Personal Statement
"I am deeply concerned about the global effort to impose a cultural boycott on Israel and the threat it poses to the freedom of artistic expression.
I believe art is integral to the human experience. It simultaneously reflects the world in which we live and serves as a vehicle for change. I believe that the threat to freedom of expression anywhere is a threat to that freedom everywhere. I hope you’ll join me in the fight to defend it.”
Who is Lana Melman?
LANA MELMAN is an attorney, a 20-year entertainment industry veteran, a public speaker, and the CEO of Liberate Art Inc. She has been a leading expert fighting the cultural boycott campaign against Israel since 2011. Her book, ARTISTS UNDER FIRE: The BDS War Against Celebrities, Jews, and Israel puts BDS on trial and tells the stories of artists and entertainers caught in its crossfire.
Melman is a columnist for the Florida Jewish Journal/Sun Sentinel and a 2022 Nellie Bly Prize Blue Ribbon Winner for Nonfiction Journalism. She served as the premier director of Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), an entertainment based non-profit. She has worked with the representatives of almost 1000 artists targeted by BDS.
Lana has worked with the representatives of almost a thousand artists pressed to boycott Israel and prevented numerous cancellations of scheduled concert dates in Israel.
Her book, ARTISTS UNDER FIRE: The BDS War Against Celebrities, Jews, and Israel, puts the boycott, divestment, and sanctions campaign against Israel (BDS) on trial. Lana tells the stories of artists and entertainers like Bon Jovi, Alicia Keys, and Carlos Santana caught in its crossfire. She calls out a vocal group of artists, led by Pink Floyd co-founder Roger Waters, who have joined the attack and created a star-studded battle between themselves and the thousands of musicians, filmmakers, and authors who refuse to be cowed.
As CEO of Liberate Art, Lana united five-time Grammy winner Ziggy Marley together with the Jewish National Fund (JNF) for its clean water initiative and produced the first anti-BDS celebrity panel featuring artists from film, television, and music. Participants included musician Alan Parsons (the Alan Parsons Project) and the iconic writer/producer/director David Zucker (Airplane!, The Naked Gun, Scary Movies).
In a previous position, Lana helped circulate a statement supporting Israel’s right to defend itself signed by over 300 Hollywood luminaries, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, Seth Rogen, Kelsey Grammer, Sylvester Stallone, Tom Arnold, Benji Madden, and Sarah Silverman. She also worked closely with Scarlett Johansson‘s representative during the SodaStream/Super Bowl controversy and with Alicia Keys’ team when she received extreme boycott pressure for her performance in Tel Aviv.
Lana has written dozens of opinion pieces for international publications and is a go-to source for information and commentary for journalists. A frequent guest on TV and talk radio, she has been invited to speak in forums large and small - including to members of the UK Parliament.
Artists Under Fire won the Nellie Bly Prize Blue Ribbon for Nonfiction Journalism (2022) and the NYC Big Book first prize for Cultural & Social Issues (2023). It was also an Amazon New Release Best Seller in four categories.
Lana served as the premier director of Creative Community for Peace from 2011-2015 and founded Liberate Art in 2015.
Currently, Lana is a columnist for the Sun Sentinel Florida Jewish Journal, a Co-Founder of the EndJewHatred Movement, and a member of the JNF Arts and Entertainment Task Force.
She began her career in the entertainment industry as an attorney for Columbia Pictures Television and a business affairs executive at CBS. She later worked as a creative executive at CBS, Warner Bros., and Paramount, then as a writer and executive producer.
Lana’s book Artists Under Fire - The BDS War Against Celebrities, Jews, and Israel was published on May 3, 2022.
