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Israeli Diplomat Slams Anti-Semitic, Aggressive BDS Campaign Against Sydney Festival
(Algemeiner) Shiryn Ghermezian - Israel's Deputy Ambassador to Australia Ron Gerstenfeld called organizers of a boycott against the 2022 Sydney Festival "agents of chaos" for pressuring artists to withdraw from the event because of its $20,000 sponsorship deal with the Israeli embassy. More than 30 acts pulled out in protest of the embassy's sponsorship of the Sydney Dance Company's performance of a piece by Israeli choreographer Ohad Naharin. The festival regularly partners with foreign embassies, and Gerstenfeld said the Israeli embassy was asked to financially support the performance by the management of the festival. "They told us about it...and we were happy and honored to support it," he said. "We didn't think twice about it."