Pressure from BDS spurs pop star to cancel concert
Pop singer Natalie Imbruglia has announced the cancellation of her upcoming concert in Tel Aviv. Imbruglia was due to perform in Israel on March 1st 2017 as part of a European concert tour covering countries including Spain, Poland, Russia and Denmark.
Nathalie Imbruglio
As reported in The Jerusalem Post, activists in the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement noted that the cancellation was a result of a campaign initiated by the anti-Israeli organisation, “Don’t Play Apartheid Israel.”
The organisation called Israel an ‘apartheid state’, creating a Facebook page aimed at convincing Imbruglia to cancel her concert in Tel Aviv. The BDS movement encourages artists and businesses to refuse to cooperate with Israel.
The passing of Israel’s Settlements Law last Monday was the defining factor that pushed the “Don’t Play Apartheid Israel” campaign to try and have Imbruglia’s show cancelled. The recently passed law retrospectively legalises 4000 settler homes that were built on privately owned Palestinian land.
Imbruglia’s scheduled concert in Tel Aviv was nearly sold-out, and those who purchased tickets will be issued a full refund.
What did the later former Premier of Queensland, Sir Joh Berke-Peterson, once say “if you fly with the crows then you risk being shot with the crows”.