Lana Del Rey Cancels Show in Israel Amid Pressure

Singer Lana Del Rey has canceled her planned performance at an Israeli music festival after pressure from Palestinian boycott activists, per the AP. In a Twitter message late Friday, Del Rey said that "it's important to me to perform in both Palestine and Israel and treat all my fans equally." She said she tried to line up appearances for both but couldn't pull it off under short notice and is postponing until she can. It wasn't clear whether it was a direct response to the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement's boycott call. Still, it marked a setback for Israel, which aims to prevent politics from infiltrating the arts.

Del Rey was to headline the inaugural Meteor Festival in northern Israel next week. BDS urges businesses, artists, and universities to sever ties with Israel, calling it a nonviolent way to promote the Palestinian cause. But Israel says it masks a more far-reaching aim to delegitimize or destroy the Jewish state. The BBC notes another tweet from Del Rey in response to the reaction of the postponement. "I don’t not have a political opinion," she writes. "That’s what I’m stating. But it’s not going to stop me from sharing my political/personal passion for peace wherever I go."

(More Lana Del Rey stories.)