Articles

Petition to CCA: Boycott ‘Israel’, Stand with Palestine

CCA: The time to act is now

This petition has been initiated by Art Workers for Palestine Scotland, workers at CCA, Falastin Film Festival Scotland and Solidarity Screenings Glasgow and is directed to the board of trustees at CCA Glasgow.

We call on CCA to proudly and explicitly heed the call of Palestinians to boycott “israel”, by endorsing the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel(PACBI) and by implementing a BDS policy.

In line with their values, we call for CCA to develop an anti-imperialist ethical framework. CCA must challenge complicity in genocide and colonialism across the Scottish cultural sphere, and in society more broadly. Working with cultural organisations across Scotland, CCA must commit to not only speaking about the “decolonial” in the abstract but to decolonise our sector.

Our responsibility as cultural workers is to support liberation and oppose the forces of imperialism and oppression. Openly standing with Palestine is freeing and beautiful. By openly endorsing PACBI, CCA will become a space fully aligned with and for liberation.

We appreciate CCA providing a valued space for Palestinian voices and stories — such as Falastin Film Festival — as well as informally responding to BDS demands by dropping Coca-Cola from its Third Eye Bar. While these informal commitments are welcome, we understand that CCA still stocks Schweppes, a Coca-cola product. It is therefore necessary that CCA develops and implements a BDS policy. We ask CCA to publicly use its full cultural power, as Glasgow’s premier contemporary arts space, by joining the cultural boycott of ‘Israel’ (PACBI).

We believe the board of CCA has a duty to reflect the will of the people who use the CCA – its audiences, workers, partners and artists – who overwhelmingly and proudly stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people.

We call on the CCA to boycott “israel” and endorse PACBI. The time to act is now.

Sign the petition here