<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40">
<head>
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=us-ascii">
<meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)">
<style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:"Century Schoolbook";
panose-1:2 4 6 4 5 5 5 2 3 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0cm;
margin-bottom:.0001pt;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:blue;
text-decoration:underline;}
a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:purple;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle17
{mso-style-type:personal-compose;
font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif;
color:windowtext;
font-weight:normal;
font-style:normal;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
mso-fareast-language:EN-US;}
@page WordSection1
{size:612.0pt 792.0pt;
margin:72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt 72.0pt;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]-->
</head>
<body lang="EN-CA" link="blue" vlink="purple">
<div class="WordSection1">
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif;background:yellow;mso-highlight:yellow">A hopeful sign !</span><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif"><o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:3.75pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<b><span style="font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Toronto artists call on Koffler Centre to divest from United Jewish Appeal<o:p></o:p></span></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom:3.75pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<span style="font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">Hundreds have vowed to boycott the arts organization if it doesn't dissociate from groups supporting Zionist goals<br>
</span><b><span style="font-size:14.0pt"><a href="https://nowtoronto.com/culture/toronto-artists-call-on-koffler-centre-to-divest-from-united-jewish-appeal?utm_source=nowtoronto.com&utm_campaign=65bfff9ac5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_05_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bfaa0e1d4c-65bfff9ac5-81138686">Toronto
artists call on Koffler Centre to divest from United Jewish Appeal (nowtoronto.com)</a><br>
</span></b><span style="font-size:14.5pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">By Radheyan Simonpillai -- May 25, 2021<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm;margin-bottom:.0001pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline">
<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333">Hundreds of artists and arts organizations have signed <a href="https://docs.google.com/document/d/1HHKV_RygitVlHtd_WHpdM3OZ8KZuu3xdOelMiokDPF8/edit"><span style="color:#CE2D27;border:none windowtext 1.0pt;padding:0cm;text-decoration:none">a
petition</span></a> calling on the Koffler Centre of the Arts to divest and cut ties to the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0cm;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: inherit;outline: none 0px;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;font-variant-numeric: inherit;font-variant-east-asian: inherit;font-stretch: inherit;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333">“While the Koffler has shifted to a social justice mandate, presenting work that is critical of settler colonialism and working with numerous racialized and politicized artists and organizations, this
has not been extended to the Palestinian context,” reads the petition, which is signed by organizations like the Chinatown Biennial, South Asian Visual Arts Centre and Xspace Cultural Centre.<br>
<br>
“This is artwashing,” the petition states, “in service of obfuscating its relationships to funders that uphold Israeli apartheid, namely the United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Federation.”<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p style="mso-margin-top-alt:0cm;margin-right:0cm;margin-bottom:11.25pt;margin-left:0cm;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: inherit;outline: none 0px;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;font-variant-numeric: inherit;font-variant-east-asian: inherit;font-stretch: inherit;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px">
<span style="font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#333333">The petition, which pledges a boycott of the Koffler Centre should it choose not to divest, says the UJA has “explicitly Zionist” goals.<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:14.0pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif"><a href="https://nowtoronto.com/culture/toronto-artists-call-on-koffler-centre-to-divest-from-united-jewish-appeal?utm_source=nowtoronto.com&utm_campaign=65bfff9ac5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_05_26&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_bfaa0e1d4c-65bfff9ac5-81138686">Read
More</a> <o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif"><o:p> </o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Century Schoolbook",serif;mso-fareast-language:EN-CA">David
<br>
<br>
<o:p></o:p></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>
</div>
</body>
</html>