“Bye. Don’t come back… We are proud of the U.S. military in Texas. If you don’t like it, don’t come here.” That was Texas Governor Greg Abbot’s response to the over 60 artists who pulled out of SXSW due to the U.S.’s support of Israel.
South by SouthWest (SXSW), is a festival that, according to their website, “celebrates the convergence of tech, film, education and culture.” Roughly 300,000 people come to see the weeklong festival every year. 2023’s SXSW festival generated $381 million in spending for Austin’s economy. This year the festival was held during spring break. from March 8-16.
The artists who pulled out of the festival are a part of The Austin for Palestine Coalition’s campaign, War Mongers out of SXSW. The coalition is asking people to contact SXSW to disinvite Collins Aerospace, BAE Systems, and other defense companies. They are also asking people to reevaluate the use of Department Defense and to use SXSW’s platform to “raise awareness about the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza and advocate for peace, justice, and the protection of human rights.”
The organization says that they are “disturbed by SXSW’s platforming of agencies in the Department of Defense, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), National Security Agency (NSA), and the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO).” The organization says that “if SXSW wishes to retain its credibility, it must change course by disavowing the normalization of militarization within the tech and entertainment industries.”
Soon after the Governor told the artists not to come back, SXSW tweeted that “SXSW does not agree with Governor Abbot.” They then wrote in a thread, “We are an organization that welcomes diverse viewpoints. Music is the soul of SXSW, and it has long been our legacy. We fully respect the decision these artists made to exercise their right to free speech.”
The festival has always been supported by the U.S. Army’s Future Command, an army branch dedicated to technological innovation. However this year, the Army was considered a “Super Sponsor”. While it’s not clear how much money the army paid to be a super sponsor, this irked many performers. SXSW supported its decision to accept the U.S. Army’s sponsorship saying that the sponsorship is part of its, “commitment to bring forward ideas that shape our world.” The festival said that they support human rights for all and called the Israel-Hamas war “tragic”
A speaker who pulled out of SXSW told Texas Monthly that “Things will have to change next year—they cannot do this again.” Another SXSW performer said that ““I’m a native Austinite, I’ve lived here all my life, and over the years I feel like I’ve just seen South by Southwest get a little bit worse every year.” These are only a few experiences shared by performers who are disagreeing with SXSW’s decision to have the U.S. Army’s Future Command sponsor them.
All of this comes after Hamas invaded Israel on October 7, 2023. The invasion led to more than 12,000 Israeli deaths, and over 30,000 Palestinian deaths according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry. The U.S. has supported Israel by sending military aid. Since then, protests have erupted around the country over the Biden Administration’s support of Israel. Many are calling for a ceasefire and for more support to the Palestinians trapped in Gaza.
While it’s not immediately clear if this will have a wider ripple effect, this latest protest shows a disenfranchisement among Americans over the U.S.’s support of Israel. An Associated Press poll of around 1,239 adults found that half of U.S. adults believed that Israel went too far. Even though the U.S. is supporting Israel, the tension between both countries continues to rise. Biden has continually called on Israel to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people. On March 14, Democratic U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer called on a new election in Israel, which Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called “totally inappropriate.” However, with Israel continuing its invasion, it’s unlikely that the war will end soon.
