Skin Deep endorses the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI).
For ten years, Skin Deep has been dedicated to ushering new worlds into being through storytelling and cultural production. From our first print issue in 2014 to our latest editorial season PALESTINE: WAYS OF BEING, the struggle for a free Palestine has always been a central presence in our work. .
Today, we officially endorse and commit to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), recognising that we must do all we can, with all we have, from where we are, to dismantle the ideological and institutional scaffolding of Israel’s settler colonial project.
Israeli cultural and academic institutions – whether silent or outspoken in manufacturing consent for this genocide – play a critical role in sustaining and normalising the oppression of Palestinians. By diverting attention from Israel’s system of oppression, they obscure violations of international law and the erasure of Palestinian existence and freedom.
At Skin Deep, we are clear on our position and we resolutely commit to this boycott. We will not collaborate with, support, or participate in any events, activities, agreements, or projects involving Israel, its lobby groups, or its academic or cultural institutions. Our organisation is a platform for artists, storytellers, and cultural producers committed to liberation, and we will not lend our voices to any project that normalises or whitewashes Israel’s violations.
While we do not control the distribution of our print magazine through third-party sellers, we make it clear that we do not consent to our work being sold in occupied territories. Though we do not anticipate this will be an issue, we wish to make our stance known.
If we understand that the Zionist project is an outpost for all the systemic structures we oppose – white supremacy, imperialism, capitalism, and colonialism – there can be no doubt that support for this internationally coordinated boycott is in full alignment with our values and mission.
We are not the first to join PACBI, and we will not be the last. Since its launch in 2004, the boycott continues to grow in numbers and influence. We stand with the artists, writers, curators, teachers, filmmakers, and cultural producers who have already made this commitment and continue to hold each other accountable. We encourage other arts and culture organisations to join this movement and demand more from their networks.
When media and culture are being used to manufacture consent for genocide, what do we do? As our longtime collaborator Zena Agha once put it: “In short, dissent.”
For more information on PACBI and how to endorse, visit bdsmovement.net/pacbi.
For a helpful FAQ on PACBI and a list of endorsing institutions, visit Writers Against The War On Gaza here.
In strength and solidarity,
Skin Deep