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:Writers’ Support for Palestine
Several distinguished writers worldwide are among Palestine’s supporters. For example:
- Arundhati Roy, author of the renowned novel The God of Small Things: “Over these decades, there have been uprisings, wars, and intifadas. Tens of thousands have lost their lives. Agreements and treaties have been signed, ceasefires declared and violated, but the bloodshed does not end, and Palestine remains illegally occupied.”
- Alice Walker, author of The Color Purple and winner of the Pulitzer Prize: “A cultural boycott of Israeli institutions (not individuals) is the only option left for artists who cannot tolerate the inhuman cruelties Israel inflicts on Palestinians every day.”
- Naomi Klein, author for The New York Times and books such as No Logo and The Shock Doctrine: “It’s time! Long overdue! The best strategy to end the increasingly bloody occupation is to make Israel the target of a global movement that ended apartheid in South Africa.”
- Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: “We must condemn Israel’s actions: relentless violations of international law, continued occupation of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza, home demolitions, and land confiscation. We must cry out against the treatment of Palestinians!”
- Ahdaf Soueif, author of In the Eye of the Sun: “Accepting money from the Israeli government and treating it as a civilized patron of arts and culture, while it kills, tortures, and divides Palestinians, is aiding and abetting its crimes.”
- Teju Cole, author of Open City: “Palestinians must spend their entire lives negotiating something that should not be negotiable at all! The freedom to enter and exit the country, the right to self-determination, equal protection under the law.”
- Iain Banks, author of the science fiction novel The Wasp Factory: “The Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, created for ‘justice for the Palestinian people,’ is something I hope every decent and just person will support. These are our people, and we have turned our backs on their suffering for too long.”1
Support from Over 500 Writers for Palestine
In response to Israel’s inhumane actions against Palestinians, such as torture, apartheid, genocide, injustice, building separation walls, punishment without conviction, illegal settlements, devastating attacks, dissolution of the Palestinian nation, home demolitions, continuous intimidation, land theft, segregation of Palestinians, extrajudicial killings, and more, writers worldwide have supported Palestine over the years, as briefly outlined below:
- In 2019, a movement titled “The Time Has Come to Break the Silence on Palestine” emerged.
- 253 writers and hundreds of others signed a petition in 2016 for the release of poet Dareen Tatour from house arrest under the slogan “Poetry Is Not a Crime.”
- Over 100 artists (34 writers and 66 other signatories) boycotted Israel culturally in 2015 through a letter.
- Prominent Irish figures (2 writers and 11 other signatories) signed an open letter boycotting Israel in 2016.
- 199 writers and 17 others wrote a letter in 2016 titled “Do Not Be Israel’s Partner!” to the American PEN Center.
- One writer and 11 others in 2014 supported the protest by Grace Lee Boggs and Danny Glover against a film screening in Tel Aviv.
- 11 writers and 42 others signed a petition in 2014 in defense of Palestine.
- Naomi Klein in 2009 said: “Enough is enough! Now is the time for a boycott!”
- A call to action against Zionism was issued by indigenous feminists and women of color in 2011, signed by 5 writers and 6 others.
- Iain Banks launched a movement in 2013 titled “Why I Support the Cultural Boycott of Israel.”
- 75 writers and 129 others signed a petition in 2006 titled “Boycotting Israel May Be a Path to Peace.”
- A movement titled “Why Support the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel?” was launched in 2009.
- 19 writers condemned Zionism in a 2006 letter titled “Israel, Lebanon, and Palestine.”
In total, over 500 prominent writers worldwide have taken a stand against human rights violations in Palestine.2
Support from American Football Players for Palestine
One group of Palestine supporters includes celebrities and players from the National Football League (NFL), who are often invited to Palestinian occupied territories on government-sponsored promotional tours. For example, in 2017, Michael Bennett, a prominent American football player, rejected an invitation from the Israeli government to visit occupied Palestinian territories and encouraged six other players to do the same. Regarding his refusal, he said: “I will not go to Israel. I want to be a voice for the voiceless! Therefore, I cannot achieve my goal by traveling to Israel in this manner.”
The Greater Israel Project in the Past and Present
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