BDS Movement Reprove Jonny Greenwood for performing in Tel Aviv in May 2024, as well as considering Radiohead as ‘Maybe the best known band that has already challenged the calls’ to boycott Israel
The guitarist of, and Israeli musician Dudu Tassa announced on Tuesday (6) the cancellation of two shows in the UK due to “believable threats” after a boycott call by a pro-Palestine group. The organizers “received sufficient credible threats to conclude that it is not safe” to perform the shows in London and Bristol, wrote the artists in a letter published on social networks.
Jonny Greenwood, Dudu Tassa, and the group’s musicians denounced “censorship,” adding that “intimidating concert halls will not help achieve peace and justice that everyone deserves in the Middle East.” “Artists must be free to express themselves, regardless of their nationality or religion and the decisions made by their governments,” they added.
The group that asked the shows not to take place, the Palestinian campaign for Israel’s academic and cultural boycott (PACBI), celebrated the cancellations. “We reiterate our appeal so that all houses [de apresentações] refuse to schedule ”these concerts, wrote the group in X.
The Pacbi, which is part of the BDS (boycott, divestment and sanctions against Israel) movement, accuses Greenwood and Tassa of being “genocide accomplices in Gaza.” The BDS Aproba Greenwood for performing in May 2024, and considering Radiohead as “Maybe the best known band that has already challenged the appeals” to boycott Israel.
In October, Radiohead vocalist Thom Yorke was scolded by a pro-Palestine viewer during a show in Melbourne, Australia. “How many dead children will be necessary for you to condemn genocide in Gaza?” Asked one member of the audience while the singer made a solo presentation.
Yorke replied by accusing him of spoiling the show and challenged him to take the stage. “Don’t stand there like a coward, come here and say it in my face,” replied the singer. In 2017, the British band denounced a campaign that asked for the cancellation of a show in Israel, classifying boycott requests as an “extraordinary waste of energy”.
*With information from AFP
Posted by Carolina Ferreira
