A student dance group at Israel’s Ben-Gurion University has pulled out of their Edinburgh Festival Fringe performances, scheduled for next week, due to protesters and security concerns from the venue.
The school’s decision followed news that Scottish Palestinian Solidarity Campaign members protested outside of the opening performance of The City, a hip-hop fable, at a venue called The Underbelly. The decision was made in conjunction with the venue urging BGU to cancel, citing known intentions of anti-Israeli demonstrations against Operation Protective Edge.
The City, partially funded by the Israeli government, was pulled afterwards.
“The personal safety of the members of the dance company is the most important factor and we will certainly not compromise on that in any way,” said BGU president Professor Rivka Carmi. “We received warnings that their participation could endanger the dancers, therefore, in consultation with the relevant parties, we made the hard decision not to send the company to the planned performances in Edinburgh,” Carmi continued.
The Independent reports that protesters have said the demonstrations are because they find the Israeli performances, quote, “unacceptable" that an Israeli-backed cultural event should go ahead at the Edinburgh Fringe."
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe takes place in Scotland--home to thousands performing theater, comedy, dance, circuses, cabarets, children’s shows, operas and exhibitions.
Because of the cancellations, Scottish playwright David Greig has launched a £10,000 appeal to help Israeli and Palestinian theater groups perform at Edinburgh's Fringe without government funding.
Greig's "Welcome to the Fringe Fund" will be able to ensure both Israeli and Palestinian artists--of which there are none performing this year--are able to perform at next year’s event. He also has plans to establish a network of artists and supporters to help with access to the festival and a place to stay.
“The Edinburgh Fringe is my favourite place in the world. It is a place of welcome and refuge. I don’t want it to become a showplace where the regimes of the world come to whitewash violence with art," said Greig.
Better luck next year, indeed.
