A full-page advertisement taken out in the Washington Post has accused the singer-songwriter Lorde of “bigotry” and displaying “Jew-hatred” over her decision not to perform in Israel.

 

The advert, taken out by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach’s This World:The Values Network, accused the New Zealand musician of joining “a global antisemitic boycott of Israel”.

 

It said the 21-year-old was guilty of hypocrisy in expressing concern over the treatment of Palestinians, but going ahead with two concerts in Russia, which was guilty of supporting a "genocidal regime" in Syria.

 

It urged: “Let’s boycott the boycotters and tell Lorde and her fellow bigots that Jew-hatred has no place in the twenty-first century.”

 

The advert, which appeared in Sunday’s edition of the paper, featured a photo of the singer over a picture of men running through rubble holding babies. The headline “Lorde and New Zealand ignore Syria to attack Israel”.

 

The singer’s decision was condemned as an example of how  a “growing prejudice against the Jewish State” in New Zealand was “trickling down to its youth”.

 

“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 [Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s genocidal regime.”

 

 

Lorde cancelled the show, which was due to take place in June, after pressure from the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, and the publication of an open letter from two fans claiming her appearance would be seen as support for “the occupation of Palestine”.

 

She explained her “right decision” in a statement, which did not mention the BDS movement.

"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," she wrote, adding: "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." 

 

Her withdrawal was criticised in Israel and by Jewish groups around the world.