ISTANBUL

More than 300 museums, arts and cultural organizations in the Netherlands and Belgium have announced a cultural boycott of Israel, saying they will cut ties with Israeli institutions over the war in Gaza and the occupation of the West Bank.

A declaration signed by 302 institutions and 878 individual artists said the cultural sector could no longer remain silent in the face of “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide recognized by all competent authorities.”

“As members of the Dutch and Belgian cultural sector, we refuse to stand by in the face of genocide against the Palestinian people,” the statement said, stressing the boycott was directed at Israeli state bodies and companies complicit in human rights violations, not Jewish individuals or Israelis as such.

The move followed longstanding appeals from Palestinian artists and civil society. It added that institutions openly opposing genocide, occupation and apartheid practices would be exempt.

Major signatories

The boycott includes major institutions such as Maastricht’s Bonnefanten Museum, Ghent’s Museum of Fine Arts, the Netherlands Film Festival, Holland Opera and the Royal Flemish Theatre.

Renowned figures including painter Marlene Dumas, author Tom Lanoye, historian David Van Reybrouck, writer Ramsey Nasr and sociologist Sinan Cankaya also signed on.

Broader momentum

The declaration condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza’s religious sites, schools, libraries and cultural heritage, saying journalists, aid workers, medical staff and artists had also been targeted. It added that Palestinians in the West Bank and East Jerusalem face “increasingly impossible” conditions under decades of oppression and displacement.

The statement recalled that cultural boycotts had contributed to the end of apartheid in South Africa, noting that more than 5,000 film professionals and 400 musicians had recently taken similar steps against Israeli institutions.

“This cultural boycott alone will not stop genocide and occupation,” the declaration said. “That is why we call on sports, academia, business and politics to also sever ties. Only together can we force Israel to comply with international law.”