Israeli artists back away from anti-war petition after blowback

Following public backlash, several Israeli artists have expressed regret for signing a petition calling for an end to the war in Gaza, Hebrew media reported on Tuesday.

“The Declaration of the Cultural Community: Stop the Horror in Gaza,” referred to in Hebrew media simply as the “artists’ letter,” sparked anger for its claims about “the killing of children and non-combatants, starvation, expulsion of the population, and the hopeless destruction of Gaza’s cities.”

According to the petition’s organizers, 1,000 cultural figures signed the letter, among them leading musicians, actors and writers.

On Tuesday, veteran musician Alon Oleartchik said he was pulling his name.

“I see before me the bereaved families, some of whom I know personally, and I feel their pain,” he posted to Instagram, adding that it had not been his intention to cause pain. “My only intention was to call for the return of the hostages,” he said.

Oleartchik’s retraction came after the workers’ union of the Keren Kayemeth LeIsrael-Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) dropped him from its series of summer events after learning of the petition.

According to Israel’s Kan News, JNF Workers’ Organization chairman Israel Goldstein said, “I approached the management and requested the cancellation of any performance by those who accuse the state and IDF soldiers. They are holy and heroic, and they must be respected.”

When Oleartchik announced he was withdrawing his name, KKL-JNF reversed its decision and said his appearance would go on as planned.

Yair Maayan, mayor of the southern Israeli city of Arad, declared a blanket ban on any artists who signed the petition.

“Contemptible people, who dare to call IDF soldiers war criminals. Most of them [the signers] sang and danced all day in the military bands. Cooperating with Hamas and now daring to preach morality to our brave fighters. None of them will perform at public events in Arad,” he told JNS.

Israeli songwriter and singer Assaf Amdursky also pulled his name from the petition.

“In the petition I signed, there are parts that I do not stand behind,” he said on Instagram, according to Ynet. “I don’t support the claim that the IDF is starving or deliberately harming civilians.”

Singer Sivan Talmor attempted to explain her position, writing on social media: “It’s important for me to clarify, I’m on our side. I’m Jewish, I’m Israeli. I think we’ve been fighting a just war for almost two years... At the same time, I believe in the truth—and we have to face that truth, and the truth is complex,” she said, according to Ynet.

“I am not prepared for innocent people to die or starve in my name and in the name of my country (yes, even if they are on the other side),” she said.

The organizers of the petition issued a statement on Tuesday accusing its critics of slander, saying the letter was not aimed at IDF soldiers. The artists wouldn’t be intimidated by “insults, threats and boycotts,” it continued.

However, lending credence to the petition’s critics was Aviv Geffen, an Israeli singer well-known for his left-wing political views. “I am the most in favor of stopping the war for the return of all the hostages,” he told Ynet. But he opposed the letter he said because “it is worded as if Israel is the criminal element in Gaza, and it is simply not true. I’m not willing to sign such a thing.”

An artist who sharply criticized the signatories was Idan Amedi, an Israeli singer and actor on the popular show “Fauda,” who was seriously wounded in Gaza in an explosion last year that killed six soldiers from his unit.

He called those who signed the petition “privileged people who continue to echo stupidity, ignorance and lies.”

“There is no other army in the world that operates in such a crowded area with such a minor number of casualties per population. By the way, this is proven. Go check it out,” he added in an Instagram post.

Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar of the Likud Party posted his displeasure on X. “You need to do a real soul-searching and retract the shameful letter you signed. Take the example of Moran Atias and Idan Amedi, who symbolize Israeli sanity and patriotism, which unfortunately you lost a long time ago,” he wrote.

Atias, an actress best known for her roles in the Starz series “Crash” and FX series “Tyrant,” said her “blood boiled” when she was approached to sign the petition.

“There’s no mention of Hamas here. In no way do they give Hamas any responsibility for this. That is, only the State of Israel is responsible for everything that has been done since then and forever,” she told Kan News on Sunday.

“Is it just our responsibility? This is really the antisemitic narrative... I’m just staying united with my people right now and not... with the same people who are involved with the Hamas terror regime,” she said.