We are deeply troubled by the inclusion of Ziggy Marley in the WOMAD NZ festival lineup for March 15-17, 2024. This issue is a humanitarian issue because of Marley's actions in 2018, when he and several other celebrities performed at a fundraiser in Los Angeles that raised over $60 million for the Israeli Defense Force.

The Israeli Defense Force has been implicated in numerous human rights violations against Palestinians. According to Human Rights Watch, Israeli troops killed well over 2,000 Palestinian civilians during three Gaza conflicts alone (2008-09, 2012, and 2014). Furthermore, Al Jazeera reports that since October 7th, 2023, at least 24,100 Palestinians have been killed, over 10,000 being children and another 60,834 injured according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

By inviting Ziggy Marley to perform at their festival, WOMAD NZ is indirectly endorsing these actions. We believe this goes against the spirit of peace and unity that music festivals should promote. Therefore we urge WOMAD NZ and all their partners and sponsors to reconsider their decision and remove Ziggy Marley from their lineup for March 15-17th, 2024.

WOMAD NZ and WOMADELAIDE are charitable entities and must abide by the charitable purpose to: 

• Relieve poverty
• Advance education
• Advance religion
• Be beneficial to the community

Please sign this petition if you agree with our cause. And we encourage those signing to email WOMAD NZ directly at info@womad.co.nz or Suzanne Porter - Event director and CEO at suzanne@taft.co.nz

This petition is created by hala.aotearoa , Artists for ceasefire and Aotearoa for ceasefire

Sources:
Human Rights Report
WOMAD NZ Charity Page 
Al Jazeera News Article 
Article - Fundraiser for IDF 
Charitable purpose requirements NZ 

Art by: Ruby Alice Rose