When the announcement that Israel would attend the "Fiera del libro" of Turin, (*) came out, an immediate wave of protest arose in Italy; and many personalities supported the boycott call, made by the Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian Writers' Associations (**). In France, strangely enough, the same invitation, to the "Salon du livre" of Paris, did not make much noise. Alone, the Israeli poet Aharon Shabtaï has refused to participate in these events, contrary to the 39 Israeli writers who accepted to be part of the Israeli delegation to these two exhibitions. Aharon Shabtaï explains here why these events – which he qualifies as "promotion of propaganda" for Israel – must be boycotted, as well as any cultural event where this apartheid State is celebrated.

»Silvia Cattori:  In December 2007, learning that your name was among 40 Israeli writers invited at the "Salon du livre" of Paris where Israel is the "guest of honour", you declared that it is not possible to participate in an event where Israel, which commits daily crimes against civilians, is invited. Apparently, 39 Israeli writers do not see any problem in participating!?
Aharon Shabtaï:  This event will be opened by the French president Sarkozy and the Israeli president Shimon Perès. Given this situation, going to the "Salon du livre" of Paris as a writer, with the Israeli delegation, means that you are going dressed with the colour of the Israeli flag. Every day, Israel commits war crimes and imposes collective punishments on the Palestinians. There is no reason to celebrate anything.
Israel violates all international laws. Not only the Geneva Convention. The Hague International Court of justice condemned the illegal wall that Israel has built on confiscated Palestinian land. The book event, or any other kind of exhibition in which the Israeli State is invited, is not a way to promote peace in the Middle East, and not a way to bring justice to the Palestinians, but only propaganda to give Israel an image of being a liberal and democratic society. A State which maintains an occupation and commits daily crimes against civilians does not deserve to be invited to whichever cultural week. We cannot accept to be part of that. Israel is not a democratic State but an apartheid State. We cannot support that State at all.

Silvia Cattori:  So, by inviting the Israeli State to celebrate its 60 years of existence, France and the organizers of the Salon are making a big mistake?
Aharon Shabtaï:  It is not a mistake! It is a policy. I think that, for Nicolas Sarkozy, it is a way to take part in the Israeli occupation. There is collaboration between the European governments and Israel. The Israeli invitation is part of it. Without the help of the United States, and now the help of France, Israel could not continue such a policy against the Palestinians. This help gives Israel the green light to go on attacking and killing the Palestinians, especially in Gaza. It is very sad to see that France, Germany, European countries – which have a history of persecution against the Jews – are taking part in the persecution of the Palestinian and Muslim peoples by Israel.«

»Silvia Cattori:  What do you answer to those who say that we must separate culture from politics?!
Aharon Shabtaï:  Why to separate? In the tradition of Europe, going back to the Greeks, writers like Voltaire, Rousseau, and Thomas Mann, always fought against oppression and for liberty. Liberal intellectuals and writers have always involved themselves in political criticism.

Silvia Cattori:  So you condemn those who will participate in the Salon, like Amos Oz, Avraham B. Yehoshua, Aharon Appelfeld, David Grossman, Zeruya Shalev, Etgar Keret, Orly Castel-Bloom, and others?
Aharon Shabtaï:  Yes of course! I condemn them because, in that way, they promote the Israeli propaganda and collaborate with the Israeli occupiers.«

»Silvia Cattori:  Is it true that the Israeli government uses the Israelis working in the field of art and literature as part of its public relations network, for its information warfare, as a way to show an attractive face of Israel?
Aharon Shabtaï:  Yes, Israel's regime uses them as public relations; like when, in the Soviet Union, the Soviet writers were mobilized by the regime. So, the Israeli writers are now going to Paris like collaborators of an ugly regime, and to be part of the regime.
In such a situation, when such crimes are committed every day by Israel against the Palestinians, anybody who does not cut any link with the Israeli government -this is a matter of fact- is collaborating and doing propaganda for Israel.«

»Silvia Cattori:  Outside of Israel also, the intellectuals, who call for the boycott against Israel, are not in an easy position!
Aharon Shabtaï:  You, the Europeans, you boycott the occupied people in Palestine because they voted democratically for the Hamas government; and now you are boycotting the people of Gaza and collaborating with Israel against the Palestinian people and their government!
Gaza is a ghetto, a concentration camp! At the same time you, Europeans, are celebrating Israel without any consideration of the plight of nearly four million of Palestinians who are living in a situation similar to that of the Blacks under the apartheid regime of white South Africa. It is difficult to find the right words to express such an absurdity. The plight of the Palestinians is even much worse than the plight of the Blacks in South Africa. The Palestinians are starved, are bombed every day, and are killed on a large scale. The situation in Gaza, under Israeli aggressive military operations, is horrific. When the Sarkozy government invites Israel, it knows that this will encourage Israel to go on with the occupation and its crimes against the Palestinians. I do not think that the Europeans, with their values, can invite a State like Israel and take part in its 60 years celebrations. Paris and Turin events are purely another occasion for Israel to make propaganda and gain more support for its military occupation.
When Kosovo fought against Serbia, Europe supported Kosovo, and made war against Serbia. Serbia was the right owner of Kosovo but, in spite of that, the world fought against Serbia and bombed it. Here, it is just the opposite. Israel is sitting on an occupied territory. And you, Europeans, you are going on to help the Israeli occupiers and not the Palestinians who are suffering under the occupation? Why this double standard?«