In recent days, a group of Israeli artists living around the world has issued an open letter calling on various artists to boycott the Pop Culture Festival held in Berlin every year.
According to the signatories to the letter, including writers, poets, musicians, film makers, and more, foreign artists should boycott the cultural and pop festival due to the fact that the Israeli Embassy in Berlin is one of its sponsors.
"We support the Palestinian call to boycott the Berlin festival in 2019, given Israel's racist policies. As long as the Pop Culture Festival continues to co-operate with the Israeli Embassy, all performances in the festival will be utilized by the Israeli government as part of its efforts to launder its occupation and re-brand itself through culture,” according to the open letter posted on the Artists for Palestine blog in the UK.
Some of the artists whose signature appears on the letter also called to boycott the Eurovision this year in Tel Aviv, and operatives are calling for a boycott of cultural shows under Israeli patronage or that take place in Israel.
Organizers of the Pop Culture Festival in Berlin announced that they "are not alarmed by the call for a boycott" and that the festival will be held as usual.