Israel and the world Pt. 5- weekly news from Israel

• The Irish bands Dervish and Full Set were scheduled to perform in Israel next month. Unfortunately for them, but mostly for their Israeli fans, the bands’ members caved in to pressure, and decided to join the unreasonable cultural boycott on Israel.
Dervish’s Facebook page filled with posts by fans, who threatened to boycott the band itself, unless they cancelled their visit here. Here is what the band members published (spelling mistakes included): “Dervish wish to announce they will not be taking part in the Irish music concert series in Israel this June. Our original decision to participate in the concerts was, like all our tours and appearances, completely non-political. The organiser of the shows is a musician and friend of the band for many years. He has worked to bridge divides between people through music for much of his life. These concerts were organised in this same spirit. At the time we agreed to these performances we were unaware there was a cultural boycott in place. We now feel that we do not wish to break this boycott. Our decision to withdraw from the concerts reflects our wish to neither endorse nor criticise anyone’s political views in this situation. Dervish are a grouping of like musical minds, we are not a political party .Our motivation as a band has always been and will continue to be our love of music”.

More on the outcome of their cancellation: