On November 8, during the opening performance of the Batsheva Dance Company at the RomaEuropa Festival, human rights activists interrupted the show, sponsored by the Israeli Embassy and in the presence of the ambassador, to denounce the dance company’s role in providing a fig leaf for a decades-long brutal occupation and apartheid regime.

Batsheva is a central figure of the Brand Israel marketing campaign launched and financed by the Israeli government following three years of consultations with US public relations experts. The aim of the campaign is to divert attention of world public opinion from the continuous human rights violations committed by the Israeli government.

Chanting "Batsheva, you're an accomplice! Say no to Occupation!", the protesters called on the dancers to cut ties with Brand Israel, refuse funding from the Israeli government and take a stand, in words and in deed, against violations of Palestinian rights. Since 2010, similar appeals have been ignored by Batsheva, which continues to act as cultural ambassador for Israeli Apartheid.

The activists, while stressing the importance of international cultural events that promote music, dance and theater, insisted that there can be no place for art as propaganda. The direct links that Batsheva maintains with the Israeli government makes it impossible to describe the dance company as 'apolitical'.

Three protesters were removed from the theater, taken to a nearby police station and released shortly afterwards.

The protest action in Rome is part of the international campaign Don’t Dance With Israeli Apartheid, which in recent weeks has seen protests at every Batsheva performance in the UK and has involved noted choreographers and public figures.