Israel is falling victim to “cultural terrorism,” a top music promoter charged on June 6, after U.S. alternative rock group the Pixies canceled its first-ever gig in the Jewish state.
The band was to have performed a single show on June 9 as part of a five-day music festival in Tel Aviv, but pulled out days after the Israeli raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla that left nine dead.
“It is with great regret that we announce today the Pixies’ decision to cancel their appearance in Israel,” promoter Shuki Weiss said in an initial statement.
Weiss later issued a second statement lambasting moves to boycott Israel, which has seen a growing number of acts pull out of planned appearances.
“I am full of both sorrow and pain in light of the fact that our repeated attempts to present quality acts and festivals in Israel have increasingly been falling victim to what I can only describe as a form of cultural terrorism which is targeting Israel and the arts worldwide,” he wrote.
“Fans cannot be punished for the deeds of their governments.”
The Pixies said the decision to pull out “was not reached easily.”
“We’d like to extend our deepest apologies to the fans, but events beyond all our control have conspired against us.”
The move came days after two British bands pulled out of the same music festival, Pic.Nic 2010.
London-based indie punk band Klaxons and Gorillaz, a hip-hop project fronted by Blur’s Damon Albarn, were supposed to headline Pic.Nic 2010 but canceled on June 3 in a move believed to be linked to the flotilla event.
“These ‘sudden’ decisions affect thousands of Israeli music lovers, turning them into victims and robbing them of a handful of hours of joy, adrenaline and culture, in the name of suffering they have neither caused nor wish for,” Weiss wrote.
The show, he said, “must go on in the name of pluralism, camaraderie and mutual respect. It must go on to remind people that this world has more to it than violence and disaster.”
In recent months, Israel has been hit by a string of cancellations by high-profile musicians, including Britain’s Elvis Costello, San Francisco rock guitarist Carlos Santana and rap forefather Gil Scott-Heron.
Weiss, one of Israel’s top music promoters, has been responsible for bringing many international stars to Israel.