Elvis Costello Cancels Concerts in
Treatment of Palestinians
Singer says he acted on 'conscience', as he joins a list
of performers who have boycotted
reasons
May 17, 2010, Guardian (
http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2010/may/18/elvis-costello-cancels-israel-concerts
Elvis Costello has cancelled two concerts he was scheduled to
play in
Costello, one of the most gifted British songwriters of his
generation, was due to play on 30 June and 1 July but says
his "conscience" dictated that he pull out of the performances.
He joins a list of performers who have decided not to play in
On his website, Costello wrote: "Then there are occasions
when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may
be interpreted as a political act that resonates more than
anything that might be sung and it may be assumed that one
has no mind for the suffering of the innocent.
"I must believe that the audience for the coming concerts
would have contained many people who question the policies of
their government on settlement and deplore conditions that
visit intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian
civilians in the name of national security.
"I am also keenly aware of the sensitivity of these themes in
the wake of so many despicable acts of violence perpetrated
in the name of liberation.
"It is a matter of instinct and conscience.
"I cannot imagine receiving another invitation to perform in
Israel, which is a matter of regret, but I can imagine a
better time when I would not be writing this.
"With the hope for peace and understanding. Elvis Costello."
Sarah Colborne, from the
welcomed the decision: "We are increasingly seeing artists
taking a stand against allowing themselves to be used by the
Israeli state to normalise their occupation and apartheid
policies against Palestinians. Principled artists understood
it was unacceptable to play under the apartheid South African
regime in
Other artists have cancelled Israeli tours in recent months,
including Santana and Gil Scott-Heron, who was also active in
the anti-apartheid movement. In one song written to protest
against the racist regime in
"The first time I heard there was trouble in the
I thought they were talking about
played in
the boycott movement asking him to stay away.
"This is not boycotting the Jewish people, or the Israeli
people, it is boycotting the occupation," said Mustafa
Barghouti, an independent Palestinian MP. "More and more
people are convinced that something should be done and the
peaceful and non-violent way to do it is by boycott,
divestment and sanctions."
It comes as Palestinian officials have begun a new effort to
boycott products made in Israeli settlements. Last month
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas signed a law banning
Palestinians from working in settlements in the occupied
territories and banning the sale of settlement goods,
including fruit and vegetables. Hundreds of volunteers in the
products they want shoppers to boycott.
Israel's culture and sports minister, Limor Livnat,
criticised Costello. "An artist boycotting his fans in
is unworthy of performing here," Livnat was quoted as saying
by the Ynet news website.Israel itself has banned people from
entering its territory because of their views about its
actions. Israeli authorities prevented the Jewish American
academic Noam Chomsky from entering the
to give a lecture at a Palestinian university near Ramallah.
Chomsky was told that the Israeli authorities did not like
his political views.
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