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London Protest Exposes #TLVinLDN Festival As Israeli Government 'brand Israel' Propaganda Festinminds  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS
Israel’s Strategic Affairs and Security Minister Gilad Erdan has said this festival is the biggest Israeli cultural event to be held outside of Israel, and that its purpose is to counter the Palestinian led cultural boycott of Israel. Israeli media has confirmed that Israel’s UK Ambassador Mark Regev is the driving force behind the festival. Inminds chair Abbas Ali said "If this is a cultural event why is it organised by Israel's Strategic Affairs Ministry which is charged with leading Israel's war against BDS? We will not allow our city to be used as a propaganda tool for this murderous racist apartheid regime. The festival is advertised as a celebration of Tel Aviv. But it does not mention Tel Aviv is built on the ethnically cleansed, stolen land, of the Palestinian town of Jaffa and 9 other Palestinian villages. Today over a million Palestinian refugees (15% of the total) can trace their origin back to Jaffa. The festival is a shameful celebration of the destruction of those lives." Arts and culture has always been an important weapon in the Israeli government’s public relations campaign. The Israeli Foreign Ministry's Deputy Director General Nissim Ben-Sheetrit announced in 2005 that "We see culture as a propaganda tool of the first rank, and I do not differentiate between propaganda and culture", and in 2006, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched an multi-million dollar initiative called “Brand Israel,” whereby culture is used to whitewash an apartheid state founded on the ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people and occupation of their land. Arye Mekel of Israel’s Foreign Ministry explained “We will send well-known novelists and writers overseas, theater companies, exhibits… This way you show Israel’s prettier face, so we are not thought of purely in the context of war.” The Tel Aviv in London festival has nothing to do with culture, and everything to do with this ‘Brand Israel’ project. In April 2004 Palestinian civil society called for a cultural boycott of Israel as a peaceful means to pressure Israel to comply with international law. This has been very successful with artists refusing on principle to perform for apartheid Israel and venues refusing to host Israeli government funded cultural events. But shamefully Roundhouse has ignored this called and decided to host the apartheid state. Many leading artists are appalled by this decision..
Musician Roger Waters :‘Back in the day, Pink Floyd performed on the night the Roundhouse opened in 1966, the launch of International Times. This week, more than half a century later, that iconic space, so identified with freedom of expression and resistance to authoritarianism will be handed over for use by the State of Israel, a state that crushes artists through military occupation. It is unconscionable that a state that has held millions of people under siege for over a decade in Gaza, and operates apartheid throughout historic Palestine, should be allowed to use the Roundhouse as part of its propaganda effort to normalize its crimes against humanity. Resist!’ Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS Musician Thurston Moore:‘I was honoured to play at the Roundhouse ten years ago with my band Sonic Youth and earlier this year with my London based group, it’s a legendary venue that has long had a crucial role in the radical cultural heritage of London. With this impending decision for the Roundhouse to present TLV in LDN, which supports a decidedly political anti-Palestinian human rights agenda, I am curious, would the current directors have also granted the apartheid regime in South Africa their venue to whitewash egregious human rights violations in this blatant way?’Playwright Caryl Churchill‘The Roundhouse and the public should realise that TLV in London is a political event not just a “cultural” one. The Israeli government works hard to improve its image abroad and promotes arts events in an attempt to distract attention from its illegal settlements and extraordinary repression of Palestinians. The Roundhouse should consider if it wants to support this, and if the event does go ahead people should buy tickets only if they are happy to buy into Israel’s brutal policies.’Writer and comedian Alexei Sayle‘The Tel Aviv festival is being staged on behalf of a government that holds millions of Palestinians under military occupation and siege and denies basic human rights to millions more. Its organisers say we should “indulge our senses and discover the delights of this jewel of the Med.” The directors of the Roundhouse should feel ashamed that they have allowed themselves to become part of the propaganda machine for this monstrous apartheid regime.’Actor David Calder‘War crime apologist Regev [Ambassador Mark Regev, former government spokesperson] wants us to turn our eyes and actions away from the ‘bad stuff’ about Israel. By this he means their brutal Occupation and desire to eliminate entirely the Palestinian ‘problem’. The Roundhouse should have nothing to do with this propaganda fantasy-fest.’Film Director Ken Loach:‘This festival is not about art but political propaganda. It is set up by the Israeli government as a distraction from its theft of land and brutal oppression of Palestinians. Particularly despicable is the presence of Mark Regev, notorious apologist for Israeli war crimes. The Roundhouse should have the guts to cancel this charade.’Musician Lowkey‘Attempts by Israel and its apologists to seduce people through the arts and invisibilise the plight of Palestinian generations withering in a political hinterland through well funded and publicised events are not new phenomena. They are part of a wider campaign to decontextualise the Zionist project and present the distinctly political and as merely cultural. Hosting events such as this is an unambiguously political stance and all venues should be aware of this. From this platform I and many others publicly call on the Roundhouse and all hosting venues to discontinue their involvement in this insidious apologism for the usurpation of Palestinian rights to free movement, self-determination and safe housing.’Writer and film director Mike Leigh‘The Roundhouse should know better.’[ These artists statements are courtesy of Artists For Palestine ]  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS THE PROTESTThe protest was a great success. The public were very supportive with hundreds of leaflets being snapped up in no time. They were shocked their local venue, the Roundhouse, was conspiring with an apartheid regime in this propaganda exercise. The private zionist security force CST were charged by Israel to provide the security for the event. One of their lieutenants tried to convince the police that our banners calling Israel an apartheid state were anti-semetic and should be taken down, the police refused to indulge in such nonsense and ignored him. At one point the organiser of the Israel event busted out of the venue in rage when he saw our Palestinian flags flying outside, screaming we stop displaying the flags as "this was England". Unbelievably he demanded to see our passports as if it was a checkpoint in occupied Palestine. He continued his racist diatribe with the police saying we are disrespectful to this country, to the Queen, to Christianity, to Judaism, that we dont share their values and hate them. He demanded the police arrest us, that we didnt have a permit whilst he had paid money, we were in front of his place . When one of the activists shouted 'Free Palestine' he screamed at the police ' look look now she is yelling.. is this normal". The police explained it was a public footpath and we had a right to protest. In disbelief he barked 'thats crazy'. When an activist interjected 'this is not Israel' he responded "it should not be [allowed] here either". The abuse the zionists shouted at us further antagonised members of the public who came to our defence.. some joining our protest. One person seated in the upper floor of a bus that had stopped behind our protest, waiting for the traffic lights to change, was so incensed by the zionist bullying, that he stuck his head out of the small window to shout them down. VIDEO: London Protest Exposes #TLVinLDN Festival As Israeli Government 'brand Israel' Propaganda Fest Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS  Protest against 'Tel Aviv in London' #TLVinLDN festival outside Camden's Roundhouse #BDS
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