US musician says he won't go to Israel because “we don’t like wars.”
By DAVID BRINNGil Scott Heron 311(photo credit: Adam Turner)
The May 25 Tel Aviv performance of American political soul/jazz pioneer Gil Scott-Heron is in doubt, only days after it was announced. Appearing in London this week at the Royal Festival Hall, Scott-Heron said from the stage that he wouldn’t be going to Israel because “we don’t like wars,” the Guardian reported on Wednesday. According to reports, his concert had been repeatedly disrupted by hecklers calling on him to cancel the Israel show.Scott-Heron, best-known for the composition “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised,” was a leading voice in calling for the cultural boycott of apartheid South Africa, joining United Artist Against Apartheid in the 1980s. Pro-Palestinian groups had appealed to the singer to cancel his show at the Barby club because it would be seen as giving legitimacy to Israel and its treatment of Palestinians. A Facebook page urging the performer to cancel the Tel Aviv show was started and had gathered over 1,000 members.No official announcement has been made from either the artist’s management or the local promoter of the show.
