PACBI
Palestinian Campaign for the Academic &
Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI):
a cheat-sheet :D + roundup + images
[note: calls for PACBI started in 2004; as w/ shows, i'm just compiling resources! luv 2 palestinian organizers!!]
NYC PACBI [SO FAR; JOIN US!!!] =
8-Ball Community • 29 Speedway • BK Institute for Social Research • BGS Queer Division • Body Hack • Bossa Nova Civic Club • Brooklyn Poets • Brothers Wash & Dry • Center for Psychic Technology • Chaos Warp • Come Forever • Creative Code Art • Cutelab • Double Dutch • Dripping • Dweller • Ende Tymes • EMMA Tech Coop • FIST • Gold Bolus • Human Pitch • INTERCOMM • Kaleidoscope • Light & Sound Design • LiveCode.NYC • Melting Point • New York Underground • Noise Not Music • The Nurse's Station • NYC Noise • Pageant • Papi Juice • Please Y.S. • Poetry Project • Property is Theft • PTP • Purgatory • Queer | Art • Reading Group • Receiver • The Record Shop • School for Poetic Computation • Screen Slate • Sisters • Skinny Apartment • SLINK • Small Planet • Sorry Records • Still/Moving • Techno Queers • Toadstool Records • The Tubs • Voluminous Arts • Wendy's Subway • Wet Spot
********************
| • what's PACBI? |
| • statements [to copy/paste] |
| • for nyc noise (& other listers) |
| • images |
| • NYC PACBI |
********************
"The cultural boycott is a material demand coming from Palestinians. No matter how small, every group or project signing on to PACBI is taking a public stand against the spread of Israeli propaganda." –– WAWOG
"... boycotts shorten the perceived distances between moral actors. ... PACBI reveals intentionally obscured ties ... PACBI commitments are an opportunity for institutions to evaluate the 'hidden' cost of the support they receive."
–– Kotecha & Hamilton, "PACBI Now," The New Inquiry
********************
what's PACBI?
more at PACBI guidelines (archived) + amplify FAQ + WAWOG FAQ!
PACBI *is* non-violent direct action asking that academic & cultural institutions / organizations / groups...
–– boycott events, activities, institutions, & products funded by the state of Israel or a complicit institution (e.g. "Brand Israel") *&* normalization projects (activities, events, orgs, etc.) suggesting that Israel's violence is justified or that "both sides" are equally responsible for "the conflict"
–– make a public commitment to refuse material support from the state of Israel & reject projects that normalize Israel’s forced dispossession of Palestinians
PACBI *is not*:
–– a commitment to stop taking money from Zionist donors (focus = isolation of state, not individual, capital)
–– a commitment to stop working with Israeli artists or any targeting of individuals *unless* they represent Israel (or a complicit Israeli institution) or are involved in normalization projects; PACBI does not target individuals on the basis of their identity or opinion.
–– extended to secondary boycotts; you can partner with entities sponsored by a boycottable entity & still be PACBI-compliant
–– a blanket boycott of all Israeli cultural institutions; there are exemptions for those recognizing the rights of Palestinians & enacting policies & practices to end the violation of their rights
********************
statements [to copy/paste]
longer version as seen, w/ slight alterations & additions, in statements by 8-Ball, Dweller, the Poetry Project, Wendy's Subway; dweller & wendy's also include example commitments. u can treat these as nyc noise's pacbi statement(s) & also as templates: just remove the red & plug in name of yr thing –– then email me (subject "PACBI") to add you to NYC PACBI list!
shorter:
In total solidarity with the people of Palestine, [NYC Noise] commits to adhering to the Palestinian international call for Boycott, Divestment, & Sanctions (BDS) & to complying with the underlying guidelines of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
[NYC Noise] commits to:
• boycott any cultural product or event funded, commissioned, &/or sponsored by an official Israeli body
• not collaborate with or take money from Israeli institutions
• refuse "normalization" efforts seeking to justify Israel's violence or present a false symmetry between oppressed & oppressor
• advocate for others to similarly divest from Israel, end support for the oppression of Palestinians, & pressure Israel to comply with international law
for clarity:
As PACBI rejects on principle boycotts of individuals based on their identity or opinion, the boycott only applies to Israeli individuals if they are representing the state of Israel or a complicit Israeli institution, or are recruited to participate in Israel’s rebranding efforts.
