Playing to an Israeli audience

It’s such a strange situation that we’re relieved – almost grateful – that Grammy Award-winning South African DJ, Black Coffee, decided to perform in Israel.

I mean, think of it, this multi-award-winning muso is a sought-after star around the world and people want to watch his show, even in Israel. It’s a no-brainer. Of course he should perform there!

Only it’s not a certainty for a performer of any kind to perform there anymore.

Nobody makes a big deal about him performing anywhere else, but the fact that he has chosen to perform in Israel is made into a huge issue because the Israel haters have been on his case to refuse to do so.

The part we celebrate is that he refused to listen, and willingly went on to perform in the Jewish state – not once, but twice.

It’s such a sad state of affairs that we celebrate a star – who would inevitably be earning top-dollar performing in Israel – accepting an invitation to do shows in the Holy Land. And the fact that our excitement has nothing to do with the show, but that the musician wouldn’t cower to anti-Israel harassment.

So many have cowered and been swayed by the exhaustive hounding to refuse to perform in Israel. I understand the pressure experienced by those who rely on public popularity for career success. We have witnessed the vicious intimidation that performers have had to endure. It’s all-consuming, and not easy to withstand.

So, I applaud Black Coffee for not backing down. In fact, on his way to Israel to perform on 1 September, he simply ignored the irritating ranting of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions movement. He simply went, as most performers do, to where his fans wanted him to be as they were paying to see him.

And it was apparently an outstanding concert, with the Rishon LeZion stadium packed to the rafters.

It couldn’t have been a simple decision though, but it was an important one. I say this because when he played in Israel in 2018, there were some who used it against him. For example, acclaimed South African author Zakes Mda refused to use Black Coffee’s music for his movie, although he claimed he had wanted to, because he performed in Israel.

And though Black Coffee withstood the anti-Israel rant, others have succumbed to the pressure, buying into the anti-Israel rhetoric without having set foot in Israel or understanding the situation there.

Having said that, it seems that fewer and fewer people are accepting political pressure to avoid Israel.

Just last year Miss South Africa was put under tremendous pressure not to go to the Miss Universe pageant, which was being held in Eilat. It was astonishing to watch this beautiful young woman, who many thought would fold at a push, standing her ground and participating against all odds in the international competition. She was even chosen as second runner up, and went on to become Miss Supranational 2022.

Clearly, she was tough, and, even under pressure from the South African government, showed her true mettle in standing up for her rights and what was right. She stuck by her decision to uphold the honour of representing her country in the Miss Universe pageant.

There are many others who have withstood this bullying not to go to Israel, including acclaimed British actress Dame Helen Mirren, Ukrainian-born American actress Mila Kunis, and American actress Mayim Bialik, to name just a few.

International pop group Black Eyed Peas’ frontman, will.i.am, also refused to cower to the pressure. He has said openly how much he loves being in Israel, saying it was like being among mishpocha (family). He even throws in a few Yiddish/Hebrew words into some of his songs, like I Gotta Feeling. It’s believed that will.i.am now has business offices in Israel.

Justin Timberlake has performed in Israel, as have stars like the Rolling Stones, Lady Gaga, and Macy Gray.

Nick Cave also did, saying at the time that he wanted to “make a principled stand against anyone who wants to censor and silence musicians”. Radiohead also played in Tel Aviv, stating, “Playing in a country isn’t the same as endorsing the government. Music, art, academics is about crossing borders, not building them.”

However, actress Susan Sarandon has come out against Israel, as has Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters, who has made confusing statements about Israel’s so-called “genocidal removal of people from Sheikh Jarrah” before saying “love and peace and all that”. He was clearly going on about things he had heard about briefly but didn’t really know too much about. It’s so easy to make a ranting video, but not as simple to make sure you’re 100% up-to-date on the real information. I guess he’s famous for his music, not his intellect or research.

Israel has become a political football. The game is to see how far performers will stand their ground in order to perform in front of an Israeli audience. Some can deal with it. Some can’t. Some will take a stand either for or against Israel, and others will simply avoid the conflict.

It’s just so sad that ordinary Israeli civilians have to deal with the fact that no matter what they do, there are certain performers who will steer clear of their shores simply because of pressure.

I guess, as South Africans, we understand the pressure. Remember “We won’t play Sun City”? It feels like a long, long time ago that we were the pariah state.

I wonder how those same people who won’t play in Israel feel about playing in China, Iran, and all those countries where human rights aren’t even a principle on the table.

Suffice to say, I congratulate Black Coffee and all those who don’t allow political pressure to stop them from playing to an Israeli audience. Kol HaKavod!

Shabbat Shalom!

Peta Krost

Editor