Perth Theatre lashed over statement backing Palestine
Politicians and major donors have lashed the Blue Room Theatre’s decision to post a pro-Palestine ‘statement of solidarity’.
The state and federal-funded Perth theatre behind an “offensive and anti-Semitic” pro-Palestine statement has been rebuked by the West Australian government.
Northbridge’s Blue Room Theatre – a fixture of Perth’s arts scene that has been a launching pad for multiple careers – was criticised by members of the Jewish community after it released a “statement of solidarity” on the Gaza conflict.
The statement accused Israel of committing war crimes and genocide but made no mention of the October 7 Hamas terrorist attacks. It also ended with the phrase ”from the river to the sea”, which has been characterised as an anti-Semitic call for the extermination of the Jewish state.
The theatre’s main funding bodies are the WA government, its Lotterywest agency, and the federal government’s Creative Australia.
A spokeswoman for the WA government said arts and culture organisations that were publicly funded were expected to promote a safe and inclusive environment for all artists and audiences.
“Caution should be applied when making statements about potentially emotive and divisive issues that may offend certain sections, or individual members, of the community that results in them feeling unwelcome or unsafe,” the spokeswoman said.
“Cultural diversity and harmony are important qualities of the Western Australian community.”
The theatre’s statement could put it in breach of Lotterywest’s recently introduced Good Practice Requirements, which require all grant recipients to “treat all people equitably with respect and dignity, regardless of gender and sexual identity, ability, language, ethnicity, religious belief, cultural background, age, education, socio-economic background or other dimensions of diversity”.
A Lotterywest spokesman confirmed that the organisation had provided tens of thousands of dollars of grants in recent years.
“This support was for specific activities which align with our vision for a hopeful, healthy, connected and sustainable community life for all Western Australians,” the spokesman said.
The theatre has already been criticised over the statement by some of its private supporters, with former federal minister Fred Chaney condemning the theatre’s stance.
“We had no knowledge of the statement and do not support the company taking a political position on a tragic and complex international issue,” he said in a statement.
While Creative Australia did not respond to a request for comment, opposition arts spokesman Paul Fletcher said federal Arts Minister Tony Burke should be asking questions about the taxpayer funds going to the theatre.
More Coverage
We may be trade war collateral damage
The nation’s businesses and the Labor government have been warned that Donald Trump sees trade tariffs as an ‘end in themselves’ rather than a negotiating tool.
Jobs market too tight for rate cut, KPMG warns
KPMG has warned Australia’s tight labour market is still placing upwards pressure on inflation and the Reserve Bank cannot risk lowering the interest rate later this month.