Ethan Miller / Staff / Getty Images KISS bassist Gene Simmons criticized those boycotting an upcoming Australian festival over Israeli sponsorship, arguing that “young people in the arts” shouldn’t be punished over politics.
Simmons is one of more than 120 entertainment leaders to sign a Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) letter against a boycott of the Sydney Festival over the festival’s sponsorship deal with the Israeli Embassy of Australia for a dancing show. The festival, which takes place from January 6-30, is a cultural celebration of artists in music, dance and theater in Australia and worldwide. The Palestinian Justice Movement is among those believe that the sponsorship means that the festival is “complicit in [Israel’s] strategy to art-wash its crimes and contributes to the normalization of an apartheid state.” More than 30 acts and individuals have withdrawn from the festival over the matter, according to The Guardian.
Read our media release: Palestine Justice Movement Sydney joins other Palestine solidarity-organisations in calling on audiences and performers to boycott @sydney_festival this January. We're also calling on festival directors to refuse complicity w Israeli apartheid & resign. pic.twitter.com/AquadkgjdY
— Palestine Justice Movement Sydney (@PalestineRising) December 22, 2021
Speaking with the Australian television program “Sunrise” on January 6, Simmons said that he respects people voicing their “political point of view.” “But don’t take it out on young people in the arts,” he said. “They have nothing to do with politics. When the Chinese send a dance troupe to Australia, you’re not gonna boycott them because you may have a point of view of how China treats certain people or the political stuff, leave that to the political pundits and let young talented people in the arts do what they do.” Simmons encouraged people to instead channel their political passions into writing “op-ed pieces … editorials, write letters of support to a certain political party and leave young talented people alone no matter where they come from.”
He added: “The arts should be free of political pressure. It’s a simple idea: I’m not curtailing your point of view, I just want you to stop bothering young people who are talented who have nothing to do with politics.”
"You're punishing young, talented people who have nothing to do with politics"
Kiss legend @genesimmons blasts anti-Israeli activists boycotting the @sydney_festival.
— Creative Community for Peace (@CCFPeace) January 7, 2022
The CCFP letter, which was published on January 6, was also signed by actress Noa Tishby, Disturbed frontman David Draiman and journalist Eve Barlow, among others. The letter stated, “This year, the spirit of the Festival is under attack by those calling for a boycott because the Israeli Embassy is sponsoring a world renowned Israeli dance ensemble. This call for a boycott turns the festival from an opportunity for unity into a weapon of division.” It later added that “art should never become subservient to politics and artists and cultural events should never be forced to be politicized. We believe the cultural boycott movement is an affront to both Palestinians and Israelis who are working to advance peace through compromise, exchange, and mutual recognition.” The letter concluded with a call for “the entertainment community to express their support for an exciting and successful Sydney Festival 2022 and to purchase a ticket and attend the festival itself to understand the power of arts to bring people together first-hand.”
CCFP Director Ari Ingel said in a statement, “The organizers of the Sydney Festival boycott intentionally misrepresent the truth about Israel and make provocative statements, to try and bully artists into backing out of the festival. Their messages deceptively involve an element of dishonesty and deny the truth of Jewish indigeneity to the land of Israel. Their actions only further hostility and dampen hope for peace, which all of us so urgently desire.”
The American Jewish Committee thanked the signatories of the CCFP letter in a tweet. “The BDS movement is rooted in antisemitism and openly seeks Israel’s destruction,” they wrote.
We thank the 120 artists and industry professionals who have condemned BDS efforts aimed at @Sydney_Festival.
The BDS movement is rooted in antisemitism and openly seeks Israel's destruction.
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) January 7, 2022
The Zionist Federation of Australia President Jeremy Leibler had sent his own letter as well, which stated, according to The Guardian: “The Sydney festival should be a safe space to celebrate the artistry and gifts of all peoples, including Israelis and Palestinians. Instead, the boycott organisers have attempted to make the festival culturally unsafe for anyone who believes in freedom of speech, and the freedom to have differences of opinion. It is appalling behaviour and the Jewish community condemns it outright.” He added that if the festival caves “into campaigns from these extremist groups, it will only encourage them to continue this behaviour. We have seen throughout history that while these campaigns start with Israel and the Jewish people, they very rarely end there.”
The festival’s board released a statement on January 4 stating that they decided to keep the Israeli-sponsored show because “all funding agreements for the current Festiva l… will be honored, and the performances will proceed. At the same time, the Board has also determined it will review its practices in relation to funding from foreign governments or related parties,” according to The Times of Israel.
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