Radiohead,the British rock band, has been urged to cancel a concert in Tel Aviv this summer as part of a “cultural boycott of Israel”.

Dozens of writers, musicians, artists and other high profile figures have signed an open letter demanding the band pulls out “until apartheid is over”.

Published on Monday, the letter was signed by Desmond Tutu, actor Ricky Tomlinson, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, filmmakers Ken Loach and Mike Leigh and writer and broadcaster Michael Rosen, among others.

They asked the band to “think again… because by playing in Israel you’ll be playing in a state where, UN rapporteurs say, ‘a system of apartheid has been imposed on the Palestinian people’”.

A Radiohead spokesperson said the band would not comment on the letter.

Jonny Greenwood, Radiohead’s lead guitarist, is married to an Israeli visual artist called Sharona Katan.