Israeli Citizens in Support of BDS Respond to Caetano Veloso

We are Israelis who oppose our government’s policies of military occupation, ethnic cleansing and apartheid. We read your letter in O Globo, explaining why you reject the numerous calls made to you, to support the Palestinian people in their struggle for liberty by canceling your concert in Israel. We were dismayed to find that you believe that we would be heartened by your show! We would like to set the record straight and appeal to you and to Gilberto Gil again: Please cancel your show,until Israeli apartheid comes to an end.

We who have the privilege to enjoy your concert, refuse to attend it. We prefer to stay with the indigenous Palestinian village of Susiya, under immediate threat of Israel’s demolition:

https://susiyaforever.wordpress.com/2015/05/22/act-now-to-save-susiya/

We refuse to enjoy your facade of solidarity, while the lives and homes of 340 children, women and men, are torn apart. Where is the joy in music, when we exact cruelty upon our fellow human beings?

 

Your statements have already been celebrated by Israel’s mainstream media http://www.timesofisrael.com/brazilian-crooners-wont-bend-to-bds/, which only goes to show that instead of bringing peace, you are merely helping the government cover up its ongoing war crimes. What is the role of music if it ignores such cruelty?