DUBAI: US musician and artist Laurie Anderson has withdrawn from a professorship at Germany’s Folkwang University of the Arts over a 2021 letter she signed in support of Palestine, according to Arab News.The artist was a signatory on an open “letter against apartheid“ written by Palestinian artists in 2021 that followed a new wave of violence that erupted in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah.The decision, according to The Guardian, announced days before Anderson is due to receive a lifetime achievement award at this year’s Grammys, adds to the wave of cultural events that have been scrapped in Germany after artists expressed views deemed by officials to be anti-Israel.In a press release issued by the university, representatives of the academic establishment said “discussion and dialogue are indeed key pillars in the general philosophy of the Folkwang University of the Arts. However, art, culture and science should remain places where the boundaries of dialogue are open and expansive as a matter of principle, and where contentious issues are kept in check. The university strictly rejects any form of antisemitism, misanthropy or racism,” the Arab News added.In the same release, Anderson said: “For me, the question is not whether my political views have changed. The real question is, why is this question even being asked? Against this background, I am withdrawing from the project.”
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