A handful of artists have cancelled their slots at this year’s Pop-Kultur festival held in Berlin because of Israeli government involvement.
The Berlin festival accepted €500 in funding from the Israeli embassy in Germany for this year’s edition. The embassy’s placement on the festival’s list of sponsors attracted the attention of Syrian artist Mohammad Abu Hajar a member of rap group Mazzaj who announced they would not perform at the festival.
Tunisian artist Emel Mathlouthi Islam Chipsy & EEK and Hello Psychaleppo have since followed suit in cancelling their performances at the festival along with Scottish group Young Fathers London’s Law Holt Berlin experimental artist Annie Goh and Finnish avant-garde metal band Oranssi Pazuzu.
The BDS (Boycott Divestment & Sanctions) movement—which seeks to boycott Israel economically and culturally in the wake of its ongoing presence in Palestinian territories—has also called for a boycott of Pop-Kultur.
In a statement on its website Pop-Kultur downplayed the involvement of the Israeli government.
