A Letter to Elvis Costello On Israel, Music

A Letter to Elvis Costello On Israel, Music

In a written response to Elvis Costello, Alive Productions appealed to Costello to reconsider his “sudden and extreme” decision to cancel his June 30 and July 1 concert in Israel.

“Back in February, when you confirmed the performances in Israel, you were surely aware of the situation in the Middle East, and the existing long conflict between the two nations with different wants and dreams. You are probably familiar with the history and the global reality that we in Israel are confronted with,” the letter stated.

“Perhaps there, it is easier to bury one's head in the sand and again use prejudice as a conduit to cultural discrimination of a large culture-loving public … music should be a voice of peace and brotherhood, a unifying force and should not be turned off merely because the background noises seem too loud.

“It is impossible to understand how your participation in a music concert, that is totally apolitical, can be interpreted as a political act. However, there can be no doubt that canceling a performance for political reasons, and refusing to perform in Israel, can only be interpreted as a very strong political statement. Your decision will only push people further apart and enabling those wrong-doers to win through cultural terror.”

Alive Productions, which is also bringing Costello’s wife, singer/pianist Diana Krall to the Ra’anana, Israel Amphitheater on August 4th, reassured fans that they had received word from her management (which she shares with Costello) that she had no plans to cancel her concert.

News sources report that Costello is very familiar with Islamic Jihad (Holy War against Jews and Christians) and may have canceled his concert in Israel due to death threats.

Unlike Costello, music legends Madonna and Paul McCartney have ignored Islamic death threats and used their music to bring people together.