Oslo Festival Rejects Israeli Dancers, Citing Efforts To ‘Whitewash’ Occupation
Oslo, Norway Image by youtube
(JTA) — An arts festival focusing on femininity and gender identity in Oslo, Norway rejected the participation of six Israeli choreographers, saying Israel uses culture to “whitewash” its treatment of the Palestinians.
The six Israeli artists who applied to participate in the “Feminine Tripper” festival — Eden Wiseman, Roni Rotem, Nitzan Lederman, Maayan Cohen Marciano, Adi Shildan and Maia Halter — received copies of a letter from the organizers saying that Israel “uses culture as a form of propaganda to whitewash or justify its regime of occupation and oppression of the Palestinian people.”
As a result, wrote organizers Kristiane Nerdrum Bøgwald and Margrete Slettebø, “We cannot with a clear conscience invite Israeli participants when we know that artists from the occupied Palestinian territories struggle with very restricted access to travel to international art venues and that they have little opportunity to communicate their art outside of the occupied territories.”
The festival opens on Saturday.
The choreographers called the rejection “reverse discrimination,” saying it holds artists accountable for the actions of their governments.
“Would you reject a Saudi artist for Saudi restrictions on women’s rights? Would you reject an American artist for the American policies regarding the ‘Muslim ban’ regulations?” they wrote in a letter, obtained by Ynet.
The organizers acknowledged receiving the Israeli reply but said that they could not address it until the festival was over because of their current heavy workload, Ynet reported.
I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.
Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.
At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and the protests on college campuses.
Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.
Make a gift of any size and become a Forward member today. You’ll support our mission to tell the American Jewish story fully and fairly.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO
Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
