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British author J.K, Rowling

J.K. Rowling appeases angry readers after showdown with BDS

After call for cultural engagement with Israel last week, famous British author publishes series of tweets stating she identifies with 'untold injustice and brutality' suffered by Palestinian people.

British author J.K. Rowling, whose recent call for greater cultural engagement with Israel angered many of her readers, criticized Israel's actions against the Palestinians in a series of tweets posted on Thursday.

 

 

Rowling, the author of the popular Harry Potter series, signed an open letter in the Guardian opposing the boycott of Israel, along with another 150 cultural and academic luminaries from the UK. Rowling was consequentially flooded with thousands of letters and emails from her readers protesting her position: "You have destroyed our childhood. We will no longer read Harry Potter," some of them wrote. Others compared Israel to "Voldemort's Death Eaters" from the Harry Potter books and even accused her of being a Zionist.

 

In response to artists' letter in support of cultural ties, 343 British academics signed a reaction letter in the Guardian in support of an academic boycott of Israel.

 

In light of the attack Rowling published a series of tweets in order to appease her readers in which she condemned Netanyahu for the actions of his government against the Palestinians and expressed solidarity with those seeking to boycott Israel.

 

"The Palestinian community has suffered untold injustice and brutality. I want to see the Israeli government held to account for that injustice and brutality. Boycotting Israel on every possible front has its allure. It satisfies the human urge to do something, anything, in the face of horrific human suffering," she wrote.

 

At the same time she stressed that she supports cultural dialogue with Israel: "A cultural boycott places immovable barriers between artists and academics who want to talk to each other, understand each other and work side-by-side for peace."

 

On the comparison her readers made of her support of Israel and the characters in the books of Harry Potter she responded: "The Harry of six and a half books might not understand (my stance)," before suggesting that by the end of the seven-book franchise he would have a greater understanding of her argument.

 


פרסום ראשון: 10.29.15, 22:33
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