
Lorde is: “considering all options.” Credit: Cancha General
The singer is considering cancelling her show in Israel after fans write an appeal for her to boycott the country
Lorde is having to rethink her plans to play a show in Israel after two fans wrote to the singer asking her not to play. The open letter from New Zealanders Nadia Abu-Shanab and Justine Sachs, of whom one is Palestinian and one Jewish, asked the singer to pull out of the show due to Israel’s occupation of Palestine.
The gig is set to take place in Tel Aviv on 5 June next year. But that now looks in doubt after Lorde responded to the letter via her Twitter page saying: “Noted! Been speaking w many people about this and considering all options. Thank u for educating me i am learning all the time too.”
In the letter, the two fans highlight the humanitarian crisis faced by many Palestinians, such as “human rights violations” and “ethnic cleansing.” Lorde has faced a backlash over the matter ever since her tour dates were announced earlier this month.
This isn’t the first time a gig in Israel has been threatened due to these issues. Other artists who have refused to play there include Brian Eno, Richard Ashcroft and Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters.
I hope she does go ahead with the show, frankly. Its her decision to take, no one elses. And, given the show was booked in the first place, there was the demand for it locally, so the decision should be hers to proceed, or not. No one elses.