Support for Pop Singer Lorde’s Refusal to Perform in Tel Aviv
by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor, professionally known as Lorde, is hugely popular, a two-time Grammy Awards winner, earning 10 New Zealand Music Awards, her home country, named one of the world’s most influential teenagers by Time magazine.
After initially agreeing to perform in Tel Aviv, urging by BDS got her to cancel in late December, saying at the time:
“I’ve received an overwhelming number of messages and 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,” adding:
“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.”
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), thanked her for “heeding appeals from your fans against Israel’s art-washing of its brutal oppression of Palestinians,” adding:
“Your unwavering commitment to progressive values inspires us and gives us hope.”
New Zealand Jews against Israeli occupation called her cancellation “a seminal moment for BDS…a courageous decision (against) Israeli occupation and importance of human rights.”
A shameful full-page neocon/CIA-connected Washington Post ad disgracefully called her a “bigot,” accusing her of joining “a global antisemitic boycott of Israel.”
Ziofascist/religious fundamentalist/hate-mongering rabbi Shmuel “Shmuley” Boteach’s This World: The Values Network sponsored the ad in WaPo’s December 31 edition, headlined “Lorde and New Zealand ignore Syria to attack Israel,” the ad’s copy disgracefully saying:
“While Lorde claims to be concerned with human rights, she hypocritically chose to proceed with her two concerts in Putin’s Russia, despite his support for Assad’s genocidal regime which has already claimed the lives of over 500,000 innocents, and Russia’s own endless litany of human rights abuses.”
On Friday, London’s Guardian published a letter by over 100 well-known writers, actors, directors and musicians, expressing support for Lorde’s refusal to perform in Tel Aviv, stating:
“We write in support of Lorde, who made public her decision not to perform in Israel and has now been branded a bigot in a full page advertisement in the Washington Post.”
“Shmuley Boteach, the author and promoter of the advert, supports Israel’s illegal settlements and wrote last month on Breitbart to thank Donald Trump for ‘electrifying the world’ with his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in defiance of international law.”
“He has nothing to teach artists about human rights. We deplore the bullying tactics being used to defend injustice against Palestinians and to suppress an artist’s freedom of conscience. We support Lorde’s right to take a stand.”
The letter was signed by the following individuals:
Tubde Adebimpe Musician
Adjoa Andoh Actor
Julie Christie Actor
Caryl Churchill Playwright
Dominic Cooke Director
Kia Corthron Playwright
Molly Crabapple Artist
John Cusack Actor
Cherien Dabis Film and TV director
William Dalrymple Writer
Angela Davis Writer
David Edgar Playwright
Brian Eno Musician
Eve Ensler Playwright
Shepard Fairey Artist
Bella Freud Designer
Peter Gabriel Musician
Lisa Gerrard Composer
Tom Gilroy Director
David Gray Musician
Kathleen Hanna Musician
AL Kennedy Writer
Jonathan Kent Opera and theatre director
Hari Kunzru Writer
Talib Kweli Musician
David Lan Artistic director, Young Vic
Ken Loach Film director
Miriam Margolyes Actor
Yann Martel Writer
Emel Mathlouthi Musician
Viggo Mortensen Actor
Tom Morello Musician
David Morrissey Actor
Peter Mullan Actor
Maxine Peake Actor
Jocelyn Pook Composer
Mark Ruffalo Actor
Alexei Sayle Comedian
James Schamus Screenwriter
Gillian Slovo Writer
Ahdaf Soueif Writer
Juliet Stevenson Actor
Alice Walker Writer
Roger Waters Musician
Benjamin Zephaniah Poet,
and 56 others listed at http://artistsforpalestine.org.uk/2018/01/05/leading-artists-stand-with-lorde/
Boycotting, divesting and sanctioning Israel deserves universal support – a vital way to challenge its ruthlessness!
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