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Lorde cancels Israel tour date after activists urge her to join boycott

By Ray Downs
Lorde arrives for the 34th annual MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, California on August 27. On Sunday, the singer announced she will not perform in Israel after activists urged her to join a boycott against the country. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI
1 of 3 | Lorde arrives for the 34th annual MTV Video Music Awards at The Forum in Inglewood, California on August 27. On Sunday, the singer announced she will not perform in Israel after activists urged her to join a boycott against the country. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo

Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Lorde announced on Sunday that she canceled a concert date in Israel after New Zealand activists urged her to join an Israel boycott to protest the Israeli military occupation of the Palestinian territories.

Lorde was scheduled to perform in Tel Aviv in July. Tickets for the show will be refunded.

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"I've received an overwhelming number of messages & letters and 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," Lorde said in a statement. "I pride myself on being an informed young citizen, and I had done a lot of reading and sought a lot of opinions before deciding to book a show in Tel Aviv, but I'm not too proud to admit I didn't make the right call on this one."

Lorde was contacted via an open letter by fellow New Zealanders Justine Sachs, who is Jewish, and Nadia Abu-Shanab, who is of Palestinian descent.

"The military occupation of Palestinian territories has resulted in an apartheid state," the pair wrote. "Palestinians living in the occupied territories do not enjoy the same rights Israeli citizens enjoy, they are denied freedom of movement and often basic services and necessities."

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They added: "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."

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