A celebrity rabbi has taken out a full-page ad in the Washington Post to brand Lorde a “bigot” spreading “Jew-hatred” after she cancelled a gig in Israel scheduled for June.
The 21-year-old New Zealand pop star is accused of joining “a global antisemitic boycott” against the Middle Eastern country after bowing to pressure from pro-Palestinian activists.
The ad was paid for by World Values Network, a US-based group that promotes Judaism and defends Israel in American media that is headed by outspoken rabbi Shmuley Boteach.
Underneath a picture of Lorde superimposed on a background of a bomb-damaged Syria, it reads: “Tragically, New Zealand’s growing prejudice against the Jewish State seems to be trickling down to its youth.
“While Lorde claims to be concerned with human rights, she hypocritically chose to proceed with her two concerts in Putin’s Russia, despite his support for [Syrian president] Assad’s genocidal regimewhich has already claimed the lives of over 500,000 innocents.”
“Let’s boycott the boycotters and tell Lorde and her fellow bigots that Jew-hatred has no place in the twenty-first century.”
Among those seeking to pressure Lorde into cancelling the show were two New Zealanders who published an open letter in Spinoff magazine last month.
It read: “Dear Lorde ... we’re two young women based in Aotearoa, one Jewish, one Palestinian,” the women wrote.
“Today, millions of people stand opposed to the Israeli government’s policies of oppression, ethnic cleansing, human rights violations, occupation and apartheid. As part of this struggle, we believe that an economic, intellectual and artistic boycott is an effective way of speaking out against these crimes. This worked very effectively against apartheid in South Africa, and we hope it can work again.
“We can play an important role in challenging injustice today. We urge you to act in the spirit of progressive New Zealanders who came before you and continue their legacy.”
Lorde replied on Twitter saying she was learning about the issue “all the time”.
In a statement later that month, she said: “I have had a lot of discussions with people holding many views, and I think the right decision at this time is to cancel the show.”
“I’m not too proud to admit I didn’t make the right call on this one.”
The ad in the Washington Post also attacked New Zealand which was one of 128 countries that last month chose to call for the United States to withdraw its decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.