel the Dudu Tassa & Johnny Greenwood show
• Publicly commit to the Palestinian cultural boycott movement.
• Commit not to host acts or collaborations that undermine the struggle for Palestinian freedom

This is not censorship — it’s solidarity. Join us in calling for justice. Stand with Palestinian artists. Respect the boycott.