Thoughts:
The question of whether it's right to play Israel is a personal decision for the artist. Roger Waters and Thurston Moore, among others, have made a decision not to do so as a means of protest, and you have to respect that decision.
Radiohead have the right to make a different choice. There's a case for cultural engagement across national lines. And of course the audiences they'd be playing for wouldn't necessarily be made up of supporters of Netanyahu and his policies.
It might be in their best interest to address the matter before going through with the trip, though. Explain their thinking. Like it or not a kind of political engagement is part of their identity now. They've got a huge left-leaning fanbase. This matter isn't just going to go away.
The question of whether it's right to play Israel is a personal decision for the artist. Roger Waters and Thurston Moore, among others, have made a decision not to do so as a means of protest, and you have to respect that decision.
Radiohead have the right to make a different choice. There's a case for cultural engagement across national lines. And of course the audiences they'd be playing for wouldn't necessarily be made up of supporters of Netanyahu and his policies.
It might be in their best interest to address the matter before going through with the trip, though. Explain their thinking. Like it or not a kind of political engagement is part of their identity now. They've got a huge left-leaning fanbase. This matter isn't just going to go away.
2 comments:
I don't know much about this case at all but it didn't take much searching to discover this campaign is a repeat of one that happened in 2012 when the RHCP played in Tel Aviv last time - also under protest. They don't seem concerned now any more than they did then. Although, cultural boycotts don't have a number of examples to reference the most powerful and successful one was definitely South Africa. Personally, I think they're doubling down on a mistake.
Ooops! Looks like I switched Radiohead for the RHCP while I was looking for exmples. Truth is, I know even less about Radiohead than I do about the other band but the point still holds true. When even the UN has sanctioned Israel for its apartheid policies in Palestine I think the band should at least address their reasons for playing a concert there.
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