We demand peace to Palestine and Israel.
EU and its member states must work harder to achieve ceasefire in Gaza and to stop human rights violations in all Palestinian territories and in Israel.
EU and its member states must work harder against violence, oppression and hate speech within Europe too.
We do not approve islamophobia nor antisemitism.
We condemn the attack Hamas made in Israel October 7, 2023, but we also condemn Israel’s indiscriminate military response.
Killing thousands of mainly civilian Palestinians in Gaza doesn’t bring back the dead of October 7 — and doesn’t improve the security of Israel and its people either.
War in Gaza is a violation of international law. It’s a form of collective punishment, which should never be allowed.
We also defend our freedom of speech — the unalienable right of all artists and citizens. Expressing sympathy for Palestinians or defending their human rights must not be suppressed or labeled as antisemitic.
On behalf of European visual artists,
The Executive Committee of IAA Europe, 13.12.2023.
IAA Europe (The International Association of Art Europe) is a network of 40 national organisations within Europe representing visual artists.
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LINKS:
Amnesty International. ”The escalating conflict in Gaza and Israel”. 15.10.2023. (link)
Amnesty International. ”Israel’s Occupation: 50 Years of Dispossession”. 7.6.2017. (link)
B’Tselem — The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories (link)
Finland Against Aparheid (link)
Jewish Voice for Peace (link)
”An open letter to the Finnish government”. (link)
United Nation’s view on the occupied West Bank & The Question of Palestine https://news.un.org/en/story/2019/11/1051711 (link) & https://press.un.org/en/2016/sc12657.doc.htm (link) & https://www.un.org/unispal/ (link)