DJs show solidarity with Palestine on social media

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    Wed, Sep 12, 2018, 16:10
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  • Artists such as Ben UFO, The Black Madonna and the Discwoman collective have tweeted #DJsForPalestine in support of a cultural boycott of Israel.
  • DJs show solidarity with Palestine on social media image
  • DJs, producers and electronic music industry professionals are being urged to voice their support for Palestinians on social media. Supporters of the campaign, called #DJsForPalestine, have posted a text image that reads, "As long as the Israeli government continues its brutal and sustained oppression of the Palestinian people we respect their call for a boycott of Israel as a means of peaceful protest against the occupation." #DJsForPalestine has so far drawn support from several high-profile artists, including Ben UFO, The Black Madonna, Call Super, Caribou, Ciel, DEBONAIR, the Discwoman collective, Four Tet, Gunnar Haslam, Laurel Halo, Noncompliant, object blue, Pariah, Peder Mannerfelt, Rrose, Violet and others.
    The campaign, coordinated by PACBI (Palestinian Campaign For The Cultural And Academic Boycott Of Israel), is part of a wider effort to more closely involve electronic music figures in discussions surrounding BDS (Boycott, Divestment And Sanctions). In a statement, a spokesperson said: "We welcome the DJs, producers, record labels, collectives and electronic musicians today endorsing the Palestinian call for the cultural boycott of Israel. Cultural boycott played a key role in the South African anti-apartheid movement, with progressive artists refusing to whitewash the oppression of the black majority. There should be no business-as-usual with Israel's regime of occupation, apartheid and settler-colonialism as long as it denies Palestinians our fundamental rights." As a result of voicing solidarity with Palestine, Room 4 Resistance's upcoming party at ://about blank has been cancelled by the venue's team. ://about blank released a statement explaining the cancellation on Facebook: "Due to the irreconcilable differences, we decided to cancel the upcoming Room 4 Resistance x Comeme at our venue. Calls for boycotts for such as against Israel, shared by the R4R-collective, profoundly disrespect our political understanding." Last month, a string of DJs pulled out of Meteor Festival in Pecan Park, Israel, including DJ Python, Volvox and Shanti Celeste. The BDS campaign against the festival pointed out that accommodation on illegal Israeli settlements was being recommended to attendees. The experimental musician Hiro Kone referenced Meteor Festival yesterday in a lengthy Instagram post in support of BDS.
    Earlier this year, the Israeli government passed a law that decreed Israel "the nation-state of the Jewish people," which has been widely condemned as a move to undermine the rights of Arab and Palestinian citizens. A spokesperson for the Association for Civil Rights In Israel has called it a "racist law."
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