The 2022 Sydney Festival kicks off on 6 January, but it will be without a number of productions and performers who have withdrawn from the festival in support of a boycott. More than 25 acts have now distanced themselves from the festival in protest over a $20,000 donation from Israel’s Australian embassy to support Sydney Dance Company’s production of Decadance, by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin.
Among the artists and organisations to withdraw from the festival are Bankstown-based street dance crew Hybrid Formz, South Asian dance company Bindi Bosses, comedians Nazeem Hussain and Tom Ballard, journalists and commentators including Amy McQuire, Yumi Stynes, and former NSW politician Meredith Burgmann.
?Let’s celebrate all the fantastic artists who have pulled out of @sydney_festival for accepting money from apartheid Israel. Give them some love, follow them on socials, and most importantly make sure you buy tickets to their future shows!
— Fahad Ali (@fahad_s_ali) January 4, 2022
In addition, a number of events have chosen to go ahead but withdraw themselves from the festival. Two events taking place at...
I have two issues with this. Firstly, this boycott (over a $20K grant!) will achieve precisely nothing. It’s pure virtue signalling. Secondly, the accusations against Israel just don’t stack up when you consider the way other nations are treated. If these principles were applied consistently, “progressive” voices would be boycotting Palestinian content on the basis of human rights abuses and lack of liberal democratic governance. That too would be a serious mistake. So why the special treatment for Israel?