Wednesday 5 April 2017

Letter from Giordano

I’ve always looked up on you as a model of uncompromising artistic integrity. Your music has been part of my life for such a long time that I'll always owe you a debt that cannot be repaid.

This is why the news that you will play in Tel Aviv this summer has come as an unexpected shock, especially considering that you have always been sensitive to social issues and political struggles against authoritarian governments and powerful elites.

Your concert in Tel Aviv is morally unjustifiable as it is an implicit acknowledgment of the Israel government, a government which shamelessly promotes policies of ethnical cleansing and racist segregation which are abhorrent to all people who respect humanity.

Your choice to play in Israel is utterly disgraceful since it would be a missed opportunity to raise the issue of Israel's illegal occupation of Palestinian territories  among the public .
As musicians and public persona you have the opportunity to stand up for justice, honesty, and integrity and so you must raise your voice about the plight of the Palestinian people.

You can stand by and let this happen. Or you can make a difference by adhering to the cultural boycott which is an effective instrument to mount pressure on the Israeli Government to cease its illegal acquisition of land in the West Bank and to raise public awareness about the Israeli occupation and the struggle of the Palestinian people.

Make yourself heard loud and clear that you stand with  the oppressed and not with the oppressor; that you stand with the international law and human rights conventions  which condemn settlements by UN resolution 2334; that you are still the band that we’ve grown to love and admire for their creative intrepidity and moral integrity.

Giordano