Cultural boycott surge: Israeli artists cut off from global stage after October 7

Boaz Berman founded dance troupe Mayumana in 1996. The troupe mixes rhythm, music, and dance and has had many successful partnerships with other dance groups, performing all over the world. Until recently, that is.

“After Oct. 7, we had groups that didn’t want to work with us anymore,” explains Berman. “We used to work in Spain a lot. Everyone knew us. We formed a partnership with a Spanish cast and production. Suddenly, they refused to continue working with anything that connects them with Israel.

“They asked us to publish that we support Palestine, and when we answered that we don’t mix politics – we do art – they dissolved the affiliation. They said they cannot work with us anymore.

“This was a big blow,” he adds. “We have been working with people from all over the world – Spain, South America, and Australia. Political opinions should not be a part of the show.”

Berman is, unfortunately, not the only artist being affected by what is a “not so silent” boycott of Israel. Artists and academics interviewed for this article confirm that no matter what their politics are, Israelis from many different arenas are being affected.

One academic, who asked not to be named, questioned whether writing an article about the boycotts might actually do more harm than good.

“The more we talk about it, the more friends and colleagues we lose,” he warns. “Researchers refuse to publish with us. Submissions from Israelis are rejected in the arts and humanities, even the sciences. We are at the lowest point in these vicious boycotts if the war continues.

“Anyone who cooperates with you is a brave person,” he says.

“Israel is a damaged product, persona non grata. Fewer and fewer people are invited to European events and affiliations,” he states.

But if we ignore these boycotts, how will we ever be able to address the situation? How can we encourage young people to go into the arts, music, and sciences? Which is why, after speaking to this academic, I decided: “The article must go on.”

Full disclosure: As an author who has hit walls while pitching my book and screenplay about a woman who “accidentally” joins the IDF, I had my own experience with rejection. An executive and former colleague at a motion picture studio advised me to “shelve it.”

“Private Benjamin does the IDF?” she said. “Forget it. I can’t sell anything pertaining to Israel these days. Put it away until the situation changes.”

Several agents I reached out to confided that no publisher in their right mind will touch a novel with an Israeli hero or storyline these days.

A well-known international publisher, who refused to go on record, told me she got serious “hate mail” on social media after publishing a book by a hostage documenting his experiences of the Hamas-led mega-attacks on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. 

“Art used to be what brought us together,” adds Berman, “but now they use the art platform to air their extreme political opinions. Now, if you have something that connects you to Israel, you are not considered a human being. Prior to Oct. 7, people were sending us offers. When they hear we are based in Tel Aviv, they refuse to talk to us anymore.

“We had demonstrations outside of theaters where we were performing overseas before,” he continues. “Back then, I went out and tried to talk to them. They told me that they didn’t know why they were there, but they got paid 50 euros to stand there with a sign. Now it feels more dangerous. We feel hatred.”

Michal Bar-Asher Siegal, a professor of Talmud and vice president of Global Engagement at Ben-Gurion University, is tasked with connecting the university with other academic institutions around the world. She oversees contracts for faculty and student exchanges.

She said only one-third of the agreements they had from two years ago are in effect today.
“When I talk to universities that want to shut us down, I put time and effort into explaining that boycotting academia is the stupidest thing you can do,” she says. “We have Arab students sitting beside Jewish students. By canceling programs, they are damaging coexistence. They hurt the people who would benefit from it the most.”

Bar-Asher Siegal says she is doing the best she can to move things forward with her academic peers at other universities. “The State of Israel has to realize that this is a real danger,” she says. “If Israeli academia gets shut down, scholars will leave Israel, doctors will leave. When scholars from one field leave, the entire field dies in Israel.”

Despite the difficulties, some artists and professors are fighting the boycotts in various ways, working hard to bring Israeli messages and personalities to the world. But it isn’t easy.

One solution, suggested by Dov Maimon, senior fellow at the Jewish People Policy Institute, is to play to Israel’s supporters, the evangelists, the individuals and countries that already like us, instead of reaching out to the ones who hate.

“Jews want to be loved in the eyes of the other,” explains Maimon. “People don’t love us. It’s like a girlfriend who is just not that into you.

“We don’t need them. We must stop looking for love. It’s a big sickness of the Diaspora. Some 800 million evangelists, Argentina, Panama – we have allies; we just must find a strategy to reach out to all our allies. The strength lies with us.”

