Lana Del Rey Cancels Israel Show And Says She’ll Be Back To Perform In Both Israel And Palestine
United States pop star Lana Del Rey cancelled her appearance at Israel’s Meteor Festival on Saturday, saying that she will be back to perform in Israel, Palestine and other countries in the region.
In a tweet, Del Rey said:
“It’s important to me to perform in both Palestine and Israel and treat all my fans equally. Unfortunately it hasn’t been possible to line up both visits with such short notice and therefore I’m postponing my appearance at the Meteor Festival until a time when I can schedule visits for both my Israeli and Palestinian fans, as well as hopefully other countries in the region.”
— Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) August 31, 2018
The announcement comes a week after Del Rey defended the move to perform in Israel. In an Instagram post, she said that she wanted peace for both countries.
“We will be still playing our show in Israel. That being said, I understand the concern towards showing support to the Palestinians too. So I just wanted to let you know when I’m in Israel I will be visiting Palestine too and I look forward to meeting both Palestinian and Israeli children and playing music for everyone.”
I don’t not have a political opinion That’s what I’m stating. But it’s not going to stop me from sharing my political/personal passion for peace wherever I go. Im not a travel agent promoting tourism for each country I go to. I’m sharing my thoughtful genre of music wherever I go
— Lana Del Rey (@LanaDelRey) August 19, 2018
Del Rey has cancelled an Israel show in the past: in 2014, she called off a performance in the country after conflict between Gaza and Israel intensified.
The Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanction National Committee praised Del Rey’s show cancellation.
“Thank you Lana Del Rey for your principled decision to withdraw from Israel’s Meteor Festival,” the group said in a statement. “You heeded the call by countless fans and groups who care deeply about justice… We urge all remaining artists to also respect the Palestinian picket line.”
The Meteor Festival criticised the move.
“We want to thank Lana Del Rey for choosing us to be part of her periodic publicity stunt.”
The Meteor Festival is on September 7 at Kibbutz Lehavot Habashan.