Over 900 artists call on UK’s Tate to end ‘complicity in genocide’ by cutting ties with Israel

Over 900 artists and art workers urged the United Kingdom’s Tate institution to end its “complicity in genocide” by cutting ties with art organisations whose founders have financial links to Israel, in the latest mass effort to boycott Israel and its affiliated institutions in the arts industry.

In an open letter directed to Tate’s leadership, over 900 signatories working in the art industry demanded that the London-based museum divest from the organisations Zabludowicz Art Trust, Zabludowicz Art Projects and Outset Contemporary Art Fund.

Led separately by arts philanthropists, Anita and Poju Zabludowicz, and Candida Gertler, those organisations are accused of ‘artwashing’ by collaborating with museums and artists to obscure ties to Israel and its military sector.

Poju Zabludowicz, for example, the Finnish-British-Israeli billionaire businessman and art collector, is reported to have taken over his family’s arms dealing business back in 1994 before selling it, leading to its current control by Tamares Group – a company which invested in property built on illegal settlements on Palestinian land, held shares in another company offering ‘military aircraft maintenance services’ to the Israeli Air Force, and was a founding investor in US tech company, Palantir, which has played a prominent role in the cyber policing and killing of Palestinians.

READ: Some European firms retreat from Israel-linked finance amid war pressure

With the demands made ahead of the Turner Prize ceremony scheduled for 3 December, the open letter accuses such founders of being linked to Israel’s “genocidal” policies in Gaza, referring to findings from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the United Nations (UN) that acknowledge the occupation forces and their military actions as consistent with “plausible genocide” and “apartheid”.

The signatories – who include current Turner Prize nominee, Jasleen Kaur, and previous winners such as Charlotte Prodger, Helen Cammock, and Lawrence Abu Hamdan – stated in the letter their belief that “Tate has a profound moral duty, if not a legal one, to divest from its affiliations with the Israeli state”. It added that “Tate’s partnerships with these organisations directly undermine its commitment to equality and social impact.”

The letter also notably highlighted Tate’s willingness to divest from Russian donors following Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, making a similar divestment from Israeli and affiliated donors the next logical step. “Divestment is a tactic we know Tate is already familiar with,” it stressed.

READ: German Foundation strips British artist of architecture prize over Israel boycott