BDS is taking credit for what they claim is Shakira’s decision not to play in Israel.
Israeli media had reported earlier this month that Shakira would play in Tel Aviv’s Yarkon Park on July 9. But I cannot find any mention of this on any ticket or concert sites.
LiveNation tweeted this yesterday:
The media has incorrectly reported that Shakira will be performing in Tel Aviv this summer. While no dates this summer will work, Shakira and Live Nation hope to bring a show to her fans in Israel in the future.— Live Nation (@LiveNation) May 28, 2018
Looking at Shakira’s tour schedule, she usually plays every other day during her European tour. There is nothing scheduled for July 9, but there is for July 7 (Barcelona) and July 11 (Istanbul) and July 13 (Beirut.)
It seems likely that her people had put in a placeholder for a possible Israel show and that there were negotiations She wouldn’t have traveled from Israel to Lebanon directly, so Istanbul would be the logical place for her to perform in between. But while tickets are available for every other stop on her tour through the summer in Europe and the US, at no point were any tickets put on sale in for a show in Israel. Certainly nothing was officially scheduled.
So what happened? Did Live Nation leak the story to gauge BDS opposition? That seems unlikely. Probably the deal fell through for other reasons and the show was leaked too early.
At any rate, the tweet does not say a word about any political motive, and saying that she wants to play in Israel is hardly an endorsement for BDS.
It is worth noting that no one seems to be concerned that Shakira is playing in Lebanon on July 13, when Lebanon has treated Palestinians worse than dirt for decades.
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