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Buckling to the criticism of anti-Israel activists, recording artist Lorde is the latest to cancel a concert scheduled for Tel Aviv, Israel.
Elvis Costello, Thurston Moore and Lauryn Hill have all given in to the “BDS” movement, which stands for “boycott, divestment and sanctions” against Israel.
BDS organizes social media campaigns to discourage artists from performing in the country. While the previously named musicians have canceled concerts in Israel, others, including Radiohead and Nick Cave, have refused.
Lorde’s announcement, distributed on social media and by her booking agency, CAA, reads:
hey guys, so about this israel show – i’ve received an overwhelming number of messages & letters and have had a lot of discussions with people holding many views, and i think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show. i pride myself on being an informed young citizen, and i had done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in tel aviv, but I’m not too proud to admit i didn’t make the right call on this one. tel aviv, it’s been a dream of mine to visit this beautiful part of the world for many years, and i’m truly sorry to reverse my commitment to come play for you. i hope one day we can all dance. L x
The concert, which was supposed to take place in June at Tel Aviv’s 15,000-seat Convention Centre, had already seen robust ticket sales just a few days after they were made available.
The response from Israelis and their supporters was swift.
Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev wrote: “Lorde, I’m hoping you can be a ‘pure heroine,’ like the title of your first album, be a heroine of pure culture, free from any foreign — and ridiculous — political considerations.”
Culture Minister Miri Regev issued a statement calling on Lorde to reverse her cancellation: “Lorde, I’m hoping you can be a ‘pure heroine,’ like the title of your first album, be a heroine of pure culture, free from any foreign – and ridiculous – political considerations.”
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) December 24, 2017
The Israeli ambassador to New Zealand has invited Lorde to meet him and discuss how music should unite us. But Lorde doesn’t need to hear from Israeli gov’t officials, she should hear from her local fans who basically couldn’t care less about the gov’t. https://t.co/vA2GaJSIZw
— Amy Spiro (@AmySpiro) December 26, 2017
The organization, Creative Community for Peace, released the following statement signed by several dozen musicians and music industry executives: “Artists should never become beholden to the political views of a small but loud minority. … Lorde became the target of that wrath, and we’re deeply disappointed that rather than rebuff the boycott movement and follow in the footsteps of Radiohead, Nick Cave, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, and many other artists who have chosen to build #BridgesNotBoycotts, she canceled her show.”
Performance dates for two Russian cities — St. Petersberg and Moscow — remain on Lorde’s tour schedule. As has been widely documented, Russia’s anti-LGBT “gay propaganda law” has been denounced as discriminatory and an affront to human rights.
The same people who are applauding @lorde’s decision to cancel a concert in Israel ignore the fact that she’ll be playing shows in Russia (a bastion of Human Rights); and would likely throw her a parade if she decided to perform in Iran.
— Alex VanNess (@thealexvanness) December 25, 2017
.@lorde WHY WHY WHY did you buckle to the antisemites and punish only #Israel Your cancellation hurts everyone, and is anti-peace. As you learn more, learn about Hamas and how Palestinian leaders continue to reject peace. pic.twitter.com/LQO0l85Q5w
— Roz Rothstein (@RozRothstein) December 26, 2017
Lorde just canceled her show in Isreal to make a moral stance against Jews in a sea of Muslims. FYI Lorde, if you want to be a feminist don’t side with the people who DO the genital mutilation of women. Go with the ones who DONT. Millenials have garbage brains from soyverdosing.
— Owen Benjamin 🐻 (@OwenBenjamin) December 25, 2017

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