May 21, 2010

Costello's cancellation causes consternation

I'm posting this because I think the significance of Elvis Costello's Tel Aviv concert cancellation is being missed in some quarters. Also, I just read something about it by Adam Horowitz on Mondoweiss, titled What's Hebrew for Sun City? The post links to a Forward article on the growth of the BDS campaign and where the Elvis cancellation fits in the scheme of things. It's a perceptive and informative article. It sets out who the BDSrs have contacted and tried to persuade to cancel gigs in Israel, who has cancelled and who has not:
But Costello’s action is the first open endorsement of the boycott movement by an A-list artist in protest of Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank and of its siege of Gaza. In a detailed statement, the performer argued that he could not perform in Israel because by doing so, “it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent.

“One lives in hope that music is more than mere noise, filling up idle time, whether intending to elate or lament,” Costello wrote in his statement.
There have been many cancellations of gigs proposed for Tel Aviv and many gigs have gone ahead as planned. But Costello spoke out from an A-list platform. That could be a turning point.

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