All thine enemies have opened their mouth wide against thee; they hiss and gnash the teeth (Lamentations 2:16)
Pop music icon Tom Jones is facing a plethora of protest after announcing that he will be performing in Tel Aviv this October. The Welsh star has come under fire by the Cardiff branch of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, which has launched an online petition demanding that Jones drop the Tel Aviv performance from his tour, which also includes a concert in the United Arab Emirate, according to the Wales Online news website. The 73-year old has been, thus far, resilient in the face of these demands, and is set to perform at the Nokia Theater on October 28.
The petition, which has more than 1,200 signatures, includes an open letter to Jones, according to the Jerusaelm Post.
“Your show will breach the Palestinian call to boycott Israel until it complies with international law and ends its human rights abuses of the Palestinian people,” the letter says.
“A performance in Israel today is akin to a performance in apartheid South Africa. Tel Aviv is today’s Sun City”.
A Facebook page calling on Jones to cancel his concert has also been created, the Jpost reports.
Jones is hardly the first artist to come under fire for agreeing to perform in the Jewish state. Earlier this month The Animal’s Eric Burdon first canceled, then reinstated, his show in Tel Aviv amid a wealth-spring of anti-Israel protest.
Pop superstar Alicia Keys also performed in Tel Aviv recently, ignoring similar calls to boycott Israel, and even shared the stage with famous Israeli musician Idan Richel.
