Over the weekend, an online commotion erupted over the announcement that British singer Sam Smith would no longer perform in Israel. But contrary to what anti-Israel activists say, this is not a victory for them.
The “Unholy” singer was set to perform at the Summer in the City Festival in Tel Aviv at the end of May that also features Robbie Williams. Suddenly, the event producers canceled one of two shows featuring Smith “due to unforeseeable technical and logistical problems.”
Like clockwork, anti-Israel figures and the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement quickly claimed the victory as their own. The BDS movement against Israel is a political movement whose goal is to eradicate Israel.
It presents itself as a social justice movement as it seeks to demonize and delegitimize Israel by aiming to isolate it and economically crush it. The group’s founder, Omar Barghouti (who, ironically, received his diploma from Tel Aviv University), has flat-out rejected a future of Israeli and Palestinian co-existence, “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine.”
What makes BDS particularly dangerous is that they push an anti-normalization policy to oppose any interactions between Palestinians and Israelis. As part of the cultural boycott campaign, BDS activists have targeted artists who set performance dates in Israel, often targeting and campaigning against them online and harassing them with online bots.
In some cases, artists have succumbed to pressure from the movement after endless online attacks. In 2017, New Zealand singer Lorde canceled her concert in Tel Aviv after backlash from the BDS movement. At the time, Eran Arielli, the show’s promoter, stated, “the truth is that I was naive to think that an artist of her age could withstand the pressure involved in coming to Israel.”
MONTHS LATER, it was discovered that 95% of the attacks Lorde received on Twitter were bots.
Sam Smith's cancellation wasn't because of BDS
Although some outlets reported that the cancellation of Smith’s show came from BDS pressure, that is inaccurate. Repeating that false information continues to fan the flames of the hateful movement.
Creative Community for Peace (CCFP), a non-profit entertainment industry organization comprised of prominent members of the entertainment community who promote the arts as a bridge to peace and educate about antisemitism within the entertainment industry, sent out a statement after uncovering that neither Smith nor his management canceled the show. CCFP stated, “The BDS movement never misses an opportunity to cynically insert politics into regular business affairs. Sam Smith’s concert in Israel was recently canceled by the promoter due to technical and logistical issues, a common occurrence in the world of live entertainment. It’s unrelated to any political movement.”
It is pretty typical for BDS to capitalize and take credit where none is warranted or resort to vicious tactics by lying or attacking artists who choose to perform in Israel. Inventing success makes them seem legitimate and relevant, and unfortunately, in this case, we played right into their hands by condemning Sam and publishing inaccurate information about what happened.
A simple Google search will show you that the majority of publications that circulated this falsehood were Israeli or Jewish publications. Unfortunately, we gave BDS precisely what they wanted.
The real question becomes how do we as a community support international artists who want to perform in Israel but are then targeting by this hateful movement? How can we ensure they feel secure enough to perform in Israel without the fear of risking their career?
In that regard, CCFP states, “It is important for those that oppose the divisive, disingenuous and hateful approach of BDS to make their voices heard to artists.” Supporting artists can be as simple as leaving positive comments when the artist announces their concert dates or combating anti-Israel sentiment in their posts.
“Average people have a huge voice in this regard and they should use it,” says CCFP. In the world of social media, this is 100% true. Knowing that any public figure who plans to visit Israel will receive backlash, the average person must engage and support them online. Ultimately, it pays off when they come to Israel and fall in love with the place, which they will.
The writer is a social media activist with over 10 years of experience working for Israeli, Jewish and cause-based NGOs. She is the co-founder and the COO of Social Lite Creative, a digital marketing firm specializing in geopolitics.