Israel's liberal artists decry attempts to limit expression
Source: Associated Press
Israel's liberal artists decry attempts to limit expression
Tia Goldenberg, Associated Press
Updated 5:47 pm, Saturday, January 30, 2016
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel's cultural class is increasingly alarmed by what many see as a tightening noose on freedom of expression, as a hard-line government minister seeks to cut off funding for artists who are critical of the state and activists accuse them of outright treason.
The clash highlights a broader battle amid Israel's rightward lurch after nearly 50 years of occupation of lands the Palestinians want for a future state. As Israel's dovish camp erodes, a nationalist-religious right is rising that lends more emphasis to Israel's character as a Jewish state, rather than one that is equally Jewish and democratic.
For Israeli artists, who like their counterparts worldwide tend to lean liberal, the chasm between their viewpoints and those of a growing number of Israelis is only deepening. Israel's liberal cadre of musicians, authors and actors have long been some of the country's most vocal critics, headlining peace rallies and staging provocative performances that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy.
"The first signs of dictatorship are the elimination of the other," Ronit Matalon, a fiction writer, told the daily Haaretz. "The oxygen in the air we breathe is getting thinner."
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Israel-s-liberal-artists-decry-attempts-to-limit-6794805.php
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