Indian maestro forced to cancel Israel tour after fierce opposition

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Culture

Indian maestro cancels Israel tour after fierce opposition

 

16 june 2012

Internationally renowned Indian musician, Zakir Hussain, has become the latest in a series of artists to cancel tour stops in Israelafter coming under pressure from colleagues and activists to boycott the country.

The table player and actor says that he hopes to reschedule the concert and that he only cancelled his plans due to fears for the safety of his band.  He added that he opposed the cultural boycott and was sorry to have received such fierce opposition from prominent fellow musicians in India, 85 of whom signed an online petition to stop the event.

As far back as 2006 international artists such as Vanessa Paradis, Gorillaz, Jean-Luc Godard and Ken Loach have refused to visit Israel as a protest against the country’s policies towards Palestinians.

JN1 spoke to Tal Ofer, member of the European Jewish Parliament to find out what he thought of the boycott.

Tal Ofer, UK member of the European Jewish Parliament: 

“This boycott is a form of cultural terrorism in my opinion.  Because the people who are genuine supporters of freedom and coexistence would be appalled at the very idea of a cultural boycott, let alone the singling out of one country.”

In contrast to the boycott, the Queen of Pop herself sent out a strong message of support for Israel by starting her world tour in a city near Tel Aviv.  Madonna told her fans that if they did not desire peace in the Middle East then they could not be true fans of her music.

Tal Ofer, member of the European Jewish Parliament:

“It does show you that when you put aside politics there is no reason to prevent you from coming and performing for your fans and supporters. I will give you another example.  Roger Waters, the leader of Pink Floyd. He is a really strong critic, outspoken critic of the Israeli government. And he came and he performed in Israel. So if a person like him comes to perform in Israel… why would other artists not come. ” 

Proposals for an academic and cultural boycott of Israel have been inspired by the historic boycotts of South Africa which were an attempt to end its policies of Apartheid.