://about blank cancels Room 4 Resistance event in light of #DJsForPalestine movement

Written by Maya-Rose Torrão

Berlin club ://about blank have cancelled an upcoming event featuring Cómeme and Room 4 Resistance (R4R), in light of R4R’s participation in the social media campaign #DJsForPalestine (you can check out our article on the movement from last week, here), coordinated by PACBI (Palestinian Campaign For The Cultural And Academic Boycott Of Israel). ://about blank called off the event and wrote that, “Due to the irreconcilable differences, we decided to cancel the upcoming Room 4 Resistance x Cómeme at our venue. Calls for boycotts for such as against Israel, shared by the R4R-collective, profoundly disrespect our political understanding. We as ://about blank want this place to be a room for productive political debates, different and diverse positions—but no platform for structural anti-Semitism.”

R4R retaliated with their own statement, explaining their position: “In addition to being queer, femme and non-binary forward, trans-positive, and sex-positive, we are anti-racist, anti-fascist, anti-colonialist, anti-apartheid and therefore opposed to the violent oppression of the Palestinian people … Since they suffer this oppression at the hands of the state of Israel, we understand why Palestinian rights groups are calling for a peaceful protest and cultural boycott.”

R4R has now started a crowdfunding campaign to cover the costs of artists who will lose money over the cancellation and are in need of fees for travel, their time and other expenses. If there are funds remaining, they will be donated by R4R to a charity “that fights against the rise of right-wing politics in Germany.”

Read both ://about blank’s and Room 4 Resistance’s statements in full, below.

://about blank:

Room 4 Resistance: