Following backlash that she received from both fans and activists, Lana Del Rey has decided to postpone a scheduled performance in Israel.
It was was when Del Rey was confirmed to appear at the Meteor Festival in Israel that many came forward asking her to abandon the ticket in response to Israel's poilcies toward Palestinians. Initally, she issued a statment in defense of her scheduled perfomance, writing that "performing in Tel Aviv is not a poltiical statemnt or a commitment to the politics there."
"I don't not [sic] have a political opinion," she wrote in a tweet. "But it's not going to stop me from sharing my political/personal passion for peace wherever I go. I'm not a travel agent promoting tourism for each country I go to. I'm sharing my thoughtful genre of music wherever I go."
Now, however, the singer has agreed to walk away from the performance until a parallel performance can be scheduled in Palestine as well. "It's important to me to perform in both Palestine and Israel and treat all my fans equally," the singer wrote. "Unfortunately it hasn't been possible to line up both visits with such short notice and therefore I'm postponing my appearance at the Meteor Festival until a time when I can schedule visits for both my Israeli and Palestinian fans, as well as hopefully other countries in the region."
This isn't the first time that Lana has had to cancel a performance in the country. Back in 2014, she had to pull out of a performance due to war between Israeli and Palestinian militants in the Gaza strip. Earlier this year, both Lorde and Shakira cancelled Tel Aviv ashows due to political backlash as well.
Ultimately, it was pro-Palestinian organization Palestinan Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel that initiated a petition to urge Lana Del Rey to pull out of the show. The group since came forward with a statement applauding Del Rey's decision. Festival organizers, on the other hand, weren't so pleased, issuing a statement in which they wrote, "We do appreciate her for choosing Meteor to help her score some press attention."
