More than 100 musicians, writers, actors and directors have signed an open letter supporting singer-songwriter Lorde’s right to cancel her show in Israel.
The letter, published online today, railed against a full-page advert taken out in the Washington Post by outspoken American author and rabbi, Shmuley Boteach, which branded the Kiwi pop star a bigot.
Signatories to the letter included Ken Loach, Mark Ruffalo, Peter Gabriel, Roger Waters, John Cusack, Miriam Margolyes and writer Angela Davis.
It read: “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 (Report, 1 January).
“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.”
| Lorde's announcement |
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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 |
Last month Lorde joined a string of other artists participating in the cultural boycott of Israel after she announced she would cancel her Tel Aviv concert, scheduled for June 5, over the Israeli government’s treatment of Palestinians.
She was accused of hypocrisy because she did not cancel concerts planned in Russia, which has been accused of supporting genocidal policies in Syria.
