Entertainment industry group responds to Lorde’s Israel cancellation

We — the undersigned artists and entertainment industry executives — are deeply disappointed that Lorde canceled her show in Tel Aviv after receiving pressure from the radical boycott Israel movement. Artists should never become beholden to the political views of a small but loud minority.

The boycott movement, while often painting itself as a movement for human rights, is actually a political movement ultimately aiming to extinguish the State of Israel as the state of the Jewish people. Ignoring the many flaws in the other countries on Lorde’s world tour (including the US, the UK, and Russia), the movement singled out Israel —  and only Israel — for a boycott.

Over the past several years, many artists have come under the same pressure Lorde faced from this boycott group over the past week. Some have canceled their shows, but the vast majority — many hundreds, in fact — have stood strong. Recently, several artists have spoken out loudly and forcefully against the divisive, polarizing, and dictatorial nature of the boycott Israel movement.

“All of this creates divisive energy,” Thom Yorke of Radiohead said in June in response to the pressure he was receiving from boycott groups. “You’re not bringing people together. You’re not encouraging dialogue or a sense of understanding.”

The boycott movement is certainly not encouraging real dialogue or a sense of understanding. In fact, they are doing the exact opposite. The boycott movement has come out as a strong opponent of real dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, even going so far as to denounce projects that work to bring young Israelis and Palestinians together through music.

“The kind of dialogue that they want to engage in is one that’s black or white,” Thom said. “I have a problem with that.”

Indeed, the entire narrative and worldview of the anti-Israel boycott movement is one that’s black or white, with no room for the shades of grey inherent in the immensely complex Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In their view, Israel is wrong and that’s the end of the story. As reasonable people realize, however, it is not quite that simple.

Artists are given a choice by boycott activists; either accept the entirety of the boycott narrative, which includes shockingly extreme and false accusations against Israel utilizing inflammatory language such as “apartheid” and “genocide,” and even comparing Israel’s actions to that of Nazi Germany, or become a target of relentless pressure and bullying.

“It suddenly became very important to make a stand against those people that are trying to shut down musicians, to bully musicians, to censor musicians, and to silence musicians,” Nick Cave said recently about his decision to perform in Israel in the face of boycott wrath.

Lorde became the target of that wrath, and we’re deeply disappointed that rather than rebuff the boycott movement and follow in the footsteps of Radiohead, Nick Cave, Lady Gaga, Rihanna, Justin Timberlake, and many other artists who have chosen to build #BridgesNotBoycotts, she canceled her show.

We, the undersigned, and the more than thirty thousand people who have signed our anti-boycott petition, will continue to work for a more peaceful future for Palestinians, Israelis, and the entire region. We truly believe that art and music can and should be part of the solution.