Pro-Palestinian groups have announced they will protest against Nick Cave’s gig in Glasgow this weekend after his decision to perform in Israel.
Campaigners including Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card and Scottish Sport for Palestine have already written to the singer ahead of his gig in Glasgow to condemn his decision and his support for Israel.
The Australian will play at the OVO Hydro on his Wild God tour on Sunday, November 3 and pro-Palestinian campaigners will hold a protest outside the venue from 7pm.
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Palestinians and campaigners worldwide have repeatedly appealed for Cave to have a cultural boycott of Israel, and are asking him to “stop normalising Israel’s war campaign and illegal occupation”.
Maree Shepherd of Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card said: “In his recent interview with Reason, once again Nick Cave showed a lack of care for the problems caused by Israel's illegal occupation and was derogatory about the global Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement (BDS), a nonviolent Palestinian-led campaign.
“This follows on from his previous comments in a letter to musician Brian Eno about BDS where he described it as 'cowardly' and 'shameful' and Israel as 'a real, vibrant, functioning democracy.'
“This has left many people stunned as to how an apparently intelligent human can make such astonishingly ridiculous statements."
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Many campaigners feel that Cave’s decision to play in Israel and his refusal to recognise the plight of Palestinians is making his music difficult to listen to, and are continuing to call for a boycott of Israel after the country was accused by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) of plausible genocide.
It comes after Radiohead singer Thom Yorke walked off stage during his solo tour in Australia after an audience member heckled him with a protest about deaths in Gaza.
Videos posted online by concert-goers at the Melbourne show on Wednesday showed a man shouting at York and urging him to condemn the Israeli genocide of Gaza.
Yorke responded by telling the heckler to ‘hop up on stage’ to make his remarks before the heckler shouted ‘How many dead kids will it take?’.
In Scotland, an Israeli bowler withdrew from a World Bowls Contest in West Lothian after more than 4,000 people signed a petition calling for him to be banned.
Shalom Ben Ami was due to compete after qualifying for the tournament but made the decision to withdraw after his participation was condemned
Ms Shepherd continued: “What is most staggering about Nick’s Reason interview is the fact that not once did he mention the injustices inflicted on Palestinians, who have been forced to live under Israel’s brutal occupation and in an apartheid system, deprived of human rights for 76 years.
“He chose to turn a blind eye to Israel’s well-documented war crimes; the ICJ ruling, the horrific torture of men, women and children, the systematic targeting of doctors, journalists and academics, the bombing of camps, hospitals, schools, ambulances and aid distribution points, of football pitches used as concentration camps, the flour massacre, the mass graves, the rapes by Israeli soldiers, the deliberate deprivation of food, water and medical aid and the near destruction of Gaza by the illegal occupying force.
“The closest he came to acknowledging the inhumane treatment at the hands of Israel was mentioning, ‘the horrific complications,’ which is possibly the most offensive term he could have used to describe a genocide.
“Despite his dreadful comments, he is a well-read person and cannot be excused of ignorance about the Palestinian anti-colonial struggle.”
Maree Shepherd of Show Israeli Genocide the Red Card said: “The boycott of Israel is working, as internationally, people are choosing to withdraw their money from products and services linked to a genocidal illegal occupation.
“This week, an Israeli player, Shalom Ben Ami withdrew from competing at a World Bowls Tour contest in Scotland after our campaign saw more than 4000 people sign a petition against his country's participation.
“That is the power of boycott and campaigning at a time when the majority of world leaders are happy to condone a livestreamed genocide.”
Nick Cave’s representatives were approached for comment but were unwilling to speak on the matter.
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