Sydney Festival has once again demonstrated its commitment to zionism –– this time, silencing voices that highlight the genocide in Gaza and calls for a ceasefire.
This year, Sydney Festival claimed that acknowledging the genocide in Gaza was ‘distressing’ for audiences and pressured artists to withdraw their statements of solidarity.
In a cowardly and racist move, Sydney Festival 2025 issued a ‘content warning,’ describing an acknowledgment of the genocide in Gaza and ‘from the river to the sea, always was always will be’ as ‘challenging or confronting.’
A spokesperson for Sydney Festival told the Daily Telegraph, in a piece declaring the acknowledgement ‘antisemitic’, that they acknowledged and were responding to the ‘distress or frustration’ of audience members upset by this mention. The Festival also refunded a handful of ticket holders offended by the acknowledgement.
What happened?
The show Air Time by Branch Nebula, held at the Seymour Centre, opened with an acknowledgment of the Country on which the artists were performing, along with a statement of solidarity with Palestinians facing genocide in Gaza by Palestinian performer Feras Shaheen. Following opening night, a complaint was made by an attendee who claimed the acknowledgment was antisemitic.
Instead of supporting the artists or defending their freedom of expression, Sydney Festival and the Seymour Centre took swift action to placate the zionist complainant.
They asked performance company Branch Nebula to remove the acknowledgement, and Branch Nebula declined.
Then, without consulting the artists or Branch Nebula, and despite their objections, Sydney Festival updated their website and emailed ticket holders the following content warning:
Content warning: The performance of Air Time by Branch Nebula includes content that acknowledges sensitive and complex political issues, including the ongoing conflict in Gaza. It reflects the personal views of the artists. Some audience members may find aspects of the content challenging or confronting. If you have questions or concerns regarding this, please contact the Sydney Festival Box Office for further information or assistance.
The acknowledgement Sydney Festival tried to erase
‘My name is Feras Shaheen, I am one of the artists in Air Time. I was born to Palestinian parents. one side of me is from Gaza and another from Al-Lydd.
As we make art and perform for you today, Palestinian people are experiencing a genocide implemented by Israel as well as the sustained destruction of Palestinian culture, people and land. We call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and we stand in solidarity with all oppressed people around the world.
You can find more information and ways to take action by accessing the program via the QR codes which are found in the foyer and box office outside the theatre.
From the river to the sea, always was and always will be.’
Sydney Festival’s history of complicity
This incident reflects Sydney Festival’s ongoing pattern of complicity in supporting the Israeli state. In 2022, Sydney Festival made the Israeli Embassy a ‘star’ partner and took $20,000 in funding from the Israeli state. The Festival ignored artist and audience calls to drop the Israeli Embassy and reject the funding, which resulted in almost half of the artists withdrawing from the Sydney Festival in solidarity with Palestine and Gaza.
Erasing genocide: Sydney Festival’s shameful stance
By framing the mere acknowledgment of genocide as ‘confronting’ and ‘distressing’ while erasing the real, unspeakable distress and carnage faced by Palestinians in Gaza, the festival has aligned itself yet again with Israeli interests.
There are not enough words and there is not enough time to paint a picture of the devastation of the ongoing genocide in Gaza, which has killed at least 60,000 Palestinians who can be accounted for – a third of them children, and which has displaced millions, and decimated the land.
Media and political response
We also denounce the skewed reporting in several Australian media outlets claiming the acknowledgement of the genocide in Gaza is antisemitic. Reports have highlighted the voices of pro-Israel agitators and have linked it to attacks on synagogues by unknown perpetrators.
The emphasis on the Sydney Festival receiving Australian government funding is a dog whistle aimed at intimidating Palestinians and supporters of justice, liberation and Palestinian human rights. The NSW Arts Minister John Graham claimed ‘freedom of expression’ could not be at the ‘cost of social cohesion or making some people in our community feel singled out, unsafe or threatened.’
It is repugnant that the mere mention of the horrors in Gaza inflicted by genocidal Israel, and calls for liberation and justice and an immediate ceasefire, is spun as ‘distressing’. What is distressing to Palestinians, and to the world bearing witness, is the genocide and the unchecked violence of the Israeli state.
Call to action
Sydney Festival must be held accountable for prioritising the comfort of those who support the oppressive, genocidal and apartheid Israeli state over the truth and their programmed artists, and for its continued failure to stand on the right side of history.
For now, we ask that all artists programmed at the Sydney Festival acknowledge the ongoing genocide in Gaza and the 76 years of ethnic cleansing, occupation and apartheid across all colonised Palestine.
We also ask you to write to Sydney Festival and the Seymour Centre to demand they immediately remove content warnings and stop silencing artists who speak the truth. Insist that they uphold the right of artists to address critical issues like genocide and oppression without fear of censorship or retaliation.
Email:
Sydney Festival
mail@sydneyfestival.org.au
olivia.ansell@sydneyfestival.org.au
chris.tooher@sydneyfestival.org.au
Seymour Centre
admin@seymour.sydney.edu.au
timj@seymour.sydney.edu.au
michael.dagostino@sydney.edu.au
Do Better On Palestine 