UK
Nish Kumar pulls out of Hay Festival over Israel
Stand-up comedian joins boycott of literary festivals with links to Israel
May 24, 2024 10:57
Stand-up comedian joins boycott of literary festivals with links to Israel
May 24, 2024 10:57Comedian Nish Kumar has pulled out of the Hay Festival over its sponsor’s financial links to Israel.
Kumar has joined the clamour of anti-Israel protesters who object to the literary festival’s partnership deal with asset management company, Baillie Gifford, which has investments in Israeli companies.
The former host of the BBC’s Mash Report joins Labour MP Dawn Butler and anti-capitalist commentator Grace Blakeley, who have also withdrawn from events at Hay over Baillie Gifford’s financial links to Israel.
“Sad to say that I will be pulling out of Hay to support this campaign. Love the festival and the people that work in it, but this was the right decision for me,” Kumar wrote on X on Thursday, the same day he was due to appear on a broadcast of BBC Radio 4’s Loose Ends from the festival.
He shared a statement from Fossil Free Books (FFB) which demands Baillie Gifford withdraw all investment from Israel. It has been signed by more than 600 writers and publishing industry professionals including novelist Sally Rooney, activist Naomi Klein, journalist George Monbiot and writer Robert Macfarlane.
They have called on the firm, which is also a sponsor of literary festivals in Cheltenham and Edinburgh, to "divest from the fossil fuel industry and from companies that profit from Israeli apartheid, occupation and genocide.”
“A literary industry free from fossil fuels, genocide and colonial violence is possible and it is necessary.”
The writers threatened that literary organisations which accept sponsorship from Baillie Gifford “can expect escalation, including the expansion of boycotts, increased author withdrawal of labour, and increased disruption until Baillie Gifford divests”.
They claim Baillie Gifford has "nearly £10bn invested in companies with direct or indirect links to Israel's defence, tech and cybersecurity industries, including Nvidia, Amazon and Alphabet.”
The company has called the FFB’s statement “seriously misleading”.
A spokesperson for Bailly Gifford said that while the company’s clients have invested in multinational technology companies including Meta and Amazon which have dealings with Israel, these are “tiny in the context of their overall business”.
The spokesperson added that “practically every consumer and investor in the developed world is using the services of these companies.”