ISRAEL: Elvis Costello cancels Tel Aviv concerts as 'matter of conscience'

What's so funny about peace, love and understanding? Nothing for Israeli fans of Elvis Costello who will not see the legend perform in Tel Aviv this summer after he canceled all scheduled shows there, citing concerns over the treatment of Palestinians.

"There are occasions when merely having your name added to a concert schedule may be interpreted as a political act ... and it may be assumed that one has no mind for the suffering of the innocent," Costello wrote on his website.

"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," the statement continued. "I hope it is possible to understand that I am not taking this decision lightly. ... It is a matter of instinct and conscience."

Reactions in Israel have ranged from disappointment to outrage.

Israeli Culture and Sports Minister Limor Livnat lashed out at Costello, saying: "An artist boycotting his fans in Israel is unworthy of performing here," according to Ynetnews, the website of the Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper.

Ariana Melamed, also writing for Ynet, said that although she understood and even respected artists who chose to boycott Israel over the occupation, to pull out after the contracts had been signed and tickets had gone on sale was hypocritical.

"After all, the occupation and oppression did not start all of a sudden, exactly in the period between the start of ticket sales and the show, right?" she wrote.

"The belated discovery of the local reality shows that the boycotters-cancellers actually have no ongoing interest in the state of human rights around here, but rather, a momentary interest in a politically correct label," she continued, adding that Costello did not call off shows in the United States and England after the start of the Iraq war.

Costello is one of several high-profile artists to cancel appearances in Israel this summer, including Gil Scott-Heron and Santana.

Scott-Heron and Costello, in particular, are known for their socially conscious lyrics and activism, making them vulnerable to accusations of hypocrisy for playing in Tel Aviv while Israel continues to occupy Palestinian lands.

Scott-Heron, who wrote the well-known "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," was one of the leading proponents of the boycott against apartheid-era  South Africa, which many pro-Palestinian activists had likened to Israel.

The artists may have been influenced by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign, a broad movement calling for a boycott of Israel that has gained momentum since 2005 and persuaded a number of artists, universities and institutions to sever ties with Israel.

Sarah Colborne of the U.K.-based Palestine Solidarity Campaign, told the Guardian that Costello's decision was a sign the movement was working.

"We are increasingly seeing artists taking a stand against allowing themselves to be used by the Israeli state to normalize their occupation and apartheid policies against Palestinians," she said, according to the Guardian. "Principled artists understood it was unacceptable to play under the apartheid South African regime in Sun City."

– Meris Lutz in Beirut

Photo: Elvis Costello performs at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival on April 29, 2010. Credit: Rick Diamond / Getty Images

Comments

[Rick Harper]

Elvis Costello needs to brush up on his history of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. And the public needs to brush up on the history of Costello. In 1979, as widely reported by People Magazine and other media outlets, Costello made vile racist remarks about Ray Charles and James Brown, arguably the two greatest black musicians of all time. He also said that "American people are second-class white people, compared to first-class English people." He later apologized, but it's clear the kind of man we're dealing with here. Blacks, white Americans, Israeli Jews -- who will he next spew his hatred and prejudice at?

[Maui Pete]

The real reason? He couldn't sell any tickets. What a douche.

[Jean - Texas]

to: ordony and tink.

How stupid can you get?

GOD did not say you can have my land, of which I own none.

The ONLY land he EVER gave to anyone was ISRAEL to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob (whose name HE changed to ISRAEL)and his descendents. This extremely small little piece of land that the descendents of Ishmael have coveted since GOD gave this small (actually is was bigger then) parcel of land to the sons of Jacob and not Ishmael.

Actually read the Bible before you ponticate on what you know nothing.

[haroun el-nil]

NOBLE.

[rapx999]

Bravo, Mr. Costello! I guess it takes an Englishman. The UK hasn't been bamboozled like the US by the unrelenting barrage of holocaust and Israel lobby propaganda. On the BBC news you can actually see pictures of occupied Gaza. In British theaters you can actually attend a performance of "My Name is Rachel Corrie". And I'm willing to bet that in their cinemas you could probably see Oscar nominated films such as "Paradise Now" and "Jimmy Carter, Man From Plains"--films no American was allowed to see in the United States. Speaking of the Bible, I heard that the God these people claim gives them the right to commit genocide were handed some tablets with specific instructions: Thou Shalt Not Kill, and Thou Shalt Not Steal.

[Hue]

To: I AM AMERICA. Glad to see and hear more people with your awareness and clear vision and understanding that are willing to tell the truth as they see it.

Thank you Elvis Costello. You are sending a strong message to the people of the world. It matters when individuals whom are in a position to use the resources available to them to send a clear, and loud message that Crimes against Humanity in any shape or form is unacceptable.

To those who continue to bring up their backward and pathetic reasoning and refer to this and that book which said or (God) said for that matter that the illegal occupation of Palestine is their right, is all bunch of rubbish, man-made and self serving and this goes for all religious fanatics and books. Any God or book of God that says you can steal other peoples land and oppress, humiliate and kill innocent women and children are an evil book. God is peace, love, humility, kindness and tolerance. If you can practice these virtuous then you are the true God. How can anyone dispute the atrocities committed by the religious fanatics of faiths from Judaism, Islam to Christianity and so on. As for Israel is concerned for the past 50 years they have systematically stolen land and killed the people of Palestine without any meaningful action or objection from the United States. We have simply allowed Israel to continue with this behavior and have sacrificed our own people, reputation and security. We Americans and I mean those who care about this nation must become more aware of what is really going on and who and what we are fighting for. I know Jewish people that their children are born in this country and they send them to Israel to serve in Israeli military. How does that make any sense? If they are so ready and willing to put their lives in harms way for Israel then they should go and live there and stop using our resources here in America. Please educate yourselves and don’t believe the rubbish that the Zionist owned and controlled media tells you. As Americans, we must become more involved and aware of world affairs, which ultimately affect us here whether we like it, or not.

[another Mark]

Just reading these comments feels like being in a war zone.
Everyone so entrenched, and so righteous.

Might have been Alaska! Seriously. When the state of Israel was created.
But the Middle East! It would be like moving in next to Jean in Texas!

Never any peace in that neighborhood unless you pander to the bully.

Evidently, we are not fated to be wise --just blind and right.

[Reed Gunderson]

Let's examine what he is protesting:

1. Settlement -- okay, lot's of people do. Seems reasonable.

2. Conditions that visit intimidation, humiliation or much worse on Palestinian civilians in the name of national security: WAIT. There is no such thing as a Palestinian civilian. There is no Palestine that is a nation. For sake of conversaiton I think we can refer to Arabs living in the occupied territories as Palestinians.

Second, he might be referring to the boycott, but doesn't way so. He refers to human suffering which is kind of a cop-out. What about the fact that the cause of that boycott is because Hamas is there? Why won't anyone admit that the Palenstinians don't have a nation because they would prefer to be engaged in thei death embrace with Israel?

They could have had a nation -- they still could -- they CHOOSE not to.

[Harold]

Well done, Elvis Costello.

He's clearly a thoughtful man who doesn't want his name used to justify the atrocities of either side.

Again I'll say well done.

[Moshe Ben-Yehuda]

Thank you for your brave actions Mr. Costello. Its about time artists like yourself began to stand up for the Palestinians.

[Gopherus Agassizii]

Could somebody please help Jean?

[mark]

Just look at all these comments... You people should be ashamed of yourselves. You're all so convinced of your positions, you all sound like bigots. LA times should probably refrain from allowing comments on any articles critical of Israel. I can't see anything productive about any these. Pitiful.

[Napoleon Blownapart]

Kudos to Mr. Costello; there are many songwriters and performers out there, but few who have as strong a sense of right and wrong as Elvis does.

Personally, I boycott artists who *do* decide to perform in Israel.

[Jack Ace]

Good job Elvis!

[HLenihan]

Right on Elvis! Justice for Palestinians and Stop the Settlements. Folks should also see the article on water in National Geographic for an example of resource inequality.

[Stewie Rules]

"Chosen?" Hah! You're a bunch of dangerous narcissists. And hypocrites, too--wasn't Israel once a Soviet ally?

[PJF]

Israel certainly has the air of an over-indulged child that grew up to be a bully.

I would very much like to support Israel unequivocally, 100% of the time. Right now, they are unworthy of my support.

[Daniel Pawley]

I'm neither Palestinian nor Israeli, but I have to say how disappointed I feel toward Elvis Costello for his silly, anachronistic actions. Would he rather be tagged as anti-semitic for the rest of his career for what seems a shallow response to a global conflict with so many sides you'd need a couple of Ph.Ds to even approach an understanding of it? In my 4 visits to Israel & the Palestinian Territories, I've found a remarkably progressive Israeli state which is as delightful a place as any in the world. Why penalize its music fans? I hope the Palestinians can find a way to broker another "roadmap" like the Clinton-Barak one of a few years ago, so they can start to put it together. The Israelis do not stand in their way as much as they have stood in their own way in recent decades. Elvis should have gone there to spark hope to that end on both sides.

[Mitch R]

mnemon and "I Am America": you not only prove my point, but also justify Israel's actions in the face of a world bent on its destruction.

[Alex]

U just got urself a fan, Mr. Costello! Thank u!