RAMALLAH: On Saturday a petition began circulating throughout the web calling on Joy Harjo to cancel a performance in Israel. Harjo, a Native American poet, musician, and writer, is scheduled to perform at Tel Aviv University on Monday December 10th. The petition, published on Change.org, was issued by the United States Campaign for an Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI). It is part of a broader Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement that encourages challenging Israel with tactics similar to those use to bring down the South African apartheid regime. BDS activists accuse artists and musicians who perform in Israel of entertaining the ongoing occupation of Palestinian land. Two weeks ago, a previous petition spread rapidly through the internet and resulted in American musician Stevie Wonder cancelling a performance for the Friends of the Israeli Defense Forces (FIDF), an organization that seeks to raise money for the Israeli military. The full text of the petition is available below.
