More than 260 British artists are calling on five leading UK theatres to end partnerships with Bloomberg Philanthropies over its links with Israel, as Tel Aviv continues to wage wars in the Gaza Strip , Lebanon, and the wider region.
In an open letter published on Thursday via the Artists for Palestine UK platform, the cultural figures said that the National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company, The Young Vic, the Royal Court, and the Almeida were "actively undermining their own ethical commitments" by partnering with Bloomberg Philanthropies.
Among the signatories are actress Julia Sawalha, actor Art Malik, playwright Sabrina Mahfouz, writer Selma Dabbagh, and actress Miriam Margolyes .
Margolyes, a British-Jewish actor best known for her role in the Harry Potter film series, has frequently criticised Israel’s actions in Gaza since the start of the war in 2023, saying she was "ashamed" of Tel Aviv.
In the open letter, the artists accused Bloomberg Philanthropies of being "complicit in grave war crimes" against Palestinians for its involvement with illegal Israeli settlements, based on collected evidence. Bloomberg Philanthropies launched the Bloomberg-Sagol Center for City Leadership at Tel Aviv University in 2022 and has funded it since.
The initiative says it seeks to "strengthen local leadership across Israel" by helping local mayors of major cities to "deliver better public services to residents, strengthen social bonds, and deepen ties to the global community of innovative city leaders," according to its website.
It also provides leadership training to leaders of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank , which are illegal under international law.
These settlements have been decried by the international community, human rights organisations, and the International Court of Justice (ICJ).
The artists say many trainees at the Bloomberg-Sagol Center are "advocates and perpetrators" of criminal actions in the West Bank and Gaza, "contributing to a discourse that dehumanises Palestinians, legitimates violence against them on a mass scale and establishes conditions for genocide". Metulla mayor David Azoulay, who is part of Bloomberg-Sagol Centre’s Growth programme, was quoted as once saying: "The whole Gaza strip should be empty just like Auschwitz, flattened, just like Auschwitz is today".
In February 2025, Azoulay’s words were cited by South Africa in its Public dossier of openly available evidence on the State of Israel’s acts of genocide against the Palestinians in Gaza. 'Set an example' The artists have urged the five UK theatres "to set an example for the whole sector, by coming together to find alternatives to the sources of funding and support that currently compromise your institutions and our workspaces".
They asked the theatres "to stand up for international law and against dispossession, apartheid, genocide and mass violence," saying: "The decisions you take now will define your moral leadership and integrity for years to come".
The artists also called on the theatres to "look at the evidence, end their silence, and take an ethical stand".
Bloomberg Philanthropies, founded by former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg , is also involved with HaZira, a theatre and production house based in occupied Jerusalem.
In 2024, the organisation launched the Regional Recovery and Repair Initiative, which assists Israeli communities "hardest hit" by the war in the Gaza Strip, contributing up to $27.8 million.
Since 2015, it has also provided cities such as Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, and Beersheva with "innovation teams" and grants to boost civic innovation.
The war in Gaza has killed well over 72,000 Palestinians and rendered the enclave almost entirely uninhabitable.