Elton John, Cancel your next concert in Tel Aviv!

[Brits4Palestine]

Visit this facebook group to show your support if you wish.

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=291212181057

Reasons are given within.

To write to Elton conveying your feelings towards his concert, I provide his commercial addresses here:

Hercules Coordination
Stephan Heimbecher
Haeberlstr. 13
D-80337 Muenchen
GERMANY

Elton John
Twenty-First Artists Ltd.
1 Blythe Road
London
W14 0HG
UK

Twenty-First Artists Ltd. - Elton John
(Music Artists Management Company)
1 Blythe Road
London
W14 0HG
UK

Howard Rose
The Howard Rose Agency, Ltd.
9460 Wilshire Boulevard
Suite 310
Beverly Hills
CA 90212
USA

Fran Curtis
Rogers & Cowan
Pacific Design Center
8687 Melrose Avenue
7th Floor
Los Angeles
CA 90069
USA

Elton John AIDS Foundation
75 Ninth Avenue
New York
NY 10011
USA

Elton John AIDS Foundation
P.O. Box 17139
Beverly Hills
CA 90209-3139
USA


Peace.

[ellenr]

I heard that he did cancel.

Is this not true?

I also heard that Gil Scott Heron canceled his tour.

[Violet Crumble]

I heard that he did cancel.

Is this not true?

I also heard that Gil Scott Heron canceled his tour.

As bland and insipid as I think Elton John is and always has been, and how I've never heard of the other guy, I went and googled and couldn't find anything about Elton John cancelling, but the other one did cancel.

When it comes to great musicians, Morrissey proved he's a complete tool by ignoring pleas to cancel his show in Israel even though he insisted he'd not tour Canada because of baby seals or something like that. But very recently Elvis Costello cancelled his tour of Israel. This article I found about Elvis Costello cancelling has some information about others who have cancelled:

'In a statement, the PACBI warmly welcomed Costello's decision not to perform in Israel: ''Costello's decision is a great victory for the ethical responsibilities of international cultural figures, a key factor in the cultural boycott of Israel. It comes after similar cancellations by [poet] Gil Scott-Heron, [guitarist] Carlos Santana and Bono/U2 upon appeals by the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel and its international partners.''

American rapper Snoop Dogg recently pulled out of a concert in Israel, citing contractual difficulties. In June last year, English filmmaker Ken Loach, a long-time supporter of the boycott campaign, pulled his film Looking for Eric from the Melbourne International Film Festival because the state of Israel was a festival sponsor.

The PACBI is part of a wider international economic campaign known as Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against Israel, aimed at ending the ''occupation and colonisation of all Arab lands''.

Numerous musicians, including Paul McCartney and Madonna, have ignored calls to boycott Israel and performed there in the past two years.

Last year, Canadian singer Leonard Cohen was subject to intense pressure to boycott Israel, but performed a single concert in Tel Aviv. Cohen had also scheduled a concert in the West Bank city of Ramallah, which was later cancelled due to protests from Palestinian activists who objected to his concert in Tel Aviv.

Other performers now under pressure to cancel coming concerts in Israel include Bob Dylan, British singers Joan Armatrading and Elton John, and the alternative American band the Pixies.'

http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/mus ... -w7vx.html

The Pixies haven't worked out yet that reforming was a terrible idea? I can't think of anything worse than the sight of a fat, middle-aged and bloated Black Francis trying to relive the glory days of the Pixies. Yuck...

[Violet Crumble]

The Pixies pull out of Israel gig
Alternative US rock band The Pixies have cancelled their first-ever performance in Israel, just days after a deadly Israeli naval raid on an international aid flotilla.

"It is with great regret that we announce today The Pixies' decision to cancel their appearance in Israel on June 9," promoter Shuki Weiss said.

A short statement from the band read: "We'd like to extend our deepest apologies to the fans, but events beyond all our control have conspired against us."

The group did not specify why they were pulling out of the show.

In March, The Pixies were sent an open letter from human rights activists urging them to cancel the appearance because of Israel's policies towards the Palestinians.

"As much as some of us are huge fans and would love to hear your show, we won't cross the international picket line that is growing in numbers steadily nowadays to come and see you," the group Boycott! wrote.

"The picket line might not always be visible, yet it is there.

"Are you prepared to perform in Tel Aviv while, just under your nose, millions of human beings are suffocating under a cruel Israeli military regime, denying them elementary human rights?"

Other acts - including Elvis Costello, Carlos Santana and rap forefather Gil Scott-Heron - have recently pulled out of gigs there.

Costello called off two concerts which were due to have taken place in the coastal city of Caesaria on June 30 and July 1, citing Israel's "intimidation" and "humiliation" of Palestinians.

It is unclear whether his wife, singer-songwriter Diana Krall, will go ahead with a show in Tel Aviv in August.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010 ... 919568.htm

I really do feel bad for Israeli fans of the Pixies and Elvis Costello, and hope that the occupation ends sooner rather than later and they'll be able to see them play in Israel then...

[ellenr]

yes, I got elvis and elton confused.
I'm not a fan of either, but KUDOS to elvis costello and the pixies!!

[Amos]

This thread is about "Arts and Culture for Peace."
How exactly is an arts boycott of Israel supposed to promote peace?

[liberaljoe]

This thread is about "Arts and Culture for Peace."
How exactly is an arts boycott of Israel supposed to promote peace?

