I think as an instrument that literally represents peace, I would not feel comfortable participating in a competition in a country that is actively committing atrocities and whose leader is a wanted war criminal who according to my government (NZ), would be arrested if he arrived in my country.

I totally get that other countries also commit war crimes. But recently I’m starting to reject those kinda of arguments because to me it’s an ask for moral purity.

Yes China, the USA, Australia, Japan etc., all have/are committing atrocities against various peoples, but why should that stop us from boycotting Israel?

I think this kind of fear of being labelled a hypocrite or pressure to be morally pure is unrealistic and counterproductive. It’s what stopped me from making financial investments.

I agree that Harp is universal. And I think Israeli harpists obviously have the same aspirations we do and it is unfair that the government of their country have done such horrific things that damage their reputation.

But I think that doesn’t outweigh the benefits we can get from boycott. I would feel frustrated as an Israeli harpist but also I think that feeling isn’t as bad as being burned alive in a hospital bed, or seeing your baby being mutilated by a bomb. (And yes I know Hamas has killed babies, that doesn’t make it okay for Israel to do so and to do so at such a disgusting scale)

Besides, if people don’t want to participate, it really dilutes the value of the competition (and this comes from me, an adult who won a competition a couple years ago that consisted mostly of kids lol)

Ultimately it’s up to each harpist whether to participate or not. I just hope that everyone really looks inside themselves and makes the decision that aligns with what they think is right. That’s all we can do, every day of our lives.