Photo from Flickr. World-renowned musician Lionel Richie blocked a pro-boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) group on Twitter after it urged him to cancel his Sept. 12 concert in Tel Aviv.
The anti-war NGO Code Pink tweeted on July 31, “BREAKING: Simply because we started a campaign urging him to stand up for Palestinian human rights and cancel his upcoming show in Apartheid Israel, @LionelRichie blocked us!#LionelDontGo.”
BREAKING: Simply because we started a campaign urging him to stand up for Palestinian human rights and cancel his upcoming show in Apartheid Israel, @LionelRichie blocked us! 😂 #LionelDontGo pic.twitter.com/JPrsOD3UwF
— CODEPINK (@codepink) July 31, 2019
Code Pink then tweeted a link to its petition calling on Richie to cancel the show.
“Palestinian citizens of Israel — 20% of the Israeli population — face over 50 laws that systematically discriminate against them because of their religion and ethnicity. From Gaza to Israel, to the West Bank, it is apartheid,” the petition states. “If you choose to follow through with your performance in Tel Aviv, it will act as an endorsement of Israel’s brutal systems of military occupation and apartheid.”
Various pro-Israel Twitter accounts praised Richie:
Cause @LionelRichie is above your hatred. So much 💕💕 https://t.co/Dchcu1H1V1
— Sarai (Sarah Idan) Miss Iraq (@RealSarahIdan) August 1, 2019
Lionel Richie sends a clear message against blind hate. Thank you! https://t.co/JmbE7fxJ1o
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) August 2, 2019
Because you use the word Apartheid, despite knowing it's a lie.
Because you bully, rather than advocate.
Because you support dictators responsible for horrific human rights violations.
BTW, tweeting behind a block is a TOS violation.
— Act for Israel (@ActForIsrael) August 1, 2019
BDS activists also attempted to pressure Bon Jovi and Jennifer Lopez to cancel their Tel Aviv concerts on July 25 and August 1 respectively, to no avail.
Richie’s Tel Aviv concert is part of his 2019 “Hello” world tour.
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