Australian musician Nick Cave has spoken out about his decision to perform in Israel last year despite pressure from the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.
The rock singer posted an email he had sent to record producer Brian Eno, one of the biggest supporters of the boycott in response to a fan question on his website.
In his email to Eno, Cave wrote, "I do not support the current government in Israel, yet do not accept that my decision to play in the country is any kind of tacit support for that government's policies."
He said he supported the Palestinian cause, noting he had raised £150,000 ($188,000) for the pro-Palestinian Hoping Foundation. Palestinian suffering would be ended "via a comprehensive and just solution, one that involves enormous political will on both sides," he said in the email.
Cave told Eno the boycott, which he said "risks further entrenching position in Israel in opposition to those you support" was "partly the reason I am playing Israel – not as support for any particular political entity but as a principled stand against those who wish to bully, shame and silence musicians."
He suggested Eno "go to Israel and tell the press and the Israeli people how you feel about their current regime, then do a concert on the understanding that the purpose of your music was to speak to the Israeli people's better angels. … Perhaps the Israelis would respond in a wholly different way than they would to just yet more age-old rejectionism.
In a note to the email, Cave told his fan Eno was "weaponizing" music.
"What has brought us to the point where certain musicians feel it is ethically sound to use forms of coercion and intimidation, in the form of 'open' letters, on fellow musicians who don't agree with their point of view?" he asked.
"Some of my dearest friends in the music industry found my decision very difficult to accept, but there it is, after much consideration the decision was made: I simply could not treat my Israeli fans with the necessary contempt to do Brian Eno's bidding."
At a news conference ahead of his 2017 performance, Cave said Eno had asked him to sign a boycott list three years earlier.
He said, "At the end of the day, there are two reasons why I am here. One is that I love Israel and I love Israeli people, and two is to make a principled stand against anyone who wants to censor and silence musicians," Cave said.
"So really you could say in a way that the BDS made me play Israel," he said.
Although the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement says it has pushed some companies and investment funds to curtail their activities in Israel, its economic impact appears to be modest.
Israel's high-tech economy is humming along, making it an attractive base for corporate giants like Google, Apple, Microsoft and others. World leaders visit regularly to promote business ties.
Culture and academia have been easier targets. Virtually any artist who plans to perform in Israel these days can expect to come under pressure on social media to cancel.
