As has been widely reported, singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey rejected pressure she boycott Israel. Here is what she actually wrote:
https://twitter.com/LanaDelRey/status/1031269344179761152
https://twitter.com/LanaDelRey/status/1031269354703220736
While it rubs me the wrong way that she seems to be buying in to the “Israel is doing horrible things” narrative, I still believe she is to be commended for holding her ground here. The pressure directed against her has been intense, as has been the vitriol. Compare her actions so far to those of fellow singer-songwriter Lorde, who folded like a pack of cards after being subjected to a few calls to boycott Israel.
And like in the case of Lorde, guess-who has now chimed in.
https://www.facebook.com/rogerwaters/photos/a.101083179935496/1958613594182436/?type=3
Dear Lana Del Rey
I have been reading your comments on Twitter, maybe I can help clear a couple of things up. Palestine is a unique situation in that the BDS picket line exists at the request of Palestine civil society as a whole. To respect it as I, and many others do, is a political act of support for the Palestinian people in their struggle for basic human rights. To cross it, conversely, is a political act in support of the apartheid state that would deny them those basic human rights. Even if in your heart of hearts you believe yourself to be neutral. As Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu rightly says, “If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” I implore you, and any other act considering crossing the picket line, to perform at the Meteor Festival to consider long and hard, I have no doubt the Israeli promoters are paying top dollar, they are well known for that, but is the price worth passing up your moment on the road to Damascus and abandoning your Palestinian brothers and sisters to their fate in their hour of need ?
Love
R.
Or for those who cannot be bothered reading Roger’s rant:
To her credit, Lana rejected Roger’s pleas to boycott Israel. Polite, yes, but a rejection nonetheless.
Again, as a passionate supporter of Israel, I would prefer to see Lana del Rey rejecting Roger’s lies about Israel. But I cannot assume her level of knowledge about what is actually occurring is adequate enough to do so.
Here’s hoping Lana learns more when she is actually here, and realizes that BDS-holes like Roger Waters have an agenda that has nothing to do with peace, and everything to do with desiring the destruction of the world’s only Jewish state, as well as democracy in the Middle East.
