BDS targets Netta’s European tour
Eurovision Song Contest winner Netta Barzilai’s European tour, which begins in Vienna, is being targeted by anti-Israel boycott movements that have called for her to be given “warm BDS welcome”.
Photo by Eitan Elhadez/TPS on 6 June, 2018
The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement called for a boycott of Barzilai, who won the 63rd Eurovision Song Contest with her song “Toy” in Lisbon earlier this year, due to her role in the Israeli government’s efforts to whitewash its violations of Palestinian human rights.”
An article on the BDS Facebook page said that while the movement usually targets Israeli institutions and not “individuals based on their identity” Barzilai is a “representative of Israel and a cultural ambassador” and “has clearly been recruited to participate in Israel’s rebranding efforts.”
The Netta Tour will begin in Austria and will continue in Switzerland, Germany and France, ending on November 21st in London.
Boycott attempts against Israel have increased in recent years, with Lana Del Rey cancellation of her performance at the Meteor Festival in September, protests against Israeli artists such as Idan Raichel, Asaf Avidan and the Batsheva Dance Company and the decision of the Molins de Rei Municipality in Catalonia, Spain to cancel the venue for a water polo match between Israel and Spain, due to pressure from anti-Israel boycott movements last week.
