When Ian Anderson/Jethro Tull announced a concert tour of Israel back in February for 2 shows in Tel Aviv, 1 in Haifa and 1 in Jerusalem, I was thrilled to buy a ticket. I’m a big Tull fan and I know that they have played in Israel on numerous occasions over the last few decades (I saw them play live in Jerusalem way back in 1992). What could be better than seeing a band I like who are known anti-BDSholes. Seems my enthusiasm was slightly misguided.
A few days ago I visited the official Jethro Tull website to see who is performing in the current line up and was extremely surprised to find this notification:
Another interesting tidbit – the Israeli dates are absent from the list of upcoming tour dates. In my humble opinion, its highly unlikely that this is an oversight; I believe its left out to deflect criticism.
Now I applaud Jethro Tull for having the courage to play in Israel against the pressure of Roger Waters and his band of useful idiots, but I do NOT under any circumstances agree to contributing any money to the New Israel Fund. I find their activities to be patently anti-Israel and distasteful in the extreme. There is to this date no mention of the proceeds going to any charity on the NIF or the Eventim websites. When I asked Eventim via email for a refund on these grounds, I received this regrettable response:
Dear Sir
We are terribly sorry, but after you paid the money for the ticket – it’s Mr Ian Anderson’s property and he can use it for whatever purpose he likes, whether if you agree with this purpose or not.
For further purchases in the future, we suggest that you’ll follow the artists you like and their preferences of whom will get any contribution from them, to prevent this unpleasant situation for you.
The bottom line is:
Your ticket can’t be cancelled hence it doesn’t qualify through the cancellation terms of our company.
you make take any course of action that pleases you on that matter.Have a nice day
EVENTIM Customers Service
Eventim – you may not have control of how your acts spend their money, but I believe it is your duty to inform the public where proceeds will go if they are being donated to a political cause that many (including myself) find anti-Israel and offensive.
