#BDS: US artists’ support for settlement boycott spreading fast

NEW YORK – Over 150 American artists, including actresses Julianne Moore and Cynthia Nixon, playwright Tony Kushner and writer Wallace Shawn, have signed a letter in support of Israeli actors who refuse to perform in the West Bank.

Backed by the San Francisco-based Jewish Voice for Peace, the letter states that the settlement in Ariel is “clearly illegal,” and that any performance in the West Bank city’s new cultural center would have the effect, intentional or otherwise, of legitimizing Israel’s claim to what they refer to as occupied territory.

“It’s thrilling to think that these Israeli theatre artists have refused to allow their work to be used to normalize a cruel occupation which they know to be wrong, which violates international law and which is impeding the hope for a just and lasting peace for Israelis an [sic] Palestinians alike,” the letter reads.

“They’ve made a wonderful decision, and they deserve the respect of people everywhere who dream of justice. We stand with them.”

The letter’s signatories include actors Ed Asner and Mandy Patimkin, actress Vanessa Redgrave, playwright Eve Ensler and director Harold Prince.

The idea to write the letter came from Israeli artists, Jewish Voice for Peace director Rebecca Vilkomerson told The Jerusalem Post.