Boycott the Batsheva Dance Company’s 2012 Tour

On January 26 2012, Adalah-NY sent a letter to the Brooklyn Academy of Music explaining why they should cancel their 2012 performances of the Batsheva Dance Company.

Initiative Videos: 

Adalah-NY Boycotts Batsheva, Brooklyn, March 7, 2012

Click to see video.
Adalah-NY is joined by the Palestinian Dabke Brigades and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra in a protest of Batsheva Dance Company at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Batsheva used music from Star Wars in their performance, so here is our rendition of the struggle between good and evil!
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Initiative Photos: 

Boycott Batsheva Dance Company Protest at Brooklyn Academy of Music , 3/7/2012

Pictures from our 2012 Boycott the Batsheva Dance Company protest at Brooklyn Academy of Music , 3/7/2012
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Initiative Press Releases: 

Batsheva Dance Company Urged to Cut Ties to Brand Israel Campaign or Face Boycott

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY, February 21 2012 - More than 20 organizations representing human rights activists and artists around the United States and Canada are calling on the Batsheva Dance Company to cut all ties to the Brand Israel campaign and take a stand against the Israeli government's violations of Palestinian rights.  Batsheva will begin a five week North American tour at the end of February, performing in San Francisco, Quebec City, Montréal, New York, Tulsa, Chicago, Austin and Scottsdale.

The boycott of Batsheva is a response to the Palestinian civil society call for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel, which is part of the growing Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement calling for a boycott of Israeli institutions and companies until demands for equality are met, including the end to the military occupation of Palestinian land, equal rights for Palestinian citizens of Israel, and the right of return for refugees, which is guaranteed by UN resolution 194.

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NY Activists Protest Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company at Brooklyn Academy of Music

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY, March 7, 2012 – Eighty New York human rights activists and cultural workers gathered tonight to protest Israel’s Batsheva Dance Company’s performance at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM). Calling on attendees to boycott Batsheva due to its complicity with Israeli human rights violations, activists sang, chanted, played music, and danced. Parodying a piece of Batsheva’s newest show, Hora, Adalah-NY was joined by the Columbia University Palestinian Dabke Brigades and the Rude Mechanical Orchestra in a costumed Star Wars-themed dance representing the struggle between good and evil. Protesters chanted, “Their range of motion cannot hide / Their support for apartheid!” and “BAM, you’ve got to draw the line / Freedom for Palestine!”

Attendees were handed mock programs, whose cover identifies Batsheva as a “cultural ambassador for Israel.” Inside, the program explains why the group is being boycotted, and celebrates artists who have respected the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) call, including Gil Scott Heron, Roger Waters, and Cassandra Wilson. Upon reading the program, one attendee remarked, “If I had known, I wouldn’t have bought my ticket.” Dozens of others stopped to watch from the steps of BAM. At 7:35 p.m., five minutes after the performance was scheduled to begin, BAM staff informed protesters that the music and chanting had delayed the start of the show.

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Initiative Documents: 

Open letter from North American organizations: Batsheva, Take a strong, unequivocal stance against Israel’s treatment of Palestinians

February 21, 2012

To Batsheva Dance Company:

We are writing as human rights activists and artists from North American cities that you plan to visit on your upcoming tour. Palestinian civil society has issued a call for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel, modeled on the call for the boycott of apartheid South Africa. Respecting that call, we urge you to cut all ties to the Brand Israel campaign and take a stand against the Israeli government’s violations of Palestinian rights. Until you do so, we will not welcome you in our cities and will organize a boycott of your performances due to your collaboration with the Israeli state.

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Letter to Brooklyn Academy of Music asking them to cancel Batsheva Dance Company’s upcoming performance, January 2012

Alan H. Fishman
Chairman of the Board
Brooklyn Academy of Music

Karen Brooks Hopkins
President
Brooklyn Academy of Music

January 26, 2012

Dear Mr. Fishman and Ms. Brooks,

We are a group of New York City-based human rights activists and artists supporting the struggle for justice, human rights, equality and democracy in the Middle East.  As residents of New York City, including Brooklyn, we greatly appreciate the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s (BAM) long history as a progressive arts institution that supports diversity, equal rights, environmental consciousness and grassroots community action. We are writing with respect to Batsheva Dance Company’s upcoming performance at BAM.

