SBWN Endorses PACBI

By ScotBPOCwritersBlog, News
Background image: four colour blocks of red, black, white, and green to represent the colours of the Palestinian flag. SBWN logo is in the upper right corner. Text: SBWN Endorses PACBI.

The Scottish BPOC Writers Network endorses the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).  

Read this as a Google Doc here.

On 19 October 2023, we published our official statement of solidarity with Palestine and updated our Safer Spaces policy with the following: “Pro-occupation, pro-war, pro-colonialism, fascism, and white supremacist sentiments will not be permitted on our platforms and in our spaces.”

Since then, we have hosted solidarity spaces, teach outs, and other virtual events spotlighting Palestinian writers and creators. These are spaces to share resources and ideas, to hold space for collective grief, and to take collective action.

We also chose to make a number of structural changes to our organisation to fight censorship in the sector and continue to promote solidarity with Palestine (a more detailed public statement on these points is forthcoming). Additionally, we have also withdrawn from – and will continue to avoid – partnerships with arts festivals or organisations funded by institutions that profit from or support Israel’s illegal occupation of and genocide in Palestine.

Standing with Palestine and endorsing PACBI is not only aligned with, but central to our values as an anti-racist and anti-imperial organisation.

In line with these values, SBWN endorses the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).

About PACBI

 

The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) was initiated in 2004 to contribute to the struggle for Palestinian freedom, justice and equality. It advocates for a boycott of Israeli academic and cultural institutions for their deep and persistent complicity in Israel’s denial of Palestinian rights that are stipulated in international law.

PACBI is a founding member of the Palestinian BDS National Committee (BNC), and is tasked with overseeing the academic and cultural boycott aspects of BDS.

PACBI urges international artists, cultural workers and cultural organizations to boycott and work towards the cancellation of activities that involve apartheid Israel, its lobby groups and complicit institutions or that whitewash Israel’s human rights violations. This is a boycott of Israeli cultural institutions, not Israeli individuals. PACBI rejects on principle boycotts of individuals based on their identity (such as citizenship, race, gender, or religion) or opinion. 

Next Steps

 

SBWN calls on organisations in Scotland’s literary and cultural sector to support PACBI by resisting complicity in Israel’s genocide in Palestine. This includes:

  • Boycotting cultural events and products that are sponsored by an official Israeli body or complicit institution (e.g. a non-Israeli institution that profits from Israeli occupation and ethnic cleansing in Palestine)
  • Refusing funding from and partnership with Israeli institutions or complicit non-Israeli institutions
  • Boycotting “normalization” projects that portray the Palestinian people as bearing responsibility for their own oppression and genocide

 

We will look towards collective action with organisations in the arts and other sectors committed to upholding the humanity and liberation of the Palestinian people.

We will not boycott or target individual Israeli writers or creative practitioners on the basis of their nationality, race, or cultural identity.   

We will keep actively pursuing an ethical funding policy that ensures our funding sources do not contribute to and are not complicit in genocide, exploitation, extractive practices and/or practices that exacerbate the climate crisis. 

We will continue to stand against all forms of bigotry and dehumanisation, including anti-Semitism, xenophobia, Islamophobia, and racism.

We will uphold our commitment to collective liberation, decolonisation, and humanisation, which has been at the core of SBWN since its inception.

We will continue making every effort across our programming and administration to ensure that SBWN provides a safe, welcoming, accessible and nurturing community for writers of colour in Scotland.

The image features a hand-drawn illustration in colored pencil with floral elements and text. At the top, a purple tulip and a pink poppy bloom are connected by a vine. Written in capital green letters, the text states, "AS A CULTURAL ORGANISATION IN SCOTLAND WE PLEDGE TO SUPPORT." The central focus is the word "PACBI," rendered in bold red letters intertwined with green floral patterns. Below this, the text in green continues, "THE PALESTINIAN CAMPAIGN FOR THE ACADEMIC AND CULTURAL BOYCOTT OF ISRAEL." The bottom of the image showcases a detailed pink flower on the left and a red tulip-like flower bending towards the bottom right. The artwork carries an artisanal touch and communicates a pledge to support a specific political and social initiative.
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