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“I believe music is universal and should be used to bring us together,” she explained.
By: United with Israel Staff
Pop star Lana Del Rey, who is slated to perform in Israel next month, took to Twitter on Sunday to fend off mounting criticism about her upcoming Holy Land gig and to reject calls to boycott Israel.
The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI) issued a statement urging her to reconsider her performance in the Jewish state.
“We doubt that you would have played in apartheid South Africa; likewise, artists refuse to play in apartheid Israel. Please respect our nonviolent picket line, and cancel your Meteor performance,” they wrote, referring to her scheduled performance at the Meteor Festival, a three-day Woodstock-like party on a kibbutz called Lehavot Habashan in northern Israel.
“I understand that many of u [sic] are upset we’re going to Tel Aviv for the Meteor Festival,” she wrote in a letter. “I understand your concern… what I can tell you is I believe music is universal and should be used to bring us together.”
“We signed on to the show w[ith] the intention that it would be performed for the kids there and my plan was for it to be done w[ith] a loving energy w[ith] a thematic emphasis on peace. If you don’t agree with it I get it. I see both sides.”
“I would like to remind you that performing in Tel Aviv is not a political statement or a commitment to the politics there just as singing here in California doesn’t mean my views are in alignment w[ith] my current governments opinions or sometimes inhuman actions,” she wrote.
She concluded by saying she is s “a simple singer, I’m doing my best to navigate the waters of the constant tumultuous hardships in the war-torn countries all over the world that I travel through monthly. For the record I’m doing the best I can and my intentions are better than most peoples [sic] that I know.”
While Del Rey was set to play the Holy Land in 2014, she canceled the show due to security concerns related to Operation Protective Edge, during which Israel was forced to address the security threat posed by the Hamas terror group in the Gaza Strip.
Many performers coming to Israel face pressure from the boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) movement. In the past, BDS mouthpiece Roger Waters has aggressively targeted musicians scheduled to play in Israel with public shaming and less than honest rhetoric.
Artists such as Radiohead, Ringo Starr, and Morrissey, among others, all ignored Waters’ tactics and rejected the BDS movement.
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