Despite pleas to boycott, Macy Gray will perform in TLV

By Lisa Goldman January 19, 2011 | Edit

Despite pleas to boycott, Macy Gray will perform in TLV

Macy Gray in concert at the Leicester Square Theatre in London, 13 July 2010 (photo: starpulse.com/PR)

Pop singer Macy Gray is booked for two gigs in Tel Aviv, but supporters of the Palestinian call to boycott, divest from and sanction Israel have asked her not to come in this letter published online. Ms. Gray, who performed in Tel Aviv last year, turned to her fans on Facebook for advice: should she honor the boycott and disappoint her Israeli fans?

I’m booked for 2 shows in TelAviv. I’m getting alot of letters from activists urging/begging me to boycott by NOT performing in protest of Apartheid against the Palestinians. What the Israeli government is doing to the Palestinians is disgusting, but I wana go. I gotta lotta fans there I dont want to cancel on and I dont know how my NOT going changes anything. What do you think? Stay or go?

During the 45 minutes that I dawdled over this post, the number of responses increased from 1,045 to 1,794. Many have pleaded with Ms. Gray to honor the boycott. Others have heaped scorn on her because she is considering canceling.*

Somewhere in the middle is Jerusalem resident Elan Miller, who writes:

Please don’t give in to the haters – they claim that Israel practices Apartheid, but the last time you played in Israel, the Arab students of Israel’s Hebrew University were equally able to watch you play. That’s not apartheid; tha…t’s freedom!

There is certainly a lot wrong that happens in this part of the world… but by walking away you won’t be changing anything. Instead, why not play in both Tel Aviv and Ramallah and use both concerts to talk about peace and tolerance? We need more of that, not less of it.

You’re right, staying away accomplishes nothing. Going and talking with people, on the other hand, does everything. Make this part of the world happier with your music and love – COME!

Those who support the global BDS movement frequently point to the similarities between the apartheid system and Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank, where Jewish settlers, who are the minority, have full rights as citizens of Israel, while the Palestinian majority are disenfranchised and live under military rule. So isn’t it ironic, don’tcha think, that Jewish Israeli anti-occupation activists staged a flash mob protest at the Tel Aviv Opera in November, where South Africa’s Cape Town Opera was performing – of all operettas – Porgy and Bess?

In the end, Ms. Gray announced via Twitter that she had decided to come to Tel Aviv.

Dear Israel fans. Me and the band will be there in 20 days. Can’t wait. See you then. Peace.

I guess for some that makes her…

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRtppvaWQMM[/youtube]

*+972 Magazine does not have any editorial position regarding the global BDS (boycott, divest and sanctions) movement. Some contributors support it, others oppose it and still others have not taken a position.

V1 Journalism against apartheid

Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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TEST TEST GAL Our team has been devastated by the horrific events of this latest war. The world is reeling from Israel’s unprecedented onslaught on Gaza, inflicting mass devastation and death upon besieged Palestinians, as well as the atrocious attack and kidnappings by Hamas in Israel on October 7. Our hearts are with all the people and communities facing this violence. We are in an extraordinarily dangerous era in Israel-Palestine. The bloodshed has reached extreme levels of brutality and threatens to engulf the entire region. Emboldened settlers in the West Bank, backed by the army, are seizing the opportunity to intensify their attacks on Palestinians. The most far-right government in Israel’s history is ramping up its policing of dissent, using the cover of war to silence Palestinian citizens and left-wing Jews who object to its policies. This escalation has a very clear context, one that +972 has spent the past 14 years covering: Israeli society’s growing racism and militarism, entrenched occupation and apartheid, and a normalized siege on Gaza. We are well positioned to cover this perilous moment – but we need your help to do it. This terrible period will challenge the humanity of all of those working for a better future in this land. Palestinians and Israelis are already organizing and strategizing to put up the fight of their lives. Can we count on your support? +972 Magazine is a leading media voice of this movement, a desperately needed platform where Palestinian and Israeli journalists, activists, and thinkers can report on and analyze what is happening, guided by humanism, equality, and justice. Join us.

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