Dozens of actors, musicians, and writers have condemned Donald Trump’s move to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, describing it as “racist manipulation”.
Long-term supporter of the anti-Israel Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, Roger Waters, was one of those who criticized the move in a letter to The Guardian.
He joined actors Tilda Swinton and Mark Ruffalo, and musicians Peter Gabriel and Brian Eno, in signing the letter, which said: “We reject Trump’s collusion with such racist manipulation and his disregard for international law.”
The signatories accused Mr Trump of helping Israel to “erase Palestinians as a political and cultural presence from the life of their own city.”
Actors Maxine Peake, Julie Christie and Juliette Stephenson, the playwright Caryl Churchill and director Mike Leigh were among those who put their names to the letter, which said the Israeli government was instigating a “creeping process of ethnic cleansing”.
Mr Trump’s move to change the status of Jerusalem would exacerbate the situation for the Palestinian people, it said.
“We deplore his readiness to crown the Israeli military conquest of East Jerusalem and his indifference to Palestinian rights.
“As artists and as citizens, we challenge the ignorance and inhumanity of these policies, and celebrate the resilience of Palestinians living under occupation.”
The letter also said French President Emmanuel Macron did not go far enough in his criticism of Mr Trump’s move.
“In recognising Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, Donald Trump seeks to achieve through a declaration what Israel has been trying to do for 50 years through force of arms,” the letter said.
Mr Trump tore up decades of convention last week by declaring the US now recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital city.
His move went against the international consensus on the issue, but Mr Trump said his predecessors as president over the past twenty years had repeatedly failed to solve the problem in the region.
He also announced the US would be relocating its embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
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