German Jazz Prize Disinvites New York Curator over her Palestine Solidarity

On July 8, 2024, I was invited to contribute to the next edition of the German Jazz Prize as an expert juror. I gratefully accepted, had an introductory meeting, and began compiling lists. On August 15, I was invited to "another brief Zoom call," which was held on August 22. The managing director, Katja Lucker, was on the call, and we began an unexpected and extensive discussion about my public support for Palestine and PACBI (Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel).

I responded to each of Lucker's many concerns: when she said she worried I could not be a neutral judge of Israeli musicians, I explained that PACBI does not apply to individuals, and mentioned excellent Israeli jazz artists living in NYC; when she said it was an antisemitic double-standard to criticize Israel more than, say, Russia, I explained that my priority as an American is to criticize the crimes being funded by my own government, and that I do so alongside many Jewish people; when she brought up negative anecdotes she had heard about BDS and PACBI, I said that I am not inclined to criticize the organizing tactics of people living under apartheid for decades, but can reassure her about my own positions. I confirmed that I do not support Hamas, adding that I was never asked if I supported the 9/11 terrorists when protesting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and reiterated that I'm focused on opposing the state-funded mass slaughter of civilians.

Lucker expressed her concern that other jury members and funding parties might take issue with my involvement, and I said I was happy to speak with anyone on the jury, advisory board, or even funding parties to ensure their comfort with my participation.

She eventually shared that she had previously been subjected to a BDS boycott for work in Tel Aviv; I told her that while direct partnerships like that one would certainly face boycotts, I would still not be affected because PACBI doesn’t apply to secondary boycotts. Lucker then heavily implied that they would work with me if I simply removed PACBI support from the top of my website, saying it would be different if I had simply signed something once, or made a post on social media.

She ultimately asked me to confirm that I would not remove PACBI links from my site; when I said that I would not, she said that we had "a problem," but that she would try to make some calls to other members of her organization and/or someone from cultural affairs responsible for their funding.

On August 30, Lucker wrote again to thank me for our conversation and say that they had made the difficult decision to stop our collaboration.