Ramat Gan Deputy Mayor Tzachi Zelika, a representative of the left-wing Meretz party who is in charge of the city's cultural portfolio, announced today (Wednesday) that he would give priority to "nationalists" who participated in the anti-judicial reform protests in choosing which artists would be invited to perform.
In a Facebook post, Zelika wrote: "When the Education Minister attempts to fire the chairman of Yad Vashem because he invited Keren Peles, who participated in the protests against the coup d'état, when Netta Barzilai, who performed for the Kaplan Force, receives boycott threats, when artists express supports for the protests are threatened, we will embrace them in Ramat Gan."
He added: "As the holder of the culture portfolio, I promoted diverse events in different neighborhoods and at different times, including on the weekends, now we have another task - to embrace the artists who have those who wish to harm them."
"I promise that the first people we will contact for performances in Ramat Gan will be the artists who participated in the protests. When Sara Netanyahu tries to harm the livelihood of Keren Peles, we will respond by inviting her to Ramat Gan.
"An artist's opinion should not harm his livelihood, and in the face of threats and boycotts, there should be a strong response. I pledge that this will be the case in Ramat Gan, and I call on other municipalities to join us and inform the government and the supporters of the coup that we will embrace anyone they try to harm," he concluded.