Bar-Asher Siegal says that the problem is that Israel, which was once considered to share European values, is no longer perceived that way.

“European values are defined in the European Union agenda,” Bar-Asher Siegal says. “It’s about liberal and democratic views. Laws and proclamations made by this government go against these values.”

Counters Maimon: “Europe and Israel drew opposite lessons from the Holocaust. Europeans concluded that collective identities – nations, borders, religion – are dangerous. Their answer was to move beyond all that: fewer borders, post-national ideals, universal individual rights.

“Jews concluded the opposite: Minorities can’t trust superpowers to defend them. A people without a state, an army, and sovereignty is defenseless. Israel was built on that lesson.

“The real question is whether Israel can afford the John Lennon ‘Imagine’ model in a region where our neighbors don’t share those values. And frankly, these so-called “European values” – secularized Christian values – are no longer working in Europe itself.

“Europeans see Israel as a mirror held up to their pacifist ideals. What reflects back horrifies them. Rather than question their model, they recoil, terrified of being contaminated by what Israel represents.”

When asked about entertainers who may be planning to support Israel, Alon Amir, who has represented delegations at the Eurovision song contest, was concerned about a possible backlash. “It’s a double-edged sword,” he says. “We want to promote the people who support us – but we don’t want to hurt them by exposing them to the hatemongers.

“We, as Israelis, know how to deal with it,” he points out. “[Others] may be caught off guard. It is important to show how much we appreciate their support.”

He mentions that Anne Marie David, who won Eurovision for Luxembourg in 1973, is scheduled to perform in Israel on May 14 in Nazareth with the Ra’anana Symphony Orchestra.

Appreciate that it takes a certain mettle on their part to side with Israel when the rest of the world is against us. The supporters who love us must be stoic and brave to face the backlash that comes with taking our side. Jews and Israelis should show them our love.

Berman says, “Argentina is the only place I don’t feel any hate. We are trying to do something local with them. There were major terror attacks there, but the president is a huge supporter.” This, he says, makes all the difference.

Since people who used to be in touch don’t want to connect anymore, Berman says his dance troupe is focusing on working more locally. “Hopefully, things will turn around, and we can tour again, even though for now, internationally, it doesn’t look good.”

The Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), a nonprofit, promotes the arts as a means to peace, to support artistic freedom, and believes in artists and their ability to affect lives and effect change.

It was founded by David Renzer, CEO and former chairman of Universal Music Publishing Group, together with David Shnur, the worldwide executive and music president of Electronic Arts. The board of the group is made up of independent entertainment executives. The CCFP advisory board is global, with members from many countries, including Spain and Germany.

According to Ari Ingel, entertainment attorney, music manager, and executive director of CCFP, artists are particularly “soft targets,” as they are frequently active on social media – engaged with fans and vulnerable to threats of boycotts, unlike business moguls like the CEO of Unilever or Coca-Cola, who aren’t engaging with fans online.

Boycotts have been around for years, notes Ingel. When CCFP was formed, entertainers signing to do shows were getting bombarded with demands to cancel. But, he says, the campaigns have become louder and more aggressive. Social media amplifies the noise and creates a threatening atmosphere for anyone who dares to voice a pro-Israel opinion.

He says that these are coordinated campaigns designed to silence any artist who positively stands up for Israel. When a favorable or supportive comment for Israel is made, a large, willing, and well-funded activist community uses bots, trolls, and fake accounts to counter the pro-Israel comment, to commandeer the usually massive social media account of the celebrity.

He cites Pink as an example. The singer made pro-Israel statements and was promptly attacked by the BDS crowds on social media, who commandeered her influential feed as a bully pulpit. “Later, when she wrote on her status, ‘Happy Hanukkah,’ they overran her social media. And this is how ‘anti-Zionist’ rhetoric shifted to antisemitism.”

As I write this article, I receive news that a planned benefit concert to raise funds for victims of the antisemitic shooting attack on Sydney’s Bondi Beach has been canceled. The event was scrapped after a majority of the 50-member Australian Hellenic Choir voted against performing alongside the Sydney Jewish Choral Society.

Many members cited political objections to sharing the stage with the Jewish choir, while others said they did not feel safe participating in a joint performance with Jews. Note, they said “with Jews” – not “with Israelis.”

