DISPELS PRIOR RUMORS THAT 2010 CONCERT WAS CANCELED AS A RESULT OF BOYCOTT PRESSURE OR SUPPORT
Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) has confirmed that Carlos Santana will perform in Israel this summer on July 30 at Tel Aviv’s HaYarkon Park. In 2010, Santana had to cancel his scheduled performance and there were many reports citing boycott pressure as the reason. If the announcement of his upcoming concert is not reason enough to dispel the myth, Santana’s management company clarified in a statement – just released – that this was clearly not the case.
“Santana had scheduled date to perform in Israel in 2010. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we had to cancel that date along with others that we had planned to play. This was in no way cancelled because of any pressure we received from any anti-Israeli organization or any other organization for that matter. Carlos Santana is a citizen of the World and he plays his music and spreads his message of Love, Light & Peace wherever he goes. Carlos believes the World should have no borders so he is not detoured or discouraged to play anywhere on this planet. We look forward to performing in Israel this summer.” -Michael Vrionis, President of Universal Tone Management
Santana’s concert is hardly the only false claim of victory made by boycott supporters. In fact, nearly every concert cancelation in Israel, even if done for the most mundane reason, is put in political terms and used for political goals. Just this year, Henry Rollins’ cancelation was claimed as a victory by boycott supporters, despite the fact that his cancellation was simply due to a conflict with the promoter. Last year, Primus canceled its Israel show due to technical issues, but again it was cited as a boycott victory.
Creative Community for Peace thanks Santana – and all artists scheduled to perform in Israel this year – for standing up for artistic freedom. David Renzer, co-founder of CCFP, shared, “We very much appreciate the clarifying statement from Santana’s management. Unfortunately, there are a variety of instances where boycott Israel groups claim an artist is boycotting, only to have the artist later clarify that this was untrue. Further, we believe that singling out Israel for a cultural boycott will only shut the doors of communication, hinder efforts to resolve the conflict, and fan the flames of extremism.”
Creative Community for Peace is an entertainment industry organization focused on supporting artistic freedom, countering the cultural boycott of Israel, providing balance to the dialogue regarding the Middle East, and encouraging the arts as a bridge towards peace.
