Our mission at Full Stop is to uphold overlooked and marginalized forms of global literature. As such we stand in full solidarity with the Palestinian people in their struggle for basic rights, dignity, and a vibrant culture in the face of continuing assault from the Israeli state.
Since October 7, 2023, nearly 100,000 Palestinians have been killed, reported missing, or wounded. Over 90 percent of the population in the Gaza Strip (about 2.08 million people) is estimated to face “high levels of acute food insecurity” and is at severe risk of famine. Gaza’s healthcare systems are on the verge of collapse. Israeli forces have also directly targeted cultural institutions such as libraries, archives, universities, museums, and heritage sites.
Full Stop stands proudly in solidarity with the people of occupied Palestine in committing to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) guidelines. In line with this, Full Stop pledges to:
- Reject funding from any institutions funded by the State of Israel.
- Avoid collaboration with complicit Israeli cultural and academic institutions.
- Boycott events and cultural products funded by Israeli bodies.
- Reject any projects that seek to normalize the ongoing occupation of Palestine.
To end their complicity in Israel’s settler-colonial and apartheid project and become exempt from the boycott, Israeli cultural institutions must fulfill two conditions: a) Publicly recognize the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people as enshrined in international law (including the three basic rights in the 2005 BDS Call) and b) End all forms of complicity in violating Palestinian rights as stipulated in international law, including discriminatory policies and practices as well as diverse roles in whitewashing or justifying Israel’s violations of international law and Palestinian human rights.
This is a boycott of cultural and academic institutions; it is not a boycott of individuals. Full Stop has always supported literary and cultural expression in the face of bigotry and oppression, and we recognize the role, however small, that literary arts organizations like ours play in shaping public sentiment and discourse. We unapologetically condemn the apartheid policies and genocidal actions of the Israeli government and its use of cultural and academic institutions to normalize them. We reject any conflation of our advocacy on behalf of Palestinians with anti-Semitism.
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We urge our fellow magazines, presses, and arts organizations to join us on the cultural front for a free Palestine. If you have not already done so, consider endorsing PACBI today.
If you have any questions about what this might mean for you and your organization or how to get there, please feel free to reach out to any of our editors. You can also read all about PACBI here: https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi.
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