Rami Kleinstein performs in Samaria
Rami Kleinstein performs in SamariaYoni Kempinski

Israeli singer-songwriter Rami Kleinstein made clear on Friday he has no intentions of surrendering to leftist pressure on him not to perform in Judea and Samaria, after leftists condemned him for performing in Hevron.

"Yesterday I performed in Hevron, and one of the things I said was: I was pressured not to perform here but we must remember that music aims to connect between one another and bridge differences of opinion,” said Kleinstein.

“My goal is to create music that reaches every person, regardless of the color of his skin or his political opinions. It is very sad that the word boycott should be associated with culture and music, there is no room for it and I certainly will not lend a hand to it. I hope that one day we will understand the phrase 'love your neighbor as yourself',” he added.

The leftist organization Gush Shalom this week slammed Kleinstein over his performance in Hevron, saying, "Rami Kleinstein has turned himself into a mercenary in the service of the settlers."

"Has Kleinstein undergone a major political and ideological transformation in the last two years, which brought him to the extreme right, or does he simply work for money and sells himself to the highest bidder? It looks like if Kleinstein were to see a coin rolling in the sewage, he would bend over and pick it up, because money does not smell,” charged the organization.

(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)