The Venice Biennale, often called the “Olympics of the art world,” is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious contemporary art exhibitions. Founded in 1895 and held in Venice, the art biennale alternates every other year with the Architecture Biennale. This week, it was announced that the international jury for the 61st Venice Biennale (2026) ruled that Israel and Russia are ineligible for its top prizes, including the prestigious Golden Lion for Best National Pavilion.

The jury stated it will not consider works from countries whose leaders face charges of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court. While the statement did not name specific countries, the rule effectively applies to Israel and Russia. Critics argue the measure does not go far enough, as they continue to demand the full exclusion of both nations’ pavilions. Israel’s representative has objected, calling the policy discriminatory.

The three pillars of the CCFP are to counter the cultural boycott of Israel; counter antisemitism; and build bridges, not between the vocal activists but among groups that may be misinformed and reflect the messaging of activists who have no understanding of the issues.

“We can’t change every mind, but we can change the people who are willing to learn, engage, and make changes,” Ingel says.

“There are actually only a small minority of activists who are very loud,” he notes. “The large, silent majority doesn’t harbor ill will toward Israel. Activists obsessively post. As for the anti-Zionist Jewish community – they make it seem like there’s a 50/50 divide, but over 88% support Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. The anti-Zionist Jewish community is less than 10%.”

Proof of the “silent majority,” Ingels says, is the Netflix hit Fauda. “The established streaming show would likely not get picked up as a new show being pitched today. That demonstrates that there is a silent majority – the masses are still watching. BDS won’t influence the head of Netflix to pull Fauda. It generates too much money and has become a number-one show.”

CCFP pushes back using technology, legal methods, but most of all, people. Its robust network of top entertainment figures are frequently able to shut down boycott campaigns before they gain momentum.

When musician Roger Waters, a vociferous critic of Israel, signed to BMG Music, the CCFP went straight to the top – to CEO Thomas Coesfeld, the head of Bertelsmann, the conglomerate media company that owns BMG. Shortly afterward, BMG parted ways with Waters, largely due to his controversial comments regarding Israel, Ukraine, and the United States. BMG canceled its plans to release Waters’s re-recorded version of The Dark Side of the Moon.

“You have to hold people accountable for their actions,” says Ingel. “When you foment extreme antisemitism, and there are documented repercussions, you make it stop. We can’t change every mind, but we can change the people who are willing to learn, engage, and make changes.”

If only established hits and artists can succeed in this environment, where does that leave tomorrow’s Jewish and Israeli talent? The artists? The musicians? The dancers? The performers? Will they ever get a chance to bring their art to the world?

Art reflects life – the good, bad, pretty, and ugly. It connects us, creates understanding and coexistence. If artists are stifled and only one-sided rhetoric is allowed, the damage will extend far beyond Israel; it will impoverish cultural discourse worldwide.

As the Start-Up Nation, Israel must now focus its efforts on creating new opportunities for emerging Jewish and Israeli talent, within Israel and beyond, with new ways to disseminate their art to the people and countries who love and appreciate us. 

“Being silent is one of the horrible realities that has gotten us to this point now,” says engineer Joel Monta. “There’s an industry against Jews. It’s financed, well planned, and the funding comes from domestic and international sources.”

Monta, who divides his time between Israel and Europe, founded the initiative to combat what he calls a “tsunami of lies” and rising antisemitism, particularly in Europe. One group of musicians and songwriters came together to counter the falsehoods.

“If a picture is worth a thousand words, a song is worth a thousand pictures,” he says. Working with around two dozen professionals and passionate amateurs, including Christian collaborators and overlooked talent from TV singing contests, the group formed Right Side Music and Make American Music Great Again, a platform streaming music that is aimed at Christian and conservative audiences.

Additionally, they recently launched a song list of 20 popular hit “pro-Israel” songs that are being offered free of charge for pro-Israel official and unofficial organizations.

The project, which, according to its website, is backed by conservative Republicans, blends Judeo-Christian values with a strong defense of Israel. It produces songs across genres, from country ballads and faith-based tracks to pulsating techno aimed at younger listeners. Recent releases directly confront propaganda released by anti-Israel activists.

Monta believes music offers a powerful, fast-moving tool in the information war. “In a divided world,” he says, “these melodies offer harmony – and a path to victory for the truth.”

Songs can be accessed at right-side-music.com.■