August 15, 2025

We are an apartheid-free zone.

Scenekunstbruket declare ourselves free from Israeli goods and services until Israel complies with international law and ends its occupation and apartheid regime. 

The International Court of Justice (the UN’s highest judicial body) has ruled that Israel’s presence in the occupied Palestinian territory violates international law and must cease as soon as possible. In an advisory opinion on 19 July 2024, the Court ruled that Israel’s practices are contrary to international law, including international humanitarian law, human rights law and the Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. As a result , the Norwegian government this autumn strengthened its disincentive against trade and business relationships that contribute to the maintenance of the occupation. This implies a clear expectation that Norwegian businesses take responsibility. 

Before Scenekunstbruket This is about using our consumer power consciously, and avoiding supporting companies that contribute to violations of human rights or international law. Boycotts have historically been an important tool for achieving change. 

As an apartheid-free zone, we commit to: 

  • Refrain from trading in goods and services from Israeli companies and companies that, by operating in Israel, contribute to Israel's violations of Palestinian fundamental human rights. 
  • Refrain from cooperating with Israeli institutions that contribute to violations of international law 
  • Officially support the apartheid-free zones campaign  

An updated list of products and companies can be found here .  

Promoting Palestinian art and culture

Art can be considered resistance, and in Gaza important cultural monuments have also been destroyed , and the conditions for practicing art are non-existent. In this context, it is therefore important for us to collaborate with artists and organizations that are committed to promoting and disseminating Palestinian art and culture. At Showbox 2024, we showed, among other things, the performance “ Within this Party ” by and with the Palestinian dance group Stereo 48. In collaboration with KhiO, we organized an artist talk and workshop in the Palestinian folk dance dabke for students with Stereo 48. In the fall of 2025, we will collaborate with Mini-Masahat on a dabke workshop for children.

The Apartheid Free Zones campaign is part of the international Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, which was initiated by over 170 Palestinian civil society organizations in 2005. Read more about Apartheid Free Zones here .  

An apartheid-free zone can be anything from a café, restaurant, shop, to small and large businesses, sole proprietorships, organizations or trade unions. There are currently close to 300 apartheid-free zones in Norway, which also include several institutions and businesses within the arts and culture field.