[ Download the free printable PDF of Poems for and from Palestine here. Please print and share widely! ]

In solidarity with the people of Palestine—who continue to suffer unimaginable violence at the hands of the government of Israel—UDP formally commits to the Palestinian international call for 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁, 𝗗𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 (BDS) and adheres to the guidelines of the 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗕𝗼𝘆𝗰𝗼𝘁𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝘀𝗿𝗮𝗲𝗹 (PACBI). 

We are joining many other poetry and arts organizations, and are grateful to those who have led the way.

In adherence to PACBI, UDP specifically commits to:

• Boycott any 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 commissioned by an official Israeli body;
• Boycott any 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗱𝘂𝗰𝘁 funded by an official Israeli body, even if not commissioned;
• Boycott any 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 that is partially or fully sponsored or funded by an official Israeli body;
• Refrain from participation in any form of academic and 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, collaboration, or joint projects with Israeli institutions, including suspension of all forms of funding and subsidies to/from these institutions;
• Refrain from hosting or circulating any events or cultural products operating under the auspices of “𝗻𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻,” or which advance a false symmetry between oppressed and oppressor;
• Support 𝗣𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗰𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 directly without requiring them to partner with Israeli counterparts as an explicit or implicit condition for such support.

To end their collusion in Israel’s regime of occupation, settler-colonialism, and apartheid, and thereby become non-boycottable, Israeli cultural institutions must fulfill two basic conditions:

1. 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

2. 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.

We denounce rising Islamophobia in the US. We denounce anti-Semitism. We denounce the false and dangerous conflation of anti-Zionism with anti-Semitism. This is not a boycott of Israeli writers and artists; PACBI and BDS are boycotts of an apartheid state that are modeled off of the historic academic boycott in South Africa.

We believe it is the responsibility of writers, artists, and publishers to imagine new, liberatory futures and we are committed to working with those who uphold this belief. If you too are considering endorsing PACBI or have questions about UDP’s decision—which took many weeks of intense discussion—please reach out to office@uglyducklingpresse.org. 

More information at https://bdsmovement.net/pacbi.