By geting the fucking Zionists to recognise the Palestinaians as people, not 'cockroaches scuttling about in a bottle'

Israel should be treated as SA was traeted during apartheid

[Amos]

This thread is about "Arts and Culture for Peace."
How exactly is an arts boycott of Israel supposed to promote peace?

By geting the fucking Zionists to recognise the Palestinaians as people, not 'cockroaches scuttling about in a bottle'

Israel should be treated as SA was traeted during apartheid

Well, I am a Fk'ing Zionist who recognizes palestinians as people. I see them every day in stores, on the street, in the bank, in hospitals, at work. I live with them and so does every other Israeli to one degree or another. You're taking the "cockroaches" quote out of context from a dead ex-minister of defense and you assume that this is what every Israeli thinks of arabs. It's easy and fun for you to generalize like that, but that's no way to achieve peace. And boycotting Israel is no way either. It just pisses people off.

[whodey]

This thread is about "Arts and Culture for Peace."
You're taking the "cockroaches" quote out of context from a dead ex-minister of defense and you assume that this is what every Israeli thinks of arabs. It's easy and fun for you to generalize like that, but that's no way to achieve peace. And boycotting Israel is no way either. It just pisses people off.

You are right, not every Israeli thinks of Arabs as cockroaches. But quite a lot of Israelis apparently do not think of even their own Arab citizens as being equal human beings who should have equal rights in their "Jewish State". Otherwise Israeli governments would not be able to keep passing racist laws that target non-Jews and mainly their Arab fellow-countrymen. Generalizing, as it's so often done by more people than a dead minister - that all Arabs are terrorists and that even their kids can be killed lest they grow up to be terrorists - is not a way to achieve peace either.

As for boycotting, I take it then that you strongly disagree with Israel's policy of boycotting the democratically elected government of the Palestinians - and demanding that the whole world do so - and the collective punishment of 1,5 million Palestinians ( most of them children)? And that you well understand that it also pisses people off - and not only the Palestinian people??

[Amos]

As for boycotting, I take it then that you strongly disagree with Israel's policy of boycotting the democratically elected government of the Palestinians

Since when are we boycotting the Palestinian Authority? There are contacts all the time. Now there discussions about high-level negotiations and it's the Palestinians that are balking. So what are you talking about?

[whodey]

As for boycotting, I take it then that you strongly disagree with Israel's policy of boycotting the democratically elected government of the Palestinians

Since when are we boycotting the Palestinian Authority? There are contacts all the time. Now there discussions about high-level negotiations and it's the Palestinians that are balking. So what are you talking about?

Who was speaking about the Vichy government of the Palestinian Authority? I was speaking of the democratically elected government of the Palestinian people - which wasn't Fatah, in case you forgot.

[Amos]

Who was speaking about the Vichy government of the Palestinian Authority? I was speaking of the democratically elected government of the Palestinian people - which wasn't Fatah, in case you forgot.

In case you forgot, Hamas got the majority in Gaza but not in the West bank. The two regions were politically one administrative unit under the Palestinian Authority. Hamas' takeover of Gaza was anything but democratic and included throwing Fatah rivals out of tall buildings. But that's an issue for the palestinians to deal with. As far as Israel boycotting them, my opinion is that we have a right to do a lot more than boycott them. If a neighboring territory is taken over by a gang of thugs who state clearly that they have no interest in peaceful coexistence with us and that they are part of the worldwide jihad movement and their goal is to rule all of palestine and israel with an islamic regime, then of course we have the right and duty to do what we can to stop them, be it boycott, embargo or military attack.

If this site is supposed to be about promoting peace between Israel and the palestinians then how can you support a group that was founded to do just the opposite?

[whodey]

If this site is supposed to be about promoting peace between Israel and the palestinians then how can you support a group that was founded to do just the opposite?

I dont recall having voiced support for anyone, so I would appreciate if you could refrain from making false claims. And it's by no means the only false claim you make.

Hamas got the majority in Gaza but not in the West bank. The two regions were politically one administrative unit under the Palestinian Authority. Hamas' takeover of Gaza was anything but democratic and included throwing Fatah rivals out of tall buildings.

The last Palestinian parliamentary elections were for all the Palestinians and not separated into WB and Gaza, so if Hamas got the majority of votes, they are the democratically elected government of ALL the Palestinians, whether they voted for them or not. I suppose it works the same way in Israel where certain parties have strong support in some areas and little in others, once they form a coalition government, it matters little which district elected them, no?

And what you call Hamas' "takeover" of Gaza was the result of a botched attempt by Fatah to overthrow said democratically elected government with the support of the US and the approval of Israel. I am sure you know all that, you just prefer quoting the hasbara version to the truth?

[quote="Amos" If a neighboring territory is taken over by a gang of thugs who state clearly that they have no interest in peaceful coexistence with us and that they are part of the worldwide jihad movement and their goal is to rule all of palestine and israel with an islamic regime, then of course we have the right and duty to do what we can to stop them, be it boycott, embargo or military attack.
[/quote]

Thank you for pointing this out. So what would you say people have the right and duty to do when not a neighboring, but their own territory is taken over by a gang of Zionist colonizers ( with quite a few thugs amongst them) who clearly state that they have no interest in peaceful co-existence and that they are part of the worldwide Zionist movement and their goal is to rule all of Palestine as a "Jewish state".
What means would you suggest that Palestinians are entitled to use to defend themselves against their dispossession and ethnic cleansing, or do only Jews have a right to defend themselves and to use boycott, embargo or military attack?

I