France's Collège de France cancelled a Palestine conference on November 8, 2025, following political pressure from Higher Education Minister Philippe Baptiste and advocacy groups. The November 7 Israel Philharmonic Orchestra concert in Paris was disrupted three times by protesters with smoke bombs, leading to four arrests. French artists responded with a December 9 charity concert raising €50,000 for Gaza. In January 2026, France indefinitely suspended its Pause asylum program for Gazan artists and scholars, leaving at least 21 recipients trapped despite having been awarded scholarships.
REPORT: SKeyes Center for Media and Cultural Freedom documents systematic targeting of Palestinian journalists, photographers, and artists in December 2025. The Palestinian Journalists Syndicate recorded 99 violations across Palestinian territories, with 48 detention cases in the West Bank alone. Named arrests include writer Sari Arabi (Dec 25), Palestine TV reporter Ahmad Shawar and photographer Bashar Nazzal (Dec 4), and comedian Amer Zahr in Nazareth (Dec 27). Israeli police also raided Haifa's Nayruz Music Institute Christmas performance, arresting three participants.
Concerts, exhibitions and literary events across Central Asia are being cancelled after artists’ political statements or perceived alignment with the wars in Ukraine and Gaza. From pro‑Kremlin musicians dropped in Tashkent to a Taiwanese exhibition halted in Almaty, cultural programming in Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan is now defined by quiet pressures and sudden reversals.
Palestinian documentary filmmaker Abdallah Motan has been held in Israeli administrative detention since January 2025 without charges or trial. Known for his internationally recognized work, including Deferred Reclaim, Motan’s detention highlights the suppression of Palestinian cultural voices. Despite international calls for his release and solidarity screenings of his films, his status remains unconfirmed, raising urgent questions about freedom of expression and the rights of artists under occupation
As war escalated in Gaza after October 2023, Meta’s platforms became crucial spaces for documentation and solidarity. Yet investigations and leaks suggest a vast system of digital censorship targeting Palestinian and pro-Palestinian content, allegedly in close coordination with Israeli authorities. While platforms deny political bias, artists and activists across the Arab world are now developing creative strategies to evade algorithmic suppression and preserve their narratives.
The war in Gaza has wiped out a generation of artists across all fields, erasing voices crucial to Palestinian culture and identity.
Dorgham Quraiqi, a 28-year-old Palestinian artist, was tragically killed in an Israeli airstrike on March 18, 2025. He was known for his oil paintings and community work supporting children
