BDS Pressures Uruguay Celebrity Natalia Oreiro to Cancel Israel Gig

Palestinian terror supporter and BDS activist Bassem Tamimi is calling on Uruguayan singer and actress Natalia Oreiro to cancel her performance in Israel in the name of “human rights.”

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel

Bassem Tamimi, father of Ahed Tamimi, a 17-year-old Palestinian recently arrested by Israel for assaulting IDF soldiers and inciting terrorism, is calling on Uruguayan singer and actress Natalia Oreiro to cancel her upcoming concert in Tel Aviv in a show of solidarity with his daughter.

In a letter published on the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) website, Tamimi senior argued that the Latin Grammy-nominated singer should cancel the concert and “take a stand for Palestinian children’s rights.”

Performing in Tel Aviv will “cover up Israel’s violations of Palestinian rights and undermine efforts to free Ahed and other imprisoned children in Israeli jails,” he claimed.

Bassem further charged that Israel “systematically uses performances by artists to cover up its decades-old system of military occupation and racial apartheid.”

“Your concert would undermine our efforts to secure freedom for Ahed and over 300 other Palestinian children incarcerated by Israel,” he asserted. “I sincerely hope you will not now lend your voice to the propaganda efforts of Israel’s regime of oppression that incarcerates 16-years old girls like my daughter.”

(Ahed is at least 17 years old. Anti-Israel activists often present her as younger in order to claim she’s just a child.)

A Familial History of Terrorism

Ahed was arrested in December after filmed assaulting IDF soldiers as they operated to quell a violent protest in the village of Nabi Saleh.

She was indicted on two counts of assault and 10 counts of rioting, hindering security forces in the line of duty and incitement to violence. Her mother Nariman and cousin Nur, who participated in the provocation, were also charged with incitement.

Tamimi and her family routinely engage in provocations against the IDF, and Bassem himself has been involved in terrorism against Israel. In 2011, he was convicted and jailed when caught organizing the village children to march towards the neighboring Jewish community of Halamish (Neve Tzuf) and throw rocks.

Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Liberman signed an order in January preventing Bassem from traveling abroad. He has been arrested multiple times for rioting and inciting children to commit acts of terror.

Ahlam Tamimi, described by the Hamas military wing as their first female recruit, is a first cousin of Bassem and a Nabi Saleh native. Ahlam was a member of the Hamas terrorist cell that carried out the August 2001 bombing of the Sbarro restaurant in Jerusalem, which claimed 15 victims.

Another BDS Fail?

The BDS movement, including anti-Israel activist and music celebrity Roger Waters, has frequently called on artists to cancel events in Israel, to which a few, including Stevie Wonder and, most recently, Lorde, have heeded the call.

Most artists ignore the movement, including Radiohead, which performed in Tel Aviv in July, Steve Vai, who will perform in Israel in March, and Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band, who will perform in June.

It seems that BDS may have failed in this case as well. Oreiro on Tuesday tweeted: “Israel and Latin America united by music.”

A few days before her expected show in Tel Aviv, she appeared on the cover of the Israeli Blazer Magazine.

“Beloved by her fans, # NataliaOreiro is one of the figures that opened the doors to Latin culture in Israel. Successes!” she tweeted.