UK artists slam music concert collaboration between Barbican Centre and Israeli embassy in London

Artists have slammed London's famous Barbican arts venue for teaming up with the Israeli embassy for an upcoming concert due to be held this Sunday.

Writer and poet Benjamin Zephaniah described the planned gig as a "cynical attempt to rebrand apartheid as diversity and military occupation as violence", according to The Guardian, amid horrific violence inflicted on Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza.

The concert is set to be performed by the Jerusalem Orchestra East and West, a musical collective which describes itself as "a multicultural orchestra, with male and female musicians from all three religions, from all over the country and from all sectors that make up Israeli society".

The concert will take place this weekend and is organised "in collaboration with the Embassy of Israel in the UK".

The event will also include four Moroccan musicians. This has drawn criticism from Moroccan rights groups, who have called on artists to boycott the event. Morocco normalised relations with Israel in 2020.

The artists' criticism of the concert comes as Israel carried out a massacre in the occupied West Bank last week, when nine Palestinians were killed in a raid, including an elderly woman.

It was one of the bloodiest days in recent years for Palestinians. At least 36 Palestinians were killed by Israel in the West Bank so far this year.

Amid this bloodshed, actor Miriam Margolyes and Egyptian writer Ahdaf Soueif, expressed "deep concern" over the partnership between the Barbican and the embassy, describing Israel's recently formed far-right government as the most "racist, fundamentalist and homophobic" in the country's history.

In a letter published on the Artists for Palestine UK website, artists urged that Israel must be held accountable for its treatment of Palestinians, which they said fits "the United Nations' description of apartheid".

"Far from exemplifying a convivial multiculturalism, Jerusalem itself is the site of long-running oppression and violent military occupation," they wrote.

The City of London Councilor Frances Leach conveyed "shock and sadness" at the Barbican's partnership with the Israeli embassy, saying she doesn't feel that "anyone in the city of London would want to be associated with the brutality of the Israeli occupation".

A spokesperson for the Barbican told The New Arab: "[We] present art and artists from all over the world... and are looking forward to welcoming Jerusalem Orchestra East & West, a talented and diverse group of musicians who celebrate musical traditions from North Africa, the Middle East and Europe.

"Artistic work that is presented internationally often receives support from national governments, and we acknowledge the support for this event from the Embassy of Israel in the UK."