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Reply from Brooklyn Academy of Music regarding Adalah-NY's request to cancel the Batsheva Dance Company's 2012 performances.

Mr. Patrick Connors, Adalah-NY

Dear Mr. Connors,

Thank you for your letter regarding BAM's upcoming presentation of Batsheva Dance Company. I appreciate that you recognize BAM's history as a progressive arts organization and its commitment to diversity. Our core mission is an artistic one; we recognize the work of Batsheva as we recognize and support artistic work from dozens of countries and cultures.

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Second letter to Brooklyn Academy of Music responding to their reply re: Batsheva performances 2012

Alan H. Fishman
Chairman of the Board
Brooklyn Academy of Music

Karen Brooks Hopkins
President
Brooklyn Academy of Music

February 6, 2012

Dear Ms. Brooks,

Thank you for your February 2nd e-mail responding to Adalah-NY’s January 26th letter in which we called on you to cancel the Batsheva Dance Company’s upcoming performances at BAM. Adalah-NY supports the Palestinian civil society call for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions, such as the Batsheva Dance Company, that are complicit in Israel’s violation of international law and denial of Palestinian rights, and that refuse to take a stand against Israel’s systematic discrimination against the Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories, within Israel, and as refugees in the diaspora.

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Initiative Downloadable Files: 

Batsheva Mock Program, 2012

A mock program handed out to performance attendees at our Batsheva protest on March 7, 2012.
...View & Download>>>
Initiative Press Coverage: 

Local groups urge boycott of Israel's Batsheva Dance

Publication: 
WBEZ

The Palestine Solidarity Group-Chicago and the Chicago Movement for Palestinian Rights are urging Chicagoans to just say no to Batsheva Dance Company, based in Tel Aviv, Israel. Last week, in an open letter to Batsheva, Adalah-NY: The New York Campaign for the Boycott of Israel asked the company to "take a stand against the Israeli government’s violations of Palestinian rights."

Batsheva Dance Company's Aggressive Art

Publication: 
Mother Jones

The Israeli contemporary dance company Batsheva has enthralled audiences internationally with its visceral choreography and raw style of movement. But the company is facing a less-than-warm welcome in many of the stops on its current five-week North American tour on account of the fact that it's partially backed by the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which funds a "Brand Israel" campaign to send artists overseas in order to "show Israel’s prettier face, so we are not thought of purely in the context of war."

NLN Article & Video, Batsheva Boycott Protest, 3/7/12

Publication: 
NLN

Protesting “Art For Apartheid’s Sake,” a group of activists visited the Brooklyn Academy of Music on Wednesday evening — with signs and song the 80 protesters told BAM and the Batsheva Dance Company to “Stop Dancing Around Apartheid.”

Initiative Events: 

Protest Batsheva Dance Company's 2012 performances at the Brooklyn Academy of Music

Wednesday, March 7, 2012 - 6:45pm - 7:45pm

 

Save the Date!

Join Adalah-NY to protest a performance by Batsheva, "Israel’s leading cultural ambassador".

In an exchange of letters with Adalah-NY, Batsheva's host, the Brooklyn Academy of Music, tried the excuse that Batsheva's performance won't "further a political agenda", but there's no denying it's part of the "Brand Israel" propaganda campaign. 

In solidarity with the Palestinian call for cultural boycott, don't let Israel use dance to whitewash apartheid!

Click here to read the exchange between Adalah-NY and the President of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Karen Hopkins.

This event is part of Israeli Apartheid Week. See the full NYC calendar HERE.

Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM)
30 Lafayette Avenue
Brooklyn, NY
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Campaign:
Cultural Boycott
Start Date: 
January 26, 2012
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BAM, Batsheva Dance Company