Apartheid Free Dance has put out a statement highlighting their opposition to the inclusion of an Israeli choreographer’s work in Ballet Ireland’s Bold Moves programme.
Update: Ballet Ireland have pulled the performance in question. Their statement is below.
Apartheid Free Dance, who are members of the Irish Dance community, showing their solidarity for Palestine and are calling immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and an end to Israel’s illegal occupation and apartheid system.
The group’s statement says “we find it deeply troubling that Ballet Ireland intends to present Minus 16, a work choreographed by Ohad Naharin, an Israeli-state-funded choreographer, in their upcoming Bold Moves programme, March 22nd – 30th at the O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin.”
The statement came after Apartheid Free Dance met with the Ballet Ireland director Anne Maher to request the removal Minus 16 from the festival programme, which was refused…
“They deny that his current and former leadership roles in Batsheva or employment of IDF soldiers have any relevance or that there is a moral issue with presenting the work while Israel commits genocide. They claim that they are presenting a piece of art, not making a political statement and that Minus 16 has the theme of inclusion.”
Apartheid Free Dance
Apartheid Free Dance’s statement highlights that choreographer Ohad Naharin is complicit in Israel’s artwashing campaign, has accepted accepted funding from the Israeli government for his entire career, is a former IDF soldier and has employed former and serving IDF members.
Ballet Ireland, in platforming this prominent Israeli artist, and in their payment of a performance licensing fee to an Israeli company (Gaga Movement Ltd), are therefore participating in normalising and promoting Brand Israel and its human-rights violations.
Ballet Ireland today (March 14th) have now withdrawn the show in question.
“Ballet Ireland has taken the decision to withdraw one of the three pieces due to be performed as part of the Bold Moves 2024 programme. Minus 16 was originally choreographed by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin for Nederlands Dans Theater in 1999 and has been performed internationally over the last quarter century by a wide range of dance companies.
“We stand by the right to freedom of artistic expression, and despite our belief that art should not be drawn into politics, we feel the time is not right to be performing this work” said Anne Maher, Artistic Director and Chief Executive Officer of Ballet Ireland. “Our programming is done well in advance of the performance dates. In this instance, Minus 16 was independently licensed directly from Mr. Naharin in 2019 and programmed for Bold Moves 2024 long before the current conflict in Gaza began. We are sensitive to the fact that the situation is very different now.”
Read the group’s statement in full:
As members of the recently established Apartheid Free Dance, we find it deeply troubling that Ballet Ireland intends to present Minus 16, a work choreographed by Ohad Naharin, an Israeli-state-funded choreographer, in their upcoming Bold Moves programme, March 22nd – 30th at the O’Reilly Theatre, Dublin.
The WHO reports that a child is killed on average every 10 minutes in Gaza. By that calculation, while Irish audiences watch Bold Moves,
12 children will have lost their lives.
Israel has been found to be plausibly commiting genocide by the International Courts of Justice and continues to violate international law. Since October, at least 30,000 people have been killed by Israeli forces in Gaza and more than 70,000 have been injured. 17,000 children are now unaccompanied. Deaths from forced starvation are escalating. Over 2 million Palestinians in Gaza are at imminent risk of famine, and lack access to clean water, healthcare and the conditions necessary for life.
Against the backdrop of all of this, we find it unconscionable that Ballet Ireland completely disregards the widespread evidence of Israel’s artwashing campaign, in which choreographer Ohad Naharin is deeply complicit. He has, his entire career, accepted funding from the Israeli government and he continues to benefit from the existing Apartheid regime. He is a former IDF soldier and has employed former and serving IDF members in Batsheva. Minus 16 itself is an amalgamation of extracts of earlier choreographies Naharin created for and on Batsheva, with funding by the Israeli state. Ballet Ireland, in platforming this prominent Israeli artist, and in their payment of a performance licensing fee to an Israeli company (Gaga Movement Ltd), are therefore participating in normalising and promoting Brand Israel and its human-rights violations.
No amount of fancy footwork can sidestep the amorality of performing Minus 16 while Israel commits genocide.
Palestinian civil society has issued a call for the academic and cultural boycott of Israel modelled on the successful boycott of apartheid South Africa. Respecting that call, we, as dance artists and activists, are compelled to take a stand against these performances which are nothing short of hugely insensitive at this time.
We call on Ballet Ireland to remove Minus 16 from its performance programme.
Palestinian art has been under siege for decades. Our fellow Palestinian dance artists have been persecuted, imprisoned, tortured, barred from performing or touring, and impoverished by Israel simply for expressing their culture. Right now, we are receiving news from our dance peers in Gaza that many, including young students, have been bombed to death. Their homes, studios and theatres have been obliterated. Israel is deliberately trying to wipe out all trace of cultural life and heritage in Gaza. It is a cultural genocide.
While Irish audiences watch Ballet Ireland perform in Dublin, how many Palestinian dancers will be starving under siege in Gaza?
The longstanding Israeli policy of shoot to maim, focusing on lower limbs, has created mass disabilities and a generation of amputees. The rights to bodily integrity and freedom of expression which we take for granted as dancers in Ireland are denied our Palestinian colleagues.
Palestinian dancers are members of our community and have made important contributions to dance in Ireland. Their experiences and identities have inspired Irish choreographers who have used their personal stories in their works. Staying silent in the face of this ongoing genocide makes us bystanders and allowing these performances to go ahead denies our Palestinian colleagues their dignity and security.
As a dance community in a cultural sector where too many have not spoken, we stand in solidarity with Palestinians and raise our voices. We believe that humanity, dignity and life should, and must, come before art.
No more artwashing.
Further information on Ohad Naharin:
Ohad Naharin is the former Artistic Director and current House Choreographer of Israel’s foremost dance company, Batsheva. The company is based in the Suzanne Dellal Centre in Yafa (Jaffa), surrounded by ethnically cleansed former Palestinian neighbourhoods. He is a former IDF soldier and employs former IDF soldiers within his company. If reservists, they will have been called up to serve in Israel’s genocide of Gaza. Naharin has verbally criticised the occupation and this has been used in his defence, but actions speak louder than words. His dance company has consistently been identified by Israel’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs as one of Israel’s greatest cultural ambassadors and he continues to this day to benefit from the regime. Apartheid is seen in practice in that Batsheva has no Palestinian dancers and the majority of Palestinians (who all live under Israeli occupation and control), cannot access his company, either as dancers or audience members.
Background:
Apartheid Free Dance has been in correspondence with Ballet Ireland, and met director Anne Maher to request that they remove Minus 16 from their programme. They have refused. They deny that his current and former leadership roles in Batsheva or employment of IDF soldiers have any relevance or that there is a moral issue with presenting the work while Israel commits genocide. They claim that they are presenting a piece of art, not making a political statement and that Minus 16 has the theme of inclusion.
