You report (10 December) President Macron’s comment that recent US moves on the status of Jerusalem are a threat to peace. They are much more than that. In recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Donald Trump seeks to achieve through a declaration what Israel has been trying to do for 50 years through force of arms: to erase Palestinians, as a political and cultural presence, from the life of their own city. The Palestinian people of Jerusalem are already subject to municipal discrimination at every level, and a creeping process of ethnic cleansing.
In addition to the continuing policy of house demolitions, in the last 15 years at least 35 Palestinian public institutions and NGOs in occupied East Jerusalem have been permanently or temporarily closed by the occupying forces.
Cultural institutions have been a particular target. At the same time, Israeli authorities and entrepreneurs have spent millions in clearing Palestinian neighbourhoods to create “heritage” projects that promote a myth of mono-ethnic urban identity, said to stretch back 3,000 years.
We reject Trump’s collusion with such racist manipulation and his disregard for international law. We deplore his readiness to crown the Israeli military conquest of East Jerusalem and his indifference to Palestinian rights. As artists and as citizens, we challenge the ignorance and inhumanity of these policies, and celebrate the resilience of Palestinians living under occupation.
Tunde Adebimpe Musician
Nick Broomfield Film director
Caryl Churchill Playwright
Julie Christie Actor
Molly Crabapple Writer and artist
Angela Davis Writer
Brian Eno Musician
Eve Ensler Playwright
Peter Gabriel Musician
Mona Hatoum Visual artist
Aki Kaurismaki Film director
AL Kennedy Writer
Hari Kunzru Writer
Mike Leigh Writer, director
Ken Loach Film director
Liz Lochhead Poet, playwright
Emel Mathlouthi Musician
Thurston Moore Musician
Maxine Peake Actor
Michael Rosen Poet
Mark Ruffalo Actor
James Schamus Screenwriter, producer, director
Gillian Slovo Writer
Ahdaf Soueif Writer
Juliet Stevenson Actor
Tilda Swinton Actor
Marina Warner Writer
Roger Waters Musician
Vivienne Westwood Fashion designer
Robert Wyatt Musician
A longer list of signatories is available here
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