Here we go again:
A British band with an Israeli singer have accused a live venue of discrimination for cancelling a gig at short notice.
Management at Strange Brew in Bristol contacted Oi Va Voi, who have been playing klezmer music for 25 years, less than 48 hours before their gig on Wednesday night to say that they were no longer welcome.
The reason given was an album cover from Zohara, who was born in Tel Aviv and sings with the band. It depicts her nude and tending a field of watermelons, which are a symbol of Palestinian resistance.
The performance was set to be the band’s first date on a UK tour after a series of performances in Europe. It comes two weeks after two UK concerts featuring Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood and the Israeli musician Dudu Tassa were cancelled.
[Also in Bristol.]
Breslaw said that he contacted the venue three weeks ago after seeing it voice support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Breslaw said that the group was not political, the music was “Jewish in its DNA” and that the band performs in Israel, including with Arab musicians.
“I wanted to make sure we weren’t coming to a hostile environment,” he said, adding that management assured him there would be no issue. In an email to Breslaw, the venue stressed that it “stands vehemently against antisemitism and is a safe environment for the band”.
But they were lying. Also, cowards.
Strange Brew said it had planned to host the show until Monday, when “campaign groups and members of the public” requested its cancellation. It said of the album cover: “Regardless of the intended meaning, the use of politically loaded symbolism in this way — by anyone of any background — is ambiguous and could therefore come across as politically insensitive and/or offensive to the people of Palestine and by our audiences. For this reason we could not be confident that platforming the artist at our venue was consistent with our ethical values.”
The venue added: “We have never and would never exclude anyone — artists or customers — on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality.”
Until now.
I was sympathetic until I read this.
"We believe this is a clear case of discrimination, and the tactics of intimidation are identical to those used by far-right groups across the world."
Their show wasn't canceled because of pressure from "far-right," or any-right groups. The BDS movement is not right-wing.
"Breslaw said that he tried to explain that Zohara is left-wing peace activist..."
When they accept the fact that they are dealing with left-wing antisemitism (national socialists, anyone) and call it out, I'll give a darn.
Posted by: Steve | May 22, 2025 at 10:58 PM