[NYC Noise] opposes white supremacy & white nationalism, & believes this means rejecting all forms of racism (including Islamophobia & antisemitism) & aggressively criticizing violence perpetuated by states (like the U.S. & Israel) formed &/or maintained by the ethnic cleansing & genocide of indigenous populations. [NYC Noise] is annoyed to state the obvious fact that criticizing a state is not racism.
longer:
In total solidarity with the people of Palestine, [nyc noise] commits to adhering to the Palestinian international call for Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) and to complying with the underlying guidelines of the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
In our organizational and individual capacities we therefore commit to:
• Refrain from participation in any form of academic and cultural cooperation, collaboration, or joint projects with Israeli institutions;
• Advocate a comprehensive boycott of Israeli institutions at the national and international levels, including suspension of all forms of funding and subsidies to these institutions;
• Promote divestment and disinvestment from the state of Israel by international academic institutions;
• Work toward the condemnation of Israeli policies by pressing for resolutions to be adopted by academic, professional and cultural associations and organizations;
• Support Palestinian academic and cultural institutions directly without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts as an explicit or implicit condition for such support.
The BDS movement, including PACBI, rejects on principle boycotts of individuals based on their identity (such as citizenship, race, gender, sexuality, or religion) or opinion. Mere affiliation of Israeli cultural workers to an Israeli cultural institution is therefore not grounds for applying the boycott. If, however, an individual is representing the state of Israel or a complicit Israeli institution, or is commissioned/recruited to participate in Israel’s efforts to “rebrand” itself, then their activities are subject to the institutional boycott the BDS movement is calling for.
More information available at https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi.
********************
PACBI for nyc noise & other listers
10/15/24 UPDATE // platforms that list events may have a slightly trickier time cuz we deal w/ so many people / spaces; since the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic & Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) doesn't extend to secondary boycotts, we could also probably technically get away with sh*t that's not in the spirit of the thing. i'm still figuring out where i draw my personal / practical lines, as i (v slowly!!!) have been for years, but film listing site Screen Slate gives a great baseline:
FROM SCREEN SLATE:
• Abstain from publishing listings & coverage of films, festivals, series, exhibitions, talks, or events that are sponsored by an official Israeli body or complicit institution, or which seek to “normalize” Israel's occupation of Palestinian land & system of apartheid;
• Abstain from publishing listings & coverage of venues whose core programs are fully or partially sponsored by an official Israeli body or complicit institution or that consistently seek to advance “normalization” efforts;
• Reject paid sponsorship opportunities related to any of the above;
• Make our best efforts to discern films, events, etc., that fall into this rubric, in line with BDS guidelines.
if you use this site, you prolly get the sense that i'm not one for ~exclusivity~; if they're presenting awesome art, i wanna be in conversation w/ spaces even if we're V Different Folks. that said, & as my beautiful pal bb / the spiral times recently put it,
"what's being asked of you in a boycott is to shrink yourself to the size you actually are: to be a cog in a machine. it requires political discipline ... it is us against them––not ~me & my positionality,~ as unpacked in a 10-slide insta post."
[that's what i wrote in my moleskin during the call anyway, verbatim or close; bb rules :')]
relatedly, an exciting new personal rule is no events at venues owned by Live Nation! :D i've been considering this for years cuz live nation is f*ckin evil (see: summerstage rants); they also chose to expand into israel right in the middle of 2017 bds protests (here's israel national news on the move). this isn't to discount the work of artists who got LN to drop their barclays sponsorship in '24 (or sorry, got barclays to "pull out" lolol), cuz that ruled, but they're still Worst.
tricky thing = figuring out exactly *what live nation owns* in nyc. they know we hate them & are sneaky!!! zones they own in whole or part include: The Bell House (summer '24), Bowery Ballroom ('17), looks like Brooklyn Bowl (???), Brooklyn Paramount ('24), Ford Amphi ('16), Governors Ball ('16), Gramercy Theatre ('06), Irving Plaza ('07), Mercury Lounge ('17), Warsaw ('16). nyc's other Big Bad Guy, AEG, owns at least half of bowery presents (Terminal 5, Music Hall of Williamsburg). i need to look into them more, but seems also yeah likely boycottable; updates soon.
it's exciting to get more ~aligned~ w/ yr values!!
learn to luv the simplicity of "no"!!!
12/5/24 update // ...i didn't even think to mention that i've also stopped listing events at lincoln center, in part cuz there have been widespread calls for boycott dating back to 2017 (more recent examples referenced here & here & here), & also the jewish museum; i'm annoyed by its title, but this article covers recent protest efforts there w/ quotes from our pal max levin, who resigned from the museum in january.
you'll notice tho that i'm still listing events at PILES of places that aren't exactly or officially "aligned." nyc noise is getting more punk as it grows up :'), but i'm also deliberately trying to stay "in conversation" w/ a wide range of spaces; for me, that's part of identifying possibilities, running campaigns, exerting influence, & trying to MAKE SHIT BETTER. there are lots of zones where leadership is trash but workers are organizing & doing amazing work; let me know if there are campaigns, petitions, etc. i can highlight alongside listings or in general!! i'll keep you updated on my own "rules," such as they are, but will likely continue to be flexi––some might call it "wildly inconsistent" lol but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯––on what's listed here.
********************
images to share:
u can (or not!) image-tag @nyc_noise if u post to insta & i'll boost! squares & 4x5s in folder, hopefully ~design ppl~ send something prettier for u lol
[click thru: google drive]
********************
NYC PACBI
✅ 8-Ball Community
✅ 29 Speedway
✅ BK Institute for Social Research
✅ BGS Queer Division
✅ Body Hack
✅ Bossa Nova Civic Club
✅ Brooklyn Poets
✅ Brothers Wash & Dry
✅ Center for Psychic Technology
✅ Chaos Warp
✅ Come Forever
✅ Creative Code Art [statement link soon]
✅ Cutelab
✅ Double Dutch
✅ Dripping
✅ Dweller
✅ Ende Tymes [statement link soon!]
✅ EMMA Tech Coop
✅ FIST
✅ Gold Bolus
✅ Human Pitch
✅ INTERCOMM
✅ Kaleidoscope
✅ Light & Sound Design
✅ LiveCode.NYC
✅ Melting Point [statement link soon!]
✅ New York Underground
✅ Noise Not Music
✅ The Nurse's Station
✅ NYC Noise
✅ Pageant
✅ Papi Juice
✅ Please Y.S.
✅ The Poetry Project (+ ☑️ W.A.G.E.)
✅ Property is Theft (P.I.T.)
✅ Purgatory [statement link soon!]
✅ P.T.P. [statement link soon!]
✅ Queer | Art
✅ Reading Group
✅ Receiver
✅ The Record Shop [GO TO LAST SLIDE OMFG 😭😭😭😭]
✅ School for Poetic Computation
✅ Screen Slate
✅ Sisters
✅ Skinny Apartment
✅ SLINK
✅ Small Planet
✅ Sorry Records
✅ Still/Moving [statement link soon!]
✅ Techno Queers [will ask!!]
✅ Toadstool Records
✅ The Tubs
✅ Voluminous Arts
✅ Wendy's Subway
✅ Wet Spot
+ WORKERS ARE ASKING! @: MoMA • Printed Matter