Boycotts of Israel and institutions supportive of the occupation of Palestine were a fringe activity just a couple years ago. But artists across the country have made them impossible to ignore. Organizers know the next phase won’t be easy, but they’re not giving an inch.
When a group of around 20 Canadian authors took a bold stand against the artwashing of genocide in the summer of 2024, they were quickly brushed off or derided by voices in mainstream media.
The authors, who called their campaign CanLit Responds, withdrew their books from consideration for the Giller Prize, demanding that the prestigious literary organization end its partnership with its lead sponsor Scotiabank — an institution heavily invested in Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer.
A National Post column dismissed the boycott as “hashtag activism,” while a Globe column described the campaign as “self-defeating” and “illogical,” insinuating (without evidence) that the attacks on the Giller were motivated by hate.
But despite the early hostility, the campaign continued to build momentum as hundreds of authors, publishers and other book workers joined the boycott. Less than a year later, the Giller Foundation announced it had ended its decades-long partnership with Scotiabank, kicking a dent in the powerful bank’s reputation.
Fast forward to today, and cultural boycotts are a key part of the movement for Palestinian liberation in Canada, now encompassing a broad coalition of authors, art workers, filmmakers, musicians, playwrights, dancers and visual artists, many of whom have organized under the banner of No Arms in the Arts (NAITA). (more...)
How Canadian Artists Brought Cultural Boycotts of Israel to the Mainstream
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