On Tuesday, August 1, Palestinians and several human rights activists and groups urged US pop singer Christina Aguilera to cancel her upcoming concert in Israel scheduled on August 10. The concert is set to take place at Live Park in the city of Rishon LeZion which has been built upon several demolished Palestinian villages including Al-Safiriyya, Sarafand al-Amar, and Bayt Dajan.
Fans of Aguilera and Palestinian activists called on the pop star to show solidarity with Palestinians by not performing in Israel in the face of the countless human rights violations and war crimes carried out by the Israeli forces and government in the occupied Palestinian territories. Since the concert was first announced, people have been posting and tweeting in large numbers with the hashtag #XtinaDontGo to bring the pop star’s attention to the Israeli atrocities and violence against Palestinians. Last week on Friday, a group of activists went to the New York headquarters of the company organizing the concert to hand-deliver a message to Aguilera on behalf of her fans urging her to not perform in Israel.
An online petition has also been started by the Adalah Justice Project asking her to reconsider. The petition, published on the ActionNetwork.org campaign website, expresses disappointment stating that “Palestinian civil society groups have asked artists around the world to stop performing in apartheid Israel until Palestinians have full equality, freedom and justice. By playing in Israel, you will be crossing an international picket line. Whatever the intentions may be, this performance will be promoted as an endorsement of the Israeli government and a blow to the Palestinian-led freedom movement. It will be seen as tacitly condoning the violence and oppression the Israeli government commits against Palestinians every day. Boycott is a proven peaceful tactic that was famously used by peoples struggling for freedom in the US civil rights movement. In the fight against apartheid South Africa, a cultural boycott by international artists was particularly powerful and played a large role in the freedom struggle.”
The petition cites examples of other artists who in the recent past have canceled their performances in Israel in solidarity with Palestinians, including Sam Smith, Bjork, Lana Del Rey, Lorde, Lauryn Hill, Big Thief, Shakira, and Pharrell. The petition has so far garnered over 11,000 signatures online and counting.
The petition highlights the recent escalation in violence and human rights abuses by Israeli security forces in the refugee camp in Jenin in the occupied West Bank, which was condemned worldwide including by the UN. A violent raid at the camp last month carried out by more than 1,000 soldiers as well as drone and air strikes led to the killing of at least 12 Palestinians, including five minors. It also destroyed dozens of homes, roads, and other Palestinian property.
