A group of artists have written a letter in The Guardian (naturally) in support of Lorde and her decision to boycott Israel.
The usual suspects appear, as well as some you may not have been aware were also standing on the wrong side of history.
Letter in support of Lorde
We write in support of Lorde, who made public her decision not to perform in Israel and has now been branded a “bigot” in a full page advertisement in the Washington Post (Guardian, 1 January 2018).
Shmuley Boteach, the author and promoter of the advert, supports Israel’s illegal settlements and wrote last month on Breitbart to thank Donald Trump for “electrifying the world” with his recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital in defiance of international law. He has nothing to teach artists about human rights.
We deplore the bullying tactics being used to defend injustice against Palestinians and to suppress an artist’s freedom of conscience. We support Lorde’s right to take a stand.
Signed by:
Khalid Abdalla actor Tunde Adebimpe musician Rachel Aggs musician Yasmine Al Massri actor Kevin Allen screenwriter, director Amir Amirani filmmaker Adjoa Andoh actor Frankie Armstrong singer Conrad Atkinson artist, emeritus professor Sarah Beddington artist Yves Berger painter Caroline Bergvall writer, artist Nicholas Blincoe writer Leah Borromeo filmmaker Jonathan Burrows choreographer David Calder actor Julie Christie actor Ian Christie film historian, broadcaster Chipo Chung actor Caryl Churchill playwright Dominic Cooke director Kia Corthron playwright, novelist Joseph Coward writer, artist Molly Crabapple artist, writer John Cusack actor, writer, producer, board member Freedom of the Press FoundationSelma Dabbagh writer Cherien Dabis film and TV director William Dalrymple writer Angela Davis writer Dror Dayan filmmaker Robert del Naja musician Laurence Dreyfus director, Phantasm viol consort Carol Drinkwater filmmaker David Edgar playwright Nancy Elan violinist Brian Eno musician Eve Ensler playwright, performer Samir Eskanda musician Jodie Evans writer, producer Shepard Fairey artist Michelle Fairley actor Saeed T. Farouky filmmaker Fat White Family band Yasmin Fedda filmmaker Bella Freud designer Peter Gabriel musician Lisa Gerrard composer Tom Gilroy film director David Gray musician Kathleen Hanna musician, artist John Keane artist Reem Kelani singer, musicologist Peter Kennard artist AL Kennedy writer Jonathan Kent theatre and opera director Hari Kunzru writer Talib Kweli musician David Lan artistic director, Young Vic Paul Laverty scriptwriter Tom Leonard poet Ken Loach film director Miriam Margolyes actor Kika Markham actor Yann Martel writer Emel Mathlouthi musician Pauline Melville writer Tom Morello musician Jenny Morgan filmmaker David Morrisey actor, director Viggo Mortensen Jr actor, writer, musician, artist Peter Mullan actor, director Rebecca O’Brien film producer Andrew O’Hagan writer Eugene O’Hare actor, writer Maxine Peake actor Miranda Pennell filmmaker Brendan Perry musician Nancy Platt filmmaker Jocelyn Pook composer Dave Randall musician Mark Ruffalo actor Alexei Sayle comedian, writer James Schamus producer, writer, director David Scott music producer, sound engineer Nabil Shaban actor, writer Wallace Shawn actor, playwright Farhana Sheikh writer Gillian Slovo writer Cherry Smith poet John Smith artist Chris Somes-Charlton artist management Ahdaf Soueif writer Juliet Stevenson actor Jennie Stoller actor Samuel Toms musician Alice Walker writer Naomi Wallace playwright, screenwriter Roger Waters musician Hilary Westlake theatre director Susan Wooldridge actor, writer Nicholas Wright playwright, director Emily Young artist Benjamin Zephaniah poet, musician
Note how the letter is mainly an attack on Shmuley Boteach, who also had the gall to believe in the Jews’ right to live in their ancestral homeland and recognize Jerusalem as it always has been – our capital.
And these doyens of morality do not address Boteach’s main point at all.
“While Lorde claims to be concerned with human rights, she hypocritically chose to proceed with her two concerts in Putin’s Russia, despite his support for [Syrian president Bashar al-]Assad’s genocidal regime,” the ad says.
As Boteach continues in his ad
“Let’s boycott the boycotters and tell Lorde and her fellow bigots that Jew-hatred has no place in the twenty-first century.”
I agree and we should add each of those who signed this letter to the list.