The Sydney Festival were aware of the threatened withdrawal of artists in early December

As the campaign against the Sydney Festival grows nationally and internationally it’s worth noting that BDS Australia and other groups tried hard to convince them to end their association with Israel well before the festival started.

When Palestinian and Jewish representatives from BDS Australia met with Sydney Festival Board’s Chair, David Kirk, MBE on December 17th we called on the Festival to review its sponsorship deal with Israel and to take a public and ethical stand in support of Palestinian rights.  

We told them why – Israel’s grave human rights violations and ongoing breaches of international law in relation to Palestinians, and how Palestinians had called for boycott, divestment and sanctions as a peaceful and non-violent means to pressure the State of Israel.

The Festival representatives said that from their meetings with artists and other Palestinian advocacy organisations, they were concerned that this issue had caused a number of artists to threaten to withdraw from and boycott the 2022 Festival. 

They knew withdrawals were on the cards yet they chose and continue to choose to do nothing.  They don’t need the funds.  This is a political choice. 

Read our letter to Sydney Festival and our meeting notes here: https://bdsaustralia.net.au/israeli-government-sponsorship-of-the-sydney-festival-2022/

To date 37 artists/ensembles/companies have withdrawn – you can follow the growing list of artists joining the boycott on instagram/@boycottsydneyfest

And check out and add your name to the open letter for artists against apartheid signed by more than 1000 creatives https://dobetteronpalestine.com/artists-against-apartheid-sydney-festival-drop-israeli-regime-partnership/

And finally, it’s great to see the global support and solidarity statement from  the BDS National Committee The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI)
https://bdsmovement.net/news/boycottsydneyfestival