We, as students, staff, teachers, researchers and alumni from the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam are writing to express our solidarity with the Palestinian people and to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Amplifying voices from the Global South and critical voices from within the Netherlands and the West, who have been tirelessly calling for a ceasefire for a month now, we are joining in a call for immediate ceasefire and the urgent distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
We support the efforts among Jewish communities in Israel and diaspora who uphold their capacity to fight for justice for the Palestinians and call for a ceasefire.
We condemn the combat tactics that do not comply with international law and mourn the tremendous civilian deaths, Palestinian and Israeli. It is in this context that we say that the brutal murder of Israeli civilians on 7th October and the ongoing hostage situation cannot justify the attacks and genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza that have followed.
Further, we understand the resistance of Palestine as the resistance of bodies against oppression and apartheid for decades. As artists and dancers who uphold the body as a site of action and resistance, we stand with Palestinians and support Palestinian liberation and self-determination.
The rhetoric that comes with the dominant use of the terms “conflict” and “war”, distorts the reality and understanding of Gaza and Palestine as occupied territory and nourishes the false narrative of a conflict between two equal parties. In light of the Dutch government's abstention on 27th October at the UN vote on a ceasefire in Gaza, and following the statements of many international experts - including the director of the New York office of the UN high commissioner for human rights - we want to name that what is happening in Gaza and the occupied West Bank is a genocide, happening in this very minute, abetted by the West.
We emphasize the role of institutions and artists in rejecting colonial narratives, and stand in unwavering solidarity, grief and anger against the indiscriminate attacks by Israel upon Gaza, and the ongoing violence of its settler-colonial policies.
Lastly, we acknowledge the responsibility of institutions we work and study in to urge our governing bodies to use their influence and power to lead to immediate ceasefire.
Wherever hierarchies of the worth of human bodies take root we must stand up.
We, as students, staff, teachers, researchers and alumni from the Academy of Theatre and Dance in Amsterdam are writing to express our solidarity with the Palestinian people and to call for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
Amplifying voices from the Global South and critical voices from within the Netherlands and the West, who have been tirelessly calling for a ceasefire for a month now, we are joining in a call for immediate ceasefire and the urgent distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza.
We support the efforts among Jewish communities in Israel and diaspora who uphold their capacity to fight for justice for the Palestinians and call for a ceasefire.
We condemn the combat tactics that do not comply with international law and mourn the tremendous civilian deaths, Palestinian and Israeli. It is in this context that we say that the brutal murder of Israeli civilians on 7th October and the ongoing hostage situation cannot justify the attacks and genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza that have followed.
Further, we understand the resistance of Palestine as the resistance of bodies against oppression and apartheid for decades. As artists and dancers who uphold the body as a site of action and resistance, we stand with Palestinians and support Palestinian liberation and self-determination.
The rhetoric that comes with the dominant use of the terms “conflict” and “war”, distorts the reality and understanding of Gaza and Palestine as occupied territory and nourishes the false narrative of a conflict between two equal parties. In light of the Dutch government's abstention on 27th October at the UN vote on a ceasefire in Gaza, and following the statements of many international experts - including the director of the New York office of the UN high commissioner for human rights - we want to name that what is happening in Gaza and the occupied West Bank is a genocide, happening in this very minute, abetted by the West.
We emphasize the role of institutions and artists in rejecting colonial narratives, and stand in unwavering solidarity, grief and anger against the indiscriminate attacks by Israel upon Gaza, and the ongoing violence of its settler-colonial policies.
Lastly, we acknowledge the responsibility of institutions we work and study in to urge our governing bodies to use their influence and power to lead to immediate ceasefire.
Wherever hierarchies of the worth of human bodies take root we must stand up.
This letter emerged from group conversation among staff, students and alumni. Neither the group nor the letter was not initiated by an individual and this meaning should not be attached to the order of the signatories. Comments and questions about the letter addressed to individuals will be taken anonymously to the group for discussion and response to honour the process and context through which this letter emerged