Why boycott culture?
Ian McEwan’s acceptance of the Jerusalem Prize raised a storm of protest. We debate the motion ‘Cultural boycott can be an effective, indeed morally imperative, political strategy’.
Sunday 10th July, 7pm
Purcell Room, South Bank Centre, London
Book tickets (£10 plus £1.75 booking fee for non-members; concessions half price)
Speaking for the motion:
- Omar Barghouti, human rights activist and author of Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions – The Global Struggle for Palestinian Rights
- Seni Seneviratne, poet, author of Wild Cinammon and Winter Skin
Speaking against the motion:
- Carol Gould, broadcaster and author of Don’t Tread on Me – Anti-Americanism Abroad
- Jonathan Freedland, a columnist for the Guardian, and author of six books including Jacob’s Gift.
Engage 
July 8, 2011 at 5:44 pm
Omar Barghouti is the one who goes to an Israeli university, right? I hope someone calls him out on that, and ask if they should boycott him and his work.
July 8, 2011 at 6:09 pm
http://www.ianmcewan.com/bib/articles/jerusalemprize.html
One word equals a million token gestures. But, I guess it is easier to sit in London and stop others saying them.
July 8, 2011 at 9:18 pm
http://richardmillett.wordpress.com/2011/03/08/omar-bharghouti-the-non-boycotting-israel-boycotter/
July 8, 2011 at 10:47 pm
https://engageonline.wordpress.com/2011/07/08/goldsmiths-made-me-a-fundamentalist-noam-edry/
“When I attended a meeting of the Palestine Twinning Campaign at Goldsmiths I felt like it was 1939 all over again. I was expecting a real dialogue but instead they were calling for academic boycotts of Israel, they were rallying young students who were desperate to be passionate about something to silence people like me; to silence artists and intellectuals who believe in human beings and mutual tolerance, who are the real hope for peace and for a bright future. I was horrified. What next? Would they start burning Israeli books? I promptly made the work “Save the Date” where I dressed up as a giant boycotted Israeli date and pleaded with my fellow artists to eat me. I performed it twice at Goldsmiths but the second performance was boycotted by the students. What utter absurdity, I thought: to boycott a performance about boycotting!”