As a settler colonial state, Israel thrives by inaugurating a binary that subjugates Palestinians as irrational, violent, primative, while Israel presents itself as civilised, cultured and as the ‘only democracy in the middle east’.

This binary gives cover to Israel’s ongoing occupation, rights abuses and etthnic cleansing. One way that Israel reinforces this binary is by actively supporting cultural initiatives to emphasise the perception that it is a ‘civilised’ nation. Israeli government officials have summed up how Israel instrumentalises culture to cover up its grave violations of international law. As one Israeli official admitted: "We are seeing culture as a hasbara [propaganda] tool of the first rank [...] and I do not differentiate between hasbara and culture."

Israel’s cultural institutions are part and parcel of the ideological and institutional scaffolding of Israel’s regime of occupation, settler-colonialism and apartheid against the Palestinian people. These institutions are clearly implicated, through their silence or active participation, in supporting, justifying and whitewashing Israel’s occupation and systematic denial of Palestinian rights.

When international artists perform at Israeli cultural venues and institutions, they help to create the false impression that Israel is a “normal” country like any other. The absolute majority of Palestinian writers, artists and cultural centers have endorsed the cultural boycott of Israel, and there is a growing number of anti-colonial Israelis who support BDS, including the cultural boycott of Israel. Israel celebrates visits by international artists as a sign of support for its policies. For example, when Alicia Keys violated the boycott and performed in Tel Aviv in 2013, her visit was proudly tweeted at least eight times by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The BDS call has resulted in a transnational social movement supporting BDS cultural initiatives. Best-selling authors like Iain Banks, Alice Walker and Henning Mankell have endorsed the boycott against Israel. Top artists such as Elvis Costello, Gil Scott-Heron, Carlos Santana, The Pixies, and Faithless, among others, have canceled visits and performances in Israel. Renowned scholars, authors and cultural figures such as John Berger, Naomi Klein, Arundhati Roy, Ken Loach, John Greyson, and Judith Butler have also supported BDS (Barghouti, 2011, 22).