"For the past two years the state of Israel has been conducting a genocidal campaign in Gaza that has been vastly disproportionate to the murderous provocation of 7 October 2023. This campaign, conducted by the IDF, appears to have had the enthusiastic support of the vast majority of Israel's population. For this reason it is not possible for any considerable sector of Israeli society, including its intellectual and arts community, to claim that it should not share in the blame for the atrocities in Gaza."
"Until recently Israel enjoyed a broad measure of support in the West. I would number myself among such supporters: I kept telling myself that surely the day was coming when the Israeli people would have a change of heart and deliver some form of justice to the Palestinian people whose land they had taken over. It was in this spirit that I visited Jerusalem in 1987 to receive the Jerusalem prize."
"The campaign of annihilation in Gaza has changed all that. Long-time supporters of Israel have turned away in revulsion at the actions of the Israeli military. It will take many years for Israel to clear its name."
JM Coetzee, an 86-year-old Nobel Prize-winning author, declined an invitation to the Jerusalem International Writers Festival in May, writing a detailed letter to organizers explaining his decision. Coetzee characterized Israel's military campaign in Gaza as genocidal and vastly disproportionate to the October 7, 2023 provocation. He argued that Israeli society, including its intellectual and arts communities, bears collective responsibility for atrocities in Gaza. Coetzee, who previously supported Israel and visited Jerusalem in 1987 to receive the Jerusalem Prize, stated that the campaign of annihilation has fundamentally changed his position. He emphasized that long-time Western supporters of Israel have withdrawn their support in response to the military's actions, and that Israel will require many years to restore its reputation.
#israel-gaza-conflict #cultural-boycott #nobel-laureate-activism #palestinian-rights #international-literary-community
Read at www.theguardian.com
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