The Israeli interior ministry has described claims that Elton John was asked to sign a declaration of loyalty to Israel ahead of his Tel Aviv concert in May as “wacky and crazy”.
According to Israeli media, the singer’s concert producer Shuki Weiss claimed he had been asked to sign the declaration on the singer’s behalf “as a condition for getting a work visa”.
Mr Weiss said: “Artists are refusing to sign a declaration of loyalty to Israel as a condition for coming to Israel. That was a demand made by the Interior Ministry as a condition for getting a work visa. Only two weeks ago Elton John was asked to sign a declaration of loyalty. That insane idea has been dropped.”
An Interior Ministry spokeswoman denied the claims. She said: “This is a blatant lie aimed at grabbing headlines at the expense of a government ministry. Never has any artist been asked to sign such a declaration. We are considering a libel suit against Weiss.”
