A prominent Israeli dance company that faced criticism for using the Palestinian flag in a recent performance in Tel Aviv is now facing boycott calls by the anti-Israel BDS movement.
The campaign to boycott the Tel Aviv-based Batsheva Dance Company comes ahead of its annual U.S. tour, which will include stops in California next month. Performances are scheduled to take place in Los Angeles, Berkeley and Santa Barbara, before moving on to New York in March.
“Stop Israel’s Dance of Death!!” the online BDS campaign reads, next to an illustration of skeletons dancing. An accompanying text says, “Boycott Batsheva Dance Company’s 2025 U.S. tour!”
The ad, which includes the venues of the performances in the United States, also calls for protests and urges people to join a wider academic and cultural boycott of Israel.
The boycott call comes less than a month after Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Miki Zohar asked Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich to rethink continued state funding for the dance company. Zohar made the request after a performance that included the Palestinian flag among other national banners.
The company said at the time that the use of the Palestinian flag in the work was done “in a broad artistic context.”
