I guess I could boycott travel to Israel – but I doubt it would make much difference. No one really cares when you make grandiose statements and you’re a nobody.
A few Israeli restaurants would miss out on some business as a result of my decision. A few bars would sell fewer beers. Maybe a hotel or two would miss out on a booking.
In other words, my boycott would serve only to hurt the normal nobodies of Israel – the people such as myself. A few businesses might be harmed, slightly, but world leaders wouldn’t blink an eye.
If I were Lorde, however – if I were a musician who’d sold millions of records and had almost 8 million followers on Twitter – then a boycott of Israel would mean something. Then, people would take notice.
And of course, it has, and they have. A few weeks ago the Kiwi singer announced she was cancelling a concert in Israel after fans wrote to her, claiming that to perform in the country would show tacit support for its continued encroachment on Palestinian territory.
So Lorde pulled out, and people in certain quarters have obviously been upset. Jewish leaders, plus the Israeli ambassador to New Zealand, plus, you know, lots of angry people on Twitter, have criticised the decision. An American rabbi took out an ad in the Washington Post to label the 21-year-old a “bigot”.
Read the full article by Ben Groundwater at the Gippsland Times.