STATEMENT OF THE STUDENTS OF THE FACULTY OF DRAMATIC ARTS

ON THE COOPERATION BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF SERBIA AND THE SO-CALLED STATE OF ISRAEL

In a recent statement for The Jerusalem Post, the President confirmed the speculations that

the Republic of Serbia exports weapons to the state of Israel,

thus directly aiding the execution of genocide against the people of Palestine,

as well as participating in other armed conflicts in which the state of Israel is involved

across the Middle East and Western Asia.

The conflict, ongoing for over a hundred years on the territory of Palestine,

has escalated over the past year and a half, with brutal sanctions imposed by the state of Israel

against the people and land of Palestine, depriving them of their most basic human rights.

The genocide in Palestine reached its peak between October 7th, 2023 and today,

with over 70,000 victims, not including the countless lives lost to hunger and disease,

nor the hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinian citizens forced to flee their homeland.

Despite reactions and appeals from numerous international institutions,

the state of Israel continues to carry out genocide on the territory of Palestine —

with the active support of the current regime of the Republic of Serbia,

by exporting weapons used for the total devastation of cities and villages,

from hospitals and schools to the very homes the people of Palestine are being forced to abandon.

We strongly condemn this act of foreign policy by our state,

and we are appalled by the fact that the President speaks of this cooperation with words of praise.

We urgently demand the cessation of all arms exports to the so-called state of Israel,

through which our country is directly participating in the execution of genocide against the people of Palestine.

One of the mechanisms through which the state of Israel exerts influence on other countries

is via its diplomatic bodies. Accordingly, in cooperation with the embassy of the so-called state of Israel,

the Youth Center in Belgrade has planned to host an event titled

“Israeli Film Days”, under the repugnant slogan “Love and Marriage.”

To organize such an event at this moment is not only morally bankrupt —

it is an open endorsement of genocide.

While independent cultural programs are being shut down in Serbia,

while artists are left without funding or space,

the Youth Center is investing its resources in propaganda for a state

that violates international law daily —

bombing hospitals, schools, refugee camps,

blocking humanitarian aid, and kidnapping activists fighting for the people of Palestine.

The Student Assembly of the Faculty of Dramatic Arts stands in full support of the demands

put forward to the Youth Center in Belgrade by the collective “For a Free Palestine”

and the students of the Faculty of Applied Arts, which are as follows:

• That the Youth Center publicly address this situation and present its stance.

• That it make and publish a clear decision to cancel the Israeli Film Days festival.

• That it cease all cooperation with the embassy of the state of Israel.

• That it publicly disclose how this event was scheduled in the first place.

Did the Youth Center rent out its space for the festival, or did the board allocate it?

• That all documentation related to this event be made public.

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