After dozens of bands canceled appearances at this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) festival as part of a protest over connections to the Israeli invasion of Gaza, the mammoth Austin-based event defended its partnerships with the U.S. Army and a weapons manufacturer Tuesday.
“I have decided to pull out of my official SXSW showcases in protest of SXSW’s ties to the defense industry and in support of the Palestinian people,” Ella Williams, known by the stage name Squirrel Flower,on Instagram Sunday, one day before the music portion of the festival began, that they could not attend an event that platforms “the very companies selling the weapons that have murdered 31,000 Palestinians, over 21,000 of them women and children.”“The boycott of SXSW grows every day,” the group said. “No more war profiteers and warmongers in this city! Free Palestine. Ceasefire No