Lorde
LordeReuters

A US-based Jewish organization has accused pop singer Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O’Connor – better known by her professional name, Lorde – of anti-Semitism, following her recent cancellation of a show in Tel Aviv at the behest of supporters of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.

Just days after publicists announced a planned concert in Tel Aviv Lorde backed out following pressure from the BDS movement.

A day later, the 21-year-old singer said that she had made the “right decision at this time” by cancelling the performance.

“I’ve received an overwhelming number of messages and 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,” she said.

“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. Tel Aviv, it’s been a dream of mine to visit this beautiful part of the world for many years, and I’m truly sorry to reverse my commitment to come play for you. I hope one day we can all dance,” added Lorde.

In response to Lorde’s decision, This World: The Values Network, founded by Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, ran a full-page ad in the Washington Post, slamming Lorde as a “bigot”, blasting New Zealand’s recent support for an anti-Israel resolution at the United Nations General Assembly.

“21 is young to become a bigot,” the ad stated.

“Lorde and New Zealand ignore Syria to attack Israel. Lorde joined a global anti-Semitic boycott of Israel but will perform in Russia, despite Putin’s support for Assad’s genocide in Syria.”

The ad also features a picture of Lorde, superimposed over an image of the Old City of Jerusalem on one side, contrasted with a picture of the carnage of the Syrian civil war on the other.

Lorde’s cancellation showed that “growing prejudice against the Jewish State” in her native New Zealand was “trickling down to its youth.”

On December 21st, New Zealand voted in favor of a UN General Assembly draft resolution submitted by Turkey and Yemen which condemned Israel and rejected President Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.

Last week, comedian Roseanne Barr excoriated Lorde in aseries of tweets, calling her a “bigot”.

“Boycott this bigot: Lorde caves to BDS pressure, cancels Israel concert.”

In a follow up post, Barr added “If they do not know enough about hating Jews after WW2 – they NEVER will – I say f*** them.”

Lorde accused of anti-semitism in full page Washington Post ad as fallout from cancelled Israel concert continues https://t.co/Hc7IoCi1yTpic.twitter.com/G9WDQ4zLVX

— 1 NEWS (@1NewsNZ) January 